Born in Biella on September 25^th, 1930, into a family of textile industrialists, Nino Cerruti inherited the company at the age of 20 upon his father’s death. He discontinued his studies in Philosophy and Journalism to immediately rediscover himself as suited to the style and fashion business at the highest level. Following the family tradition, investing heavily over the years in the research and development of materials, he added attention to design to taste and sensibility and his highly personal insights. In short, to be exact since 1957, he has achieved worldwide attention with the presentation of the company’s first apparel line, Hitman, in Milan. In 1962, together with Osvaldo Testa, he founded the brand “Flying Cross”, the first “Designer Line” which was added to the Hitman line. In 1967, he opened the first Cerruti 1881 boutique at Place de la Madeleine in Paris. In the mid-1960s, in Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti, he collaborated with new emerging names in Italian fashion, taking on as “rookies” designers of the calibre of Giorgio Armani.

In the 1970s, he created the first deconstructed jacket. He established licensing agreements in Japan and the US in order to increase the international visibility of the brand and to maintain competitive prices in most markets, proving more and more, as well as his artistic skills, his strong entrepreneurial vocation to the global market. In these years, the fashion line for women also came into being, which 20 years later would represent 20% of total company revenues. In 1975, Hitman began production and distribution of knitwear, shirts and the casual line: Cerruti 1881 Brothers.