CHICAGO — Former Chicago designer Mariana Zaharoff is out to make her name in Europe.
As an initial step in her European strategy, she will be one of the first American designers ever to show in Milan during the rtw collections. Her show is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Milan fairgrounds.
“I thought it would be a challenge and help bring attention to my line. I figured Milan is the right place to start in Europe,” she said.
Zaharoff relocated her headquarters from the U.S. to Como, Italy, a year ago. While she maintains an office in Chicago, the Greek-born designer also has a design studio in Athens and contracts production to a factory in Milan.
According to her son George, who is chairman of the company, Zaharoff is aiming to generate sales of $8 million in 1994, against a much more limited business last year. A graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, Zaharoff started designing in the early Seventies.
Her textured, hand-woven designs sold to high-end specialty and department stores throughout the U.S., including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin. When the business peaked in the mid-Eighties, Zaharoff had about 500 retail accounts throughout the U.S.
She also developed a celebrity following and was invited to design a wedding dress for Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patty Davis.
However, the business grew to what she said was an unmanageable size, and she scaled back operations in the late Eighties to spend more time with her four children.
With the family grown up, Zaharoff now has decided to try and conquer Europe. This time, she is concentrating her energy on design, and her sons are running the business. Although Zaharoff is 45, she boasts that no one else at the company is over 25, saying: “I’m going to let young people run the business. That’s where the future is and the vision is.”
The collection of coats and suits wholesales for $400 to $600. Her target market is high-end department and specialty stores in Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece and the U.K., she added.
Zaharoff said she has a twist ready for her Milan finale — rather than a traditional wedding dress, she will show black widow’s weeds.