Born in Olba, Teruel; at the age of ten he moved with his family to live in Barcelona and shortly after he left school to start working in a tailor shop (1930). His career was meteoric and at just 25 years old he opened his first haute couture fashion house on a mezzanine floor on Avenida Diagonal (1942). In 1948 he opened his first store in Madrid, on the corner of Hermosilla and Velázquez streets, and traveled to Paris.
He began to be known internationally when he went to the United States in 1954 with Valentino, Pierre Cardin, Pierre Balmain and the Fontana sisters, among others. He presents his collection in New York, Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Receives the ""Oscar de la Costura"" from Harvard University. His suits begin to be sold in the best stores in America.
In 1951, he made the costume designs for the film Alba de América, which were made in Humberto Cornejo's tailor shop.
In 1957 he moved his halls from Madrid to Paseo de la Castellana. Christian Dior dies suddenly of a heart attack; In Paris there is talk of Pertegaz as his possible successor, but he declines the offer, as does his professional colleague, the universal Andalusian Elio Berhanyer. His suits are exported to England, Switzerland and Canada. His collections are presented in Cairo, Venice, London, Santiago de Chile and Copenhagen. In 1958 he received the Cairo Gold Medal and in 1960 he attended the first European fashion gala held in Mexico. In 1961 he designed and made the impressive wedding dress for the Spanish actress Carmen Sevilla, nicknamed the Bride of Spain, performing a NO-DO to immortalize the event. In 1964 he attended the Universal Fair in New York and the following year he created the Diagonal perfume.
In 1966 he received the Gold Medal from Mexico City and in 1968 he opened the first of his five boutiques in Spain. Gold Medal of the City of New Orleans. In 1969 his Madrid salons became small again and he moved them to a mansion in El Viso. 700 people were already working in its workshops in Barcelona and Madrid. He presents his collection in New York. He is appointed commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic and ""Friend"" of the City of Barcelona.
In 1969, the Spanish singer Salomé wears a dress of her signature, weighing 14 kilos, made of porcelain with fringes, in the Eurovision Song Contest, being the winner. In 1970 Prêt à porter prevails and Pertegaz makes its first ""boutique"" collection. Travel to San Antonio, in Texas. He presents his collection at the Spanish Gala. Joan Crawford is the guest of honour. It is named ""Important"" by the City of Barcelona. In 1971 he was named "Popular" by the Pueblo newspaper. In 1972 he was awarded the City of Berlin Gold Medal and the City of Boston Gold Medal. In 1973, the Knight's Cross of San Jorge de Teruel.
Pertegaz design for Iberia flight attendants, 1968.
In 1974 he traveled to São Paulo invited by the Chamber of Commerce and received the Galena Award. In 1975 I created the Very Pertegaz perfume. It closes its salons in Madrid. The ready-to-wear and accessories lines continue in Barcelona. He is awarded the Galena Prize for the second time. In 1980 he traveled to Japan invited by the Chamber of Fashion and to Mexico on the occasion of the inauguration of a new Palacio de Hierro. In 1982 the third Pertegaz perfume, Sport, is presented.
In 1992, the year of the Barcelona Olympic Games, for the opening ceremony of the Games, she dressed Pat Cleveland as the Umbrella Lady. He is awarded the ""Peseta de Oro"" in gratitude for his collaboration in the Games. In 1993 he received the Gold Medal from the Complutense University of Madrid and in 1994 the Medal for the Promotion of Decorative Arts. In 1997 he created his first men's collection and the following year closed the fashion show which, on the occasion of Spain Day, was presented at Expo '98 in Lisbon. He receives the Gold Medal for Artistic Merit from the Barcelona City Council. In 1999 he received the Antonio Gaudí Gold Medal and the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts. The Kings of Spain present him to him in Santiago de Compostela and he is granted the title of favorite son of the town of Olba. The year 2000 is still working and dressing its clients inside and outside of Spain; oversees the creation of all the lines marketed under his name. In 2002 he was named Honorary Aragonese and received the Telva T award.
Two years later, in 2004, a retrospective exhibition was held at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and he made Queen Letizia's wedding dress. That same year he received the honorary Golden Needle, the most prestigious award in Spanish fashion, at the same time as the Italian Valentino Garavani, and another retrospective exhibition was held at the Robert Palace in Barcelona. In 2009 I have received the National Design and Fashion Award. In 2010 he was named adoptive son of the city of Teruel.3
Until the end of his life he had continued to work and remained one of the most famous creators of Spanish fashion, internationally recognized. His models have paraded all over the world.
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