VICTORIO Y LUCCHINO

Italian fashion design company

Founded: by José Luis Medina del Corral (born in 1954 in Seville) and José Victor Rodríguez Caro (born in 1952 in Cordoba); met in 1972, working for a Seville design group. Company History: Fragrances include Carmen, 1992, followed by V&L launch; introduced leather apparel and accessories; financial backing provided by the Puig family. Exhibitions: Sevilla Barroca, Museo de Ferrocariles, Madrid, 1986; British Designers Fair, Olympia, London, 1987, 1988, 1989; Cibeles Fashion Show, Madrid, 1987-91; Festa de la moda, Barcelona, 1988; IGEDO, Dusseldorf, 1989, 1990; Mode Woche, Munich, 1990; Fashion Coterie, New York, 1990; Milanovende, Milan, 1991; Festival de Disenadores Hispanos, Washington, D.C. 1991; Expo 92; Hotel Ritz, Barcelona, 1992. Company Address: Padre Luis Mallop, 4 Casa Natal de Velazquez, 41004 Seville.

Publications

On VICTORIO Y LUCCHINO:

Articles

"Victorio & Lucchino," in Vanidad, No. 1, 1992.

"Pasarela Cibeles: la moda esta de moda," in ¡Hola!, 4 March 1993.

"Victorio y Lucchino suspiran por Espana," in El País (Madrid), 19 February 1994.

Barker, Barbara, "Fashion's Strain in Spain," in WWD, 2 March 1995.

Raper, Sarah, "A Younger Generation Takes Over at Puig," in WWD, 19 June 1998.

Corson, Alice, "Living la vida regalada," in Soap, Perfumery & Cosmetics, May 2001.

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Victorio y Lucchino is a Spanish design duo, combining the talents of the founding partners, José Victor Rodríguez Caro and José Luis Medina del Corral. Caro comes from Palma Del Rio in Córdoba and was born during the early 1950s. He was originally inspired by the Parisian designers of the decade who dominated the pages of Spanish fashion magazines. As a teenager, he worked as an assistant for several fashion companies, collaborating in the preparation of their collections.

Del Corral, also born in the 1950s, hails from Seville. From an early age he, too, felt that his vocation was to be in fashion design. After his studies, he began work with a Seville design company where Caro was also working and, after several months at the company, the pair decided to join forces and create their own line, "Victorio y Lucchino."

The Victorio y Lucchino style is purely Spanish in origin; designs are particularly inspired by the spirit of Andalucia in the southern region of Spain where the team lives and work. The bright light creates very rich shadows, colors and textures, awakening the senses to the tastes, touches, and smells that stimulate exciting design. The visual imagery also inspires, like the religious rituals, such as the slaves of the Phoenician Goddess of Estarte as they bedeck her in heavy jewels amidst a haze of incense, myrrh and amber. The duo themselves have declared, "We create our fashions amid scents of geraniums, basil, and myrtle. Our influences are mixed and melted together to form ideas reminiscent of the streets, squares, and the river bejewelled with stars."

Luscious opulence is reflected in the type of fabrics Victorio y Lucchino choose to work with—smooth velvets in burgundies, dark olive greens, and sunlit yellows and oranges; iridescent velvets reflecting the light and ribbed and stripped velvets that shimmer; crinkled and bubbled organza, and organza with tone on tone marble effects; satin, and the luxurious effect of chenille, are other popular fabrics.

Sensuous eveningwear is a favorite look. Bustiers with long, attached sleeves leaving shoulders revealed and lots or room for full straps. Clingy, sculpted dresses and lily-shaped jackets are other popular innovations. The Victorio y Lucchino woman is calm, deep, and sensual; she is dressed to make an impact on a Spanish balcony or on the street. It is an outdoor, Mediterranean glamour, born of a bright and orange-scented afternoon.

The nationalistic flavor of Victorio y Lucchino collections is enhanced by recurring themes plucked from Spanish culture. Ranges have been christened with titles such as Spanish Barroca, The Comb and Manstilla, Carmen, and Vestales Hispalenses. In 1992 the design duo even launched a fragrance called Carmen, paying homage to Bizet's famous opera and his fiery heroine.

The Victorio y Lucchino design label has points of sale in Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, and the United States. Shows are seasonal, at the Cibeles fashion show in Madrid as well as other popular international trade shows, such as the Fashion Coterie in New York and Milanovendemoda in Milan. The design team has their own shop in Seville, and with financial backing from the Puig beauty and fashion empire, was able to expand in several directions. New in the middle and late 1990s were leather separates and matching accessories, another fragrance, V&L, and an increased presence in Asia, primarily in Hong Kong.

—Kevin Almond