Born: Kobe, Japan, 1934
One of the key instigators of the 1960s romantic movement, Gina Fratini had Irish parentage but was raised in Japan. Her father, the Honourable Somerset Butler, was twin brother of the Earl of Carrick. In 1947 Fratini attended the Royal College of Art in London and then joined the Katherine Dunham dance group, assisting the costume and set designer, John Platt. She also designed clothes independently, and continued to produce private commissions after she married jazz guitarist David Goldberg in 1954.
In 1965, on marrying Renato Fratini, she established her own business, which continued successfully until 1989. Before Marc Bohan joined Hartnell in 1990, Gina Fratini was a guest designer there: `It was the first time I could just create without thinking of the business. It was wonderful. What a treat and a joy it was just to design.'
