History: Parah milestones
1950s - Husband and wife Giovanni Piazzalunga and Edda Paracchini began their business adventure by making a few items of corsetry and selling them at local markets. The genesis of the exotic sounding Parah came in 1953. They wanted the brand name to reflect the first letters of its founder’s surname but the printer used the letter "h" by mistake instead of “k”, which had been chosen to reproduce the sound of the double “c”. They decided to keep the “h” for good luck.
1960s - The family atelier started to grow into a small business in the early 1960s. The first proper company was established in 1962 in Gallarate, a town in the province of Varese, Northern Italy. During the 1960s Parah converted the production of underwear intoswimsuits and beachwear, for which it went on to become one of the best-known brands in the 1980s. The company started to manage a distribution network made up of a dozen agents.
1970s - The second generation joined the business in 1975 and with Gregori Piazzalunga came a turning point in the company’s development. The young businessman noticed a rising market demand for swimwear, which was an untapped segment of the clothing industry, and developed the potential of these products. In 1976 the group started production for new lines of swimwear: Sabbia, Impronte and Off Limits beachwear; which reached different types of consumers and covered all segments of the market.
The company created advertising campaigns (and were the first to use large posters) that reflected social changes to convey this new concept: the desire for transgression of the early 1970s, with the “scandalous” position of the Parah brand’s first testimonial, Barbara D'Urso and then later on the aggressive, career-driven attitude of the 1980s.
1980s - This is the decade in which Parah became truly established. It was the first company in this industry to be so successful and, on the back of the rising phenomenon of “Made in Italy”, it created new collections for every season in keeping with fashion trends. Parah started making corsetry again at the end of the 1980s.
1990s - The 1990s were all about great innovations which, together with innovative products and famoustestimonials, led to the relaunch of the underwear industry. One of the most outstanding products was Lumière, the seamless bra without any cuts that was introduced with a communication campaign worth over 2 billion lire featuring a brand-new testimonial, the skier Deborah Compagnoni. 100,000 bras were sold in just a few months. With the 1998 opening of the first two single-brand partnership stores in Marbella and Puerto Banus in Spain, Parah launched itsexpansion abroad.
The research and innovation seen in the swimwear industry was echoed in the underwear sector. In 1999 the company introduced the tankini plus a new bikini model with a bandeau top that used invisible underwiring, which was the first of its kind not to flatten the bust.
2000 - To celebrate its 50th anniversary the group published a mini-collection of swimwear called "Parah-Gold Collection". The strategy of distributing through single-brand stores also took off in Italy and stores opened in major cities, tourist destinations and places of strategic interest, such as Milan Malpensa International Airport. These were followed by innovative style projects that led to an increase in turnover in the underwear division of more than 25% over 3 years. Aria, with Nathalie Caldonazzo as the face of the project, was particularly memorable. The new “cage” design was definitively established in 2001. It was a propulsive style that set a new trend in the corsetry industry. Top model Fernanda Lessa, who took her first steps in the industry with Parah, embodied the epitome of seduction and sensuality.
The two-year period from 2002 to 2004 also brought important changes for beachwear. Parah launched the Plus cup bikini, which fits all bust sizes (from II through V), Euro-inspired swimwear made from Alcantara and eco-leather, and the BK 206 which is designed to suit all sizes. Parah also adopted the measuring system using French sizes for its underwear: so sizes varied from 80-100 instead of first-fifth.
The Off Limits brand image was revamped with a new logo, packaging and style and the swimwear collections were designed in matching themes of fashion and material. The accessories - bags, footwear, sunglasses - became integral features of the beachwear collections. In 2004, Parah ventured into the world of sport and signed an agreement withJuventus Football Club from Turin which included visibility for the Parah brand pitchside and on the interview backdrops. Parah also created a Juventus branded collection all in black and white.
In 2006 Parah started its brand extension policy with the launch of a new line of fragrances, Parah Woman and Parah Man, which were distributed worldwide exclusively by Weruska & Joel, a company from Turin with which Parah had signed a licensing agreement.
2008 saw the launch of the line of Parah accessories by No.Nu: necklaces, bracelets and bags inspired season after season by the Parah collections. All the accessories are handcrafted and completely unique.
Parah made its catwalk debut on 20th September 2008 and presented the S/S 2009 Parah Noir Beachwear collection during Milan Fashion Week. Queen of the catwalk was the top model Esther Canadas.
Parah officially found its place on the Milan fashion calendar in 2009, and presented the S/S 2010 collection on the Sala Borgospesso catwalk on 23rd September during Milano Moda Donna. The show featured two testimonials from the worlds of cinema and music: Margareth Madè, who arrived straight from the Venice Film Festival, and Amber Le Bon, daughter of the famous singer Simon Le Bon.
In the same year Parah revamped the Impronte by Parah brand with the launch of the S/S 2010 collection. The brand was given a new look and a new name, Impronte Parah, lending the entire collection a more fashionable and modern feel.
2010 was an extremely important year as Parah celebrated its 60th anniversary. This offered an excellent opportunity to focus on the company’s female customers with a brilliant limited edition collection. The company created Parah Anniversary, a mini-line of 2,600 limited edition pieces, divided into three different bikinis for ladies and 1,000 pieces in the Parah Kids collection for youngsters. A competition was organised to coincide with the launch with a 1-carat diamond worth €3,450 for the lucky winner.
2010 marked the arrival of three important licences:
Parah gave Over the marketing licence for the line of apparel, underwear and beachwear for girls and boys from 6 to 12 years under the Parah Kids brand.
Codi was awarded the distribution licence for the line of bags.
And finally the exclusive for the Parah Home line was given to Gruppo Carillo, a Neapolitan company whose products range from quilts, duvet covers and bedspreads to table linen and bath towels.
Today Parah is represented by the second generation of the family with Gregori Piazzalunga as the president andGianluca Piazzalunga as the managing director (chief executive officer). The vice president is brother-in-lawStefano Rienzo, who is also the company’s sales director. The Piazzalunga family is like all the great dynasties in Italian fashion; the family unity and sharp entrepreneurial insight are decisive factors in the development and consolidation of the company.
The third generation is now coming into the business, ready to honour the company with which they have grown up.
