The Corset Maker of Bologna
In 1954, in a small workshop in Bologna, Italy, a master corset maker named Ada Masotti began creating something the world hadn't seen before: lingerie that was both structurally perfect and achingly beautiful. She called her company La Perla — The Pearl — and over the next four decades, she would build it into the most prestigious name in Italian intimate apparel.
The Craft
Masotti was not a fashion designer in the modern sense. She was a corsettaia — a corset maker — trained in the exacting Italian tradition of structured garment construction. She understood boning, seaming, fabric tension, and the engineering required to support and shape the female body.
But she was also an artist. Where other corset makers focused on function, Masotti insisted on beauty. She sourced the finest Italian lace, silk, and satin. She treated each piece as a work of art, not just an undergarment.
This dual identity — engineer and artist — became La Perla's founding DNA.
Building La Perla
The company grew slowly, driven by word of mouth and the unmistakable quality of its products:
- 1954: Founded in Bologna as a small atelier
- 1960s: Expanded beyond corsetry into full lingerie collections
- 1970s: Began exporting to European markets
- 1980s: Established La Perla as a symbol of Italian luxury worldwide
- 1990s: Opened flagship boutiques in Milan, Paris, London, and New York
- La Perla became the lingerie of choice for Italian cinema, European aristocracy, and anyone who understood the difference between good underwear and great underwear
The Bologna Connection
Masotti's choice to base La Perla in Bologna was significant. Bologna had a long tradition of textile excellence — particularly in lace-making and silk production. The Emilia-Romagna region provided access to skilled artisans, high-quality materials, and a culture that valued craftsmanship over mass production.
This was the opposite of the American approach, which prioritized scale and accessibility. La Perla was never meant to be for everyone. It was meant to be the best.
The Philosophy
Masotti believed that lingerie occupied a unique position in fashion:
It is the first thing you put on and the last thing you take off. It is the garment closest to your skin, closest to your body, closest to who you really are.
This philosophy — that lingerie is the most intimate and therefore the most important garment a woman owns — drove La Perla's commitment to quality. Every piece was designed to make the wearer feel exceptional, even if no one else ever saw it.
The Italian Lingerie Tradition
Masotti helped establish Italy as a global center for luxury lingerie. Before La Perla, French houses — Chantelle, Simone Perele, Cadolle — dominated the premium market. Masotti proved that Italian craftsmanship could compete at the highest level, and in doing so, opened the door for other Italian lingerie houses.
The Later Years
Masotti remained involved in the company until her death in 1996 at the age of 92. The brand has changed ownership several times since — it was acquired by a private equity group, went through financial difficulties, and was eventually purchased by the Sapinda Group and later Tennor Holding.
Through all the corporate changes, La Perla's products have retained the essential quality Masotti established: the sense that you are wearing something made by someone who cares about craftsmanship above all else.
Why She Matters
Ada Masotti proved that lingerie could be luxury in the truest sense — not luxury as a marketing word, but luxury as a standard of craft. Every Italian lingerie house that followed, every brand that positions itself as artisanal rather than industrial, exists in the tradition she established in that Bologna workshop in 1954.
"La Perla" — The Pearl. The most beautiful things are formed under pressure, in darkness, close to the skin.