Nina Ricci is a fashion house founded by Maria Nina Ricci and her son Robert in Paris in 1932 and owned by the Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig since 1998. The haute couture house was founded in 1932. Nina Ricci designed gowns while her son Robert Ricci managed the business and finances. She worked with the fabrics directly on the mannequin to ensure they had shape once they were finished. Nina Ricci designs soon became known for the refined, romantic, always feminine feeling Maria adds to all of her collections. In 1941, Robert Ricci created an in-house perfume division. In 1945, with the war over, designers were casting about for a way to revive the infatuation women had formerly had with haute couture while raising money for war relief. Robert Ricci had an idea which Lucien Lelong, President of the Chambre, put into action. Over 150 mannequins from 40 Paris couturiers, including Balenciaga an Madame Gres, were dressed in the labels' best fashions and were placed in an exhibition held at the Louvre, in Paris. After a huge success in Paris it toured Europe and then the USA.