Samir Mekhtiyev

Etro was founded in 1968 by Gerolamo "Gimmo" Etro  as a textile design company.The main stylistic driver for Etro over its first decades was the paisley pattern, and variations on this theme.The company's headquarters is located in Milan on Via Spartaco, and was refurbished in 1977.The headquarters includes textile art archived in their in-house library. Future textiles head Jacopo Etro later commented on this period, stating that he had started to visit the when he was a child, spending many hours copying the fabric designs and experimenting with his own creative style.After a trip to India made by Etro executives, the furnishing textiles line made its debut in 1981. The "swirling" paisley design found on this trip is now "synonymous" with the label according to Elle Magazine. The company began producing Leather goods in 1984 crafted from Paisley Jacquard fabrics.[Etro then began its home collection in 1985. The Fragrances collection was launched in 1989, making its debut in the Milanese Fragrances flagship boutique, located on Via Verri. More recent additions of the line include Rajasthan and Jacquard. Etro's first fashion show at Milan Fashion Week was held in 1996.The company began sales by direct-mail through inserts in The New York Times starting in 1999, and Etro began selling its clothing online in addition to in retail stores in 2013. In 2014, a monograph on the company's history entitled Etro was published by Rizzoli publishing house.