Italian fashion designer Laura Biagiotti dies at 73

Laura Biagiotti, the Italian fashion designer known as the 'queen of cashmere,' died in Rome on May 25, 2017, after a heart attack. She was 73. Biagiotti was a passionate collector of Futurist art, with a collection centered on 300 works by Giacomo Balla. She founded her brand in 1972 with her mother Delia, who had designed Alitalia uniforms in 1960. Biagiotti was the first fashion designer to show in China and the Soviet Union. She lived in a medieval castle near Rome and was known for her generous loans of art. In 2002, a stamp was issued for her 30th career anniversary, and in 2007 she received a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Her final collection, shown at Milan Fashion Week, was inspired by Alberto Burri and Antonio Canova. In April 2017, the Estorick Collection in London exhibited works from her collection, focusing on Futurism.