Ellesse Watches
- A Brief History
|
[American
Waltham
| Audemars
Piguet
| Blancpain
| Breitling
| Bulova
| Cartier
| Corum
| Ellesse
|Fortis] [Girard Perregaux
| Gucci | IWC
| Jaeger le Coultre | Longines] [Movado
| Oris | Omega
| Patek
Phillipe
| Rolex |
Seiko | Tag
Heuer]
The
Ellesse name is based on the initials, L.S., of
its founder, Leonardo Servadio, an Italian tailor
with an innovative approach to styling and manufacture.
In 1959, Servadio created a revolutionary stretch
ski pant which established Ellesse among the elite
alpine social circles, making it the ultimate aspirational
brand. The immense success of Ellesse in winter
sports clothing provided a perfect passport to expand
the brand and transfer the design philosophy into
the equally prestigious world of tennis. In 1976,
Servadio seized the opportunity to take the brand
onto a worldwide stage and embarked on an aggressive
sponsorship programme signing tennis legends such
as Boris Becker, Chris Evert Lloyd and Guillermo
Vilas.
Ellesse
became synonymous with tennis and skiing and as
a testimony to the success of Ellesse in these highly
competitive fields, the Ellesse logo, consisting
of half a tennis ball combined with 2 ski tips,
surmounting the company name, was created.
The
Ellesse Time Line
1959
- Leonardo Servadio, an Italian tailor, founds Ellesse
- the name is created from his initials L.S. (elle-esse).
Servadio's
textile industry background enables him to produce
fashionable textiles and garments with innovative
design
1967
- Success hits fast. Ellesse team moves to 60,000m2
state of the art building in Perugia, in the centre
of Italy.
At
the end of the decade Servadio discovers a fabric,
which enhances athletic performance. He combines
it with style innovation to revolutionise the world's
ski market.
Ellesse
creates the Jet Pant - an innovative, pioneering
design of ski pant, with many technical features,
bringing the brand into the world of high performance
sportswear. First sportswear brand to feature its
brand name on the outside of its garments.
1974
- second design breakthrough with the quilted ski
jacket which becomes a status symbol, still widely
seen on the international ski slopes but now also
worn in the world's fashion capitals
Sponsorship
of the Italian National Ski Team - Ellesse becomes
one of the best known and successful ski brands
of the 70's and 80's.
1975
- Ellesse moves into tennis sportswear which proves
to be as successful as the skiwear.
New
'half ball' logo is developed.
1979
- Jet Pant enters history books when Ellesse represents
Italian design at an exhibition in Paris, France.
By
the early 1980's Ellesse is synonymous with stylish,
innovative sportswear through the sponsorship of
world class sports personalities and events.
Ellesse
sponsors top tennis players including Guillermo
Vilas (1980-1983), Chris Evert (1980-1986), Boris
Becker (1983-1986), Hana Mandlikova, Jo Durie and
Henri Leconte (1983).
Sponsorship
also covers events such as the Italian Women's Open
Tennis Tournament in 1980, 1981 and 1984.
1985
- Boris Becker wins his first Wimbledon Singles
title, age 17, wearing Ellesse.
1986
- Boris Becker defends his Wimbledon Singles title,
still wearing Ellesse.
Ellesse
sponsors 10 National Ski Teams at the beginning
of the 1980's - W.Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Canada,
USSR, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway
and Bulgaria.
1988,
1989 - Mark Giradelli of Luxembourg, another
Ellesse sponsored skier, becomes World Champion.
Ellesse
sponsorship programme expands to other sports (running,
F1 and football)
1984-1986
- USA Marathons
1985-1986
- Gianni Poli, winner of 1986 New York City Marathon
1984,
1987, 1991 - Monte Carlo Grand Prix, Formula
One Racing
1982
- Alain Prost, Formula One Champion
1982
- Italian National Football Team
Ellesse
introduces both a leisurewear and a shoe range with
which it expands into the major markets around the
world.
Partnership
established with the Pentland Group for distribution
of clothing.
The
1990's
Ellesse
commands a prominent position in the sports world
through its highly recognised brand name.
Product
innovation is a major source of growth in the early
90's
-
swimsuits made from Sunselect fabric, allowing tanning
on covered parts of body.
-
Ellesse Pneu System - air cushion built into tennis
shoes to protect the foot and ankle.
-
Magic Air, a ski jacket that raises the internal
temperature of the garment, displayed in Milan's
Museum of Design and Technology.
-
Ellesse Sydney tennis shoe with new amortising system.
Pentland
Group acquires majority of Ellesse shares in 1993
and the remainder in 1995.
Please
remember that this is not an official guide as to
the history of this company and thus may not be
100% accurate by all accounts, if you do see any
errors then please do not hesitiate to email
the webmaster.
Back
to Main Watch Information Index
[American
Waltham
| Audemars
Piguet
| Blancpain
| Breitling
| Bulova
| Cartier
| Corum
| Ellesse
|Fortis] [Girard Perregaux
| Gucci | IWC
| Jaeger le Coultre | Longines] [Movado
| Oris | Omega
| Patek
Phillipe
| Rolex |
Seiko | Tag
Heuer]
|