Milanese luxury goods tycoon Matteo Marzotto is set to relaunch Parisian label, Vionnet...

A Milanese luxury goods tycoon, Matteo Marzotto, has begun moves to restore the famous Parisian label, Vionnet, to the fashion spotlight.

Marzotto, who is also the president of Enit, the Italian State Tourist Board, and is a former president of Valentino, has bought the historical brand and plans to relaunch it in Milan in June.

Apart from a brief revival in 2006 - with the Greek-British designer, Sophia Kokosalaki, at the helm - the name of Vionnet has languished in fashion's store-cupboard for nearly 70 years.

The Vionnet maison was launched in Paris in 1912 by Madeleine Vionnet, a fashion revolutionary, who reviled corsetry and anything which restricted the free movement of a woman's body. She was inspired by the draperies on Greek statues and the dances of Isadora Duncan, and developed a technique of draping and cutting which caused her to be named "The Queen of the Bias Cut" - a technique which continues to inform the work of many leading designers today, most notably John Galliano.

Madame Vionnet was also responsible for introducing dresses made from a single length of cloth, without fastenings or buttons; hooded tunics; halter-necks and the handkerchief hem.

At the height of her fame, she employed over 1,000 seamstresses, was the first to export ready-to-wear to the United States, and dressed silver screen icons such as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn. Her house closed at the beginning of the Second World War.

Despite her status as a pioneer of 20th century fashion, she once declared herself "an enemy of fashion" and abhorred the obsession with seasonal change.

"I am convinced there is always room for projects that have at their core originality, energy and passion", Marzotto said.

"With Vionnet I would like to bring back to life an idea of fashion that is contemporary without forgetting its history; reinvigorating the extraordinary and innovative elegance that marked Madeleine Vionnet's work."

Vionnet will have headquarters in Milan, and its ready-to-wear line will include accessories.

The collection will be designed by Rodolfo Paglialunga, formerly a womenswear designer at Prada for 13 years, who also worked, prior to that, with the Milanese innovator, Romeo Gigli