Manuel Pertegaz (1918-2014), The Eternal Dressmaker

This is the small exhibition tribute from the Museo del Traje to the figure of Manuel Pertegaz. For a month (in addition to the usual showcase dedicated to the dressmaker in the “Designer Fashion” area) 11 pieces from the master of sewing can be enjoyed. 

Born in Olba (Teruel) in 1918, since he was a child he felt the vocation of sewing and with only 24 years old he already opened his first sewing house in Barcelona. After the civil war, it opened in Madrid, where it triumphed, and in the mid-1950s it entered the American market with great success, eventually receiving the Oscar de la Costura awarded by Harvard University. After rejecting the creative direction of the Dior house in 1957, he continues a career full of recognitions that culminates with the tribute exhibition at the MNCARS in 2004 and the production of the wedding dress of the then Princess Letizia and the Golden Needle Award the same year. 

1930: when he was 12 years old, he began to work in a store on Calle del Carmen in Barcelona, a little later he worked at the Angulo tailor shop, where he discovered women’s fashion 

1942: first sewing house in Barcelona / 1948: first sewing house in Madrid 

1954: first trip to the USA. Presents collection in NY, Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Orders from American department stores. Oscar de la Costura from Harvard University. 

1957: offer to run the Dior house in Paris. It exports to England, Canada and Switzerland. Parades in Venice, London, Santiago de Chile, Cairo and Copenhagen 

1958: receives the Cairo Gold Medal 

1960: participates in the First Fashion Gala in Mexico DF with Pierre Cardin and Valentino 

1965: Diagonal is born, his first perfume for sale worldwide, produced by Puig 

1966: Gold Medal of Mexico City 

1968: Inaugurates the first of its ready-to-wear boutiques. New Orleans Gold Medal 

1969: Between Madrid and Barcelona, 700 people work under their charge. He is appointed Commander of the Royal Order of Isabel la Católica 

1970: Pertegaz Punto ready-to-wear line 

1972: Gold Medal of Berlin and Boston 

1973: Knight’s Cross of Saint George in Teruel 

1974: Muy Pertegaz perfume 

1975: closes his sewing salon in Madrid 

1982: Diagonal Sport perfume 

1993: Gold Medal of the Complutense University of Madrid 

1997: debut in men’s fashion 

1999: Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts 

2004: Golden Needle Award, tribute exhibition at the MNCARS and dress of Princess Letizia 

2009: receives the first National Fashion Award