When he reached the age of 22, Ungaro went to Paris. Three years after he was designing various items for a firm owned and operated by Cristobal Balenciaga. He worked there for 3 years. He quit work and transferred to Courrèges. Another four years passed and Ungaro found himself starting up his very own . The fashion house was located in Paris, and was made possible thanks to the help of artist Sonja Knapp of Sweden. When he reached the advanced age of 55, Ungaro married Laura Bernabei.

Ungaro started his very first menswear collection called Ungaro Uomo sometime in 1973. His first perfume was the Diva launched a decade later. He then followed it with other hot selling perfumes like Emanuel Ungaro For Men, Senso and Ungaro.

In 1968, Ungaro started his early prêt-a-porter collection called the Parallèle. He likewise opened a boutique in Paris. For the next 30 years, his Emanuel Ungaro House increased its product line, offering boutiques as well as global licensing deals.

Ungaro also forged a successful partnership with Salvatore Ferragamo. Together they created a new company responsible for successful brand of perfumes. In 2005, the Emanuel Ungaro brand was bought out by a Pakistani tycoon, Asim Abdullah.