Blumarine

Coordinates: 44°47′23.4″N 10°52′44.4″E / 44.789833°N 10.879000°E / 44.789833; 10.879000

Blufin S.p.A is an Italian fashion house founded by Anna Molinari and her late husband Gianpaolo Tarabini. The core brand is Blumarine, which they started in 1977, followed by Miss Blumarine (1987, 8- to 14-year-old girls), Blugirl (1995, for teenagers) and Anna Molinari (1995), which is being repositioned as their luxury brand.

Blumarine was established by Anna Molinari and Gianpaolo Tarabini in 1977, in the town of Carpi in the province of Modena. The name was inspired by the couple's favourite colour and their love of the sea. In 1980 they made their first appearance at Modit in Milan, where Blumarine was named Designer of the Year, which led to their first show at Milan Fashion Week the following year. The 1986 Milan Fashion Week saw the first collection wholly designed by Anna Molinari.

As the brand took off and they started to license it to other companies, Blufin was set up in 1988 to act as a holding company. By 2006 royalties accounted for €5.5m of their income. The first Blumarine boutique was opened in the Via della Spiga, Milan in 1990; the company now sells into more than 1000 retail outlets, of which 55 are own-brand boutiques. In July 2011 the company collection was presented at the catwalk of The Brandery fashion show in Barcelona.

The core brand is Blumarine, which has also been licensed to other companies in the fields of lingerie, accessories, wristwatches, homeware and so on; the perfume licence is held by ICR-ITF. In 2007, the company announced that it would be bringing bags and small leather accessories in-house, with a dedicated display area in the Milan shop at Via Montenapoleone 20. A major international expansion of Blumarine boutiques was also then planned, particularly in the Middle East and Asia.