Jean Baptiste Ennemonde (Edmond) Chavasse Frette was born on 12 June 1838, in Grenoble, France, to Jean Claude Chavasse Frette, a fabric dyer, merchant, and manufacturer of socks and knitted shirts, and Marie Maréchal. After her husband died in 1840, Marie took up the activity of millinery to support her children.
Frette Heritage 1860
On December 1, 1860, Edmond Frette, together with Charles Chaboud and Alexandre Payre, established Frette, Payre & Chaboud for "the commerce and manufacture of fabrics."[citation needed] Chaboud became the financial officer, and Payre and Frette became traveling merchants. As a traveling merchant, Frette started working in Italy, an export market and a source of materials. He first established himself in the Versilia area in Tuscany.[3]
Between 1862 and 1863, Edmond Frette arrived in Monza and established another company branch. In the second half of the 1860s, Frette centralized production in his own factories.[citation needed] Coarse B2B products constituted the most significant portion of Frette's trade. Until 1999, Frette was owned by the descendants of Edmond Frette's Italian backers, Giuseppe Maggi and Carlo Antonietti.
1860: Jean Baptiste Edmond Frette, Alexandre Payre and Charles Chaboud manufacture and begin distributing home linens from Grenoble, France.
1865: Two plants established in Concorezzo, Italy near Monza with production of luxury fabrics on Jacquard looms.
1878: Opens its first retailing shop in Manzoni, Milan, which still operates today.[4]
1880: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Italy commissions Frette to produce linen for the Ministry and all Italian embassies worldwide, beginning a tradition that continues to this day.
1881: Frette wins the Gold Medal Award at the National Exhibition in Milan and becomes an official "Provider to the Royal House."
1886: Introduces the first catalog sales and begins retailing outside Italy.[4]
