HIGH HONOR: A range of fashion entrepreneurs and executives have been bestowed with the “Cavaliere del Lavoro,” or “Knight of Labour,” honor in Italy. 

They include Prada Group’s chairman and executive director Patrizio Bertelli; Francesco Milleri, chairman and chief executive officer of EssilorLuxottica; Alfonso Dolce, chairman and CEO of Dolce & Gabbana; Maria Giovanna Paone, chairwoman and co-CEO of Kiton’s parent company Ciro Paone, as well as Salvatore Ferragamo chairman Leonardo Ferragamo. The latter was recognized for his hospitality business, as president of the  Lungarno Collection luxury hotel chain.

Also in the fashion and design categories, the honor was bestowed upon Anna Beatrice Ferrino, CEO of the namesake textile company, and Federica Minozzi, CEO of tile-maker Iris Ceramica Group.

Established in 1901 by King Vittorio Emanuele III, the title is one of the highest recognitions bestowed by the president of the Italian Republic, currently Sergio Mattarella, and recognizes 25 Italian entrepreneurs who have distinguished themselves in different sectors of the economy and contributed to social development, employment, technology and the growth of Made in Italy. 

In receiving the honor, the cohort follows in the footsteps of other fashion industry personalities including Pietro Beccari, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton; Ferruccio Ferragamo; Remo Ruffini, chairman and CEO of Moncler; Federico Marchetti; Gildo Zegna, chairman and CEO of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group; Rosita Missoni; Claudio Marenzi, president and CEO of Herno; Roberto Colombo, president of Lanificio Luigi Colombo, a producer of cashmere and high-quality fibers, and Alberto Barberis Canonico, CEO of the Italian high-end woolen mill Vitale Barberis Canonico, established in 1936 on the outskirts of Biella, among others.