Laura Biagiotti

Laura Biagiotti is an Italian fashion and fragrance house founded by the designer of the same name, who lived from 1943 to 2017. Wikipedia dates the house to her first fashion show in 1972 [4]; the official fragrance site instead traces the brand's perfume heritage to 1988, describing it as "a Made in Italy love story that has continued since 1988" [1]. The two dates are not in dispute so much as they measure different things: 1972 marks the founding of the fashion house, while 1988 is the start of the fragrance line that the brand is known for today.

In beauty retail the brand appears as a fragrance label. Its perfumes are produced under license by AB Parfums S.p.A., formerly Angelini Beauty, which Give Back Beauty agreed to acquire in an agreement signed on 31 January 2025 [5].

Laura Biagiotti's career began in the 1960s, inspired, according to the company, by her mother Delia Soldaini Biagiotti, who ran an established atelier in Rome. The designer became closely identified with cashmere; The New York Times nicknamed her "the Queen of Cashmere," and the brand says she helped move the material from a classic fabric to a runway staple [2]. The house grew into one of the larger fashion enterprises in Italy, with collections spanning women's wear, men's wear, accessories and watches [4].

From 1980 the designer lived and worked at Castello Marco Simone, a restored eleventh-century castle in the countryside outside Rome that remains the company's headquarters.

In April 1988 Biagiotti became the first Italian designer to present a collection in China, an achievement that later brought her the Marco Polo award from the Chinese government [4]. The same year saw the launch of Roma, the debut fragrance. Roma Uomo, the men's counterpart, followed in 1992, and a fragrance simply called Laura arrived in 1994.

The founder's daughter, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, entered the family business in 1997 and became vice president in 2005 [4]. In 2001 Laura Biagiotti was the first designer to receive the Prix Femmes d'Europe [4]. After the founder's death in May 2017, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna took over as chief executive, a role the company says she has used to steer the house toward sustainability and natural materials [2].

The fashion house remains family-led, while the fragrance business operates through a separate licensing chain. The perfumes are made and distributed by AB Parfums S.p.A., previously known as Angelini Beauty. On 31 January 2025, Angelini Industries and Give Back Beauty signed an agreement for Give Back Beauty to acquire AB Parfums, which holds fragrance licenses for Laura Biagiotti alongside brands such as Trussardi, Angel Schlesser and Armand Basi [5].

The company presents itself as a Maison synonymous with Italian excellence, "celebrating a legacy of elegance, innovation and love for art" and drawing on the imagery of Rome. It also describes sustainability and a preference for natural materials as pillars of its philosophy. Laura Biagiotti's work has long been linked to cultural patronage: the brand says it has sponsored performances at Milan's Piccolo Teatro since 1998 and supports art restorations in Rome.

The brand's signature fragrance is Roma, launched in 1988 in a column-shaped bottle that echoes Roman architecture. Fragrantica describes it as the company's best-selling fragrance [6]. The current women's range extends Roma into variants such as Roma Fiori Bianchi and the Aqve Romane collection, while the men's side centres on Roma Uomo and its later editions. New releases continued in 2025 with launches including Rubus Maris and Roma Uomo Nero Estremo.

Beyond the Prix Femmes d'Europe, the founder's "Queen of Cashmere" epithet was used by both The New York Times and The Washington Post, reflecting her association with the material in the fashion press.