Bergdorf Goodman

Bergdorf Goodman is a major  luxury department store. It was founded in New York City in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and is currently based on Fifth Avenue.

Originally, it was just a ladies' tailor shop. It was Edwin Goodman, who became a partner of the company in 1901, that turned it into  a department store and in one of the firsts luxury ready-to-wear fashion retail center in the US. By 1914, Bergdorf Goodman had become  an important point of reference and destination for Americans to get European high fashion.

After World War II, the store passed under the control of Andrew Goodman, who took over in 1951, expanding its offerings and prestige.

That same year, the chain sent three of its buyers, Ethel Francau, Jessica Daves, and Julia Trissel, to Florence to participate in the famous Italian fashion show organized by Giovanni Giorgini.

Beginning in the 1950s, Bergdorf Goodman was among those American commercial actors that substantially contributed to the popularization of Italian design and fashion in the United States. The store repeatedly sent its buyers to the most important Italian fashion shows, dedicating space and visibility to designers such as Emilio Schuberth, or, at a later date, Schiaparelli. It also interacted (and still does) with Italian trade offices and ICE offices in their effort to promote Italian products and models in the US.

In 1987, Bergdorf Goodman came under the control of Neiman Marcus, another important promoter of Made in Italy style in the United States.

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