MILAN – The ex-wife and convicted murderer of Maurizio Gucci, Patrizia Reggiani, has designed a range of handbags for Bozart one year after her release from prison.

 Having served 17 years of a 26-year sentence, the former socialite has returned to the fashion world with the line, but harbours further aspirations of returning to the family fold by working for Gucci. Reggiani was convicted in 1998 for ordering the murder of her former husband Maurizio, who was assassinated in 1995.

 Reggiani has always maintained her innocence and her daughters appealed for her sentence to be reduced, claiming that at the time of the murder their mother was suffering from an altered personality due to surgery she underwent for a brain tumour in the early 1990s. The couple had separated in 1985 when Gucci left her for another woman, and divorced formally in 1991.

 Speaking to Vogue, Reggiani revealed her plans, “I dream of returning to Gucci,” she said, “I have the qualifications - for years I went shopping around the world.”

 For the final years of her sentence, the “black widow” enjoyed day release privileges, during which time she worked at a jewellery shop in Milan. Initially, however, Reggiani refused these privileges, saying at a hearing in 2011, “I’ve never worked a day in my life; I’m certainly not going to start now.”

 Her line with Bozart launches today, coinciding with Gucci’s latest show.