Ellesse
Encyclopedia
History
Ellesse was founded by Leonardo Servadio in PerugiaPerugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
in 1959. The name Ellesse derives from the initials of Servadio's name, "L.S."
Ellesse grew in popularity during the 1970s as a producer of skiwear such as quilted jackets and ski pants. In 1979, Ellesse's Jet Pant, a ski pant featuring padded knees and a wide lower leg to fit around a ski boot, was included in an event at the Pompidou Centre in Paris celebrating Italian design.
Another sport with which Ellesse has been closely associated since its early years is tennis. The Ellesse logo references the form of a tennis ball with the shape of the tips of a pair of skis.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Ellesse gained a reputation for combining sportswear functionality with street-level fashion styling. It was one of the first sportswear brands to feature their logo prominently on the outside of its garments. During the mid-1980s, French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
1949: Born on November 28th in Casablanca, son of Louis and Jeanne-Blanche de Castelbajac1968: First collection for Ko and Co, company created at Limoges by his mother Jeanne-Blanche de Castelbajac1969: First show...
worked with Ellesse, an early collaboration between a sportswear company and a fashion designer.
The uk casuals / dressers adopted the brand in the 80s as premium sportswear took off across British terrace culture known today as 80s casuals a talked about comeback style back available in 2011 in limited Ellesse Heritage stores
Celebrity endorsements
A number of sports celebrities have endorsed Ellesse, including tennis players Chris EvertChris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...
, Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...
, Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
, Arantxa Sánchez and Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...
, skiers Marc Girardelli
Marc Girardelli
Marc Girardelli is a former alpine ski racer, a five time World Cup overall champion who excelled in all five alpine disciplines....
and Jean-Luc Crétier
Jean-Luc Crétier
Jean-Luc Crétier is a retired alpine ski racer.He won the gold medal in the downhill at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. He came in the long line of big surprises in the event, winning on a warm, sunny day. Crétier was third racer on the course and posted a respectable time...
, and Formula 1 driver Alain Prost
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
.
Other celebrities associated with the brand include boxer Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Natas Kaupas
Natas Kaupas
Natas Kaupas is a semi-retired American professional skateboarder. He grew up in South Santa Monica, California in the area known as Dogtown and is of Lithuanian descent. He attended Santa Monica High School. He is often referred to as one of the first true professional street skateboarders.Kaupas...
and Maurice Cheeks
Maurice Cheeks
Maurice Edward "Mo" Cheeks is a retired American professional basketball player and assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association from May 23, 2005 to December 13, 2008...
and actors Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
and Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
.
Purchase by Pentland Group
In 1994 UK brand management company Pentland GroupPentland Group
Pentland Group plc is a privately held, global brand management company based in the UK, involved in the sports, outdoor and fashion markets. It is owned by Stephen Rubin and family...
purchased a ninety per cent share of Ellesse for £20 million. Pentland had been Ellesse's UK distributor since 1981. Servadio retained a 10 per cent share.
Pentland Group also owns other well-known sportswear brands such as Lacoste, Berghaus
Berghaus
Berghaus Limited is an outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturer headquartered in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, England. It is based in the North East of England but distributes worldwide. It was founded in 1966 by climbers and mountaineers Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison, initially as an importer and...
, and Speedo
Speedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...
. It currently licenses the Ellesse brand to partners in countries around the world, who manufacture and distribute Ellesse products in their territory.
Ellesse celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009 with a party in Rome in July 2009.