Francesca Sterlacci
| Francesca Sterlacci | |
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| Born | 1951 Hoboken, New Jersey |
| Alma mater | Fashion Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Website | francescasterlacci |
Francesca Sterlacci is an American fashion designer, author and entrepreneur. She launched her clothing line, Francesca Sterlacci Ltd. in 1980, and continued designing clothes under her label until 1989. Sterlacci joined the Fashion Institute of Technology as a teacher in 1990, and became the chairwoman of the Fashion department at the institute in 2001.
In 2013, Sterlacci launched University of Fashion, an online library of fashion design videos.
Sterlacci was born in Hoboken, and raised in and Union City. When she was ten, she used scraps from her mother's sewing machine and prepared Barbie doll costumes. Her mother did not allow her to use sewing machine, so she had to hand stitch the dresses that helped her improve her hand stitching skills. She kept some of these dresses while some were sold to neighbourhood friends.
While studying at the Emerson High School in Union City, she collaborated with a friend on making mini and maxi skirts and selling them to boutiques in New York. After completing her high school, she joined Fashion Institute of Technology and received Associate of Applied Science degree in fashion design. Upon graduating, she joined Jersey City State College for a bachelor's degree in art.
Sterlacci started her career in the late 70s with a job in a body suit company. Later, she joined a junior sportswear firm, Sunday's Workclothes. In this position she had to travel a lot to countries like India, Hong Kong, Italy, France and Taiwan. Later on she became a head merchandiser at Time and Place where she managed five divisions. Besides working a day job, Sterlacci was also working on developing her own label.
She founded Francesca Sterlacci Ltd. in 1980 and the first collection consisted of 15 sportswear pieces. Her designs were greatly influenced by her travel while at Sunday's Workclothes. By 1981, she added leather to her collection. The top-selling clothes in her line were the leathers and the suedes.
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