Alberto Masotti, Former Owner of La Perla, Dies at 90

Alberto Masotti, the former owner and president of the Bologna lingerie brand La Perla, died on Friday morning in Bologna. He was 90, WWD reported.

Masotti was president of La Perla from 1981 to 2007. The company was founded in 1954 by his mother, Ada Masotti, and became known for luxury lingerie. Its range also included La Perla Mare swimwear, a ready-to-wear line and men's underwear.

Under his leadership the brand expanded abroad. It opened boutiques in Beijing, Bangkok, Moscow and Hanoi, and several stores in the United States. Ready-to-wear means clothing made in standard sizes for shops to sell, as opposed to made to measure.

Masotti stepped down in 2007. In 2008, JH Partners took full control of the La Perla group. His daughter, Anna Masotti, had worked as design coordinator for the brand before that sale.

Ownership changed several more times. Silvio Scaglia bought La Perla in 2013. In 2018 the company was sold to Tennor, which was then called Sapinda. Alessio Vannetti became chief executive officer on 1 September.

Production remains based mainly at the Bologna headquarters, where 220 seamstresses work, according to WWD.

Masotti also wrote about the family business himself. In 2024 he published La nostra Perla ("Our Perla"), a history of the house, through the Italian publisher Edizioni Minerva.

FashionNetwork paid tribute to him as a gentleman of Italian lingerie who kept looking ahead. Local coverage in Bologna has also marked his death.