Fashion designer Nino Cerruti dies at 91

Nino Cerruti, the Italian fashion designer and textile industrialist, died at age 91. Born in Biella in 1930 to a family of textile manufacturers, he studied philosophy and journalism before revolutionizing men's fashion. In the early 1970s, he pioneered the deconstructed jacket, eliminating the rigidity typical of menswear. He opened his first boutique 'Cerruti 1881' in Place de la Madeleine, Paris in 1967, designed by Vico Magistretti, where Coco Chanel was a client. Giorgio Armani worked as his assistant in the mid-1960s. Cerruti built his sartorial success with brands Hitman (1957) and Flying Cross (1962). In the 1980s, Hitman launched a sportswear line, sponsoring tennis player Jimmy Connors and skier Ingemar Stenmark. His women's line never exceeded 20% of revenue. A perfume bearing his name was distributed by Chanel's perfume division. In 1994, he became official designer for Ferrari. He was named Cavaliere del Lavoro by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2000. Cerruti 1881 was sold in 2001.