Iannelli-Merulla Inc.

Iannelli-Merulla Inc. was a Montreal-based women’s high-end fashion brand. Founders and creative directors Pina Iannelli and Dina Merulla met and became friends while studying fashion design at LaSalle College. Due to their shared love of knitwear and similar sartorial tastes, the two young women decided to branch out on their own, founding their brand Iannelli-Merulla in 1988 when both were 25 years old.

Iannelli-Merulla’s apparel was minimalist, monochromatic, characterized by clean lines and a strong menswear influence, and targeted at urban professional women.

The brand was sold at 30 stores in Quebec and Ontario, along with several in the United States, including the famed luxury boutique Giorgio Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive. In 1994, Iannelli-Merulla received a Matinee Ltd. Fashion Foundation grant to help expand the business and the following year it won a bronze medal in the Fur Council of Canada’s Fur and Fashion Design Awards (Buyers’ Choice). Iannelli-Merulla Inc. was also a regular participant in both Montreal and Toronto fashion weeks before ceasing operations in 1996.

Both Pina Iannelli and Dina Merulla have continued to work in Montreal’s fashion industry.

Iannelli has worked as both a designer and merchandiser for David Bitton, Hilary Radley, and SOIA & KYO; she has been the Design Director for Laura Canada since 2017. Merulla spent 13 years with Reitmans Canada Ltd. working for the Reitmans, Penningtons and Addition-Elle divisions before joining the Télio Fashion Fabrics team in 2019, where she is currently Vice President of Sales and Merchandising.