Fragrance house

Mariella Burani

Mariella Burani was founded by Walter and Mariella Burani in Emilia-Romagna in 1960, initially producing and distributing children’s clothing. During the 1970s, the business expanded into women’s prêt-à-porter and began exporting internationally in the 1980s. Mariella Burani lent her name to the group’s best-known label in 1977. The group became publicly listed in 2000 and, from the late 1990s through the 2000s, expanded through acquisitions and licensing across fashion, leather goods, footwear, jewellery, and related brands. Its visual identity was associated with floral prints and black-and-white campaigns photographed by Peter Lindbergh, including “La donna in bicicletta,” described as a symbol of the Emilia-Romagna fashion house. The group entered insolvency proceedings in 2010, and in November 2013 its brand marks and remaining fashion assets were awarded in a bankruptcy sale to a Hong Kong financial company. A predominantly women’s fragrance line was added in the 1990s, with the earliest recorded Mariella Burani edition dated 1993. In 2022, Sifarma entered a licence agreement for the global development, production, and distribution of fragrances under the Burani name.