1 What do you think of when you hear “Italian fashion” What comes to mind? We all are familiar with large brand names and famous designers who come from Italy, but how many of us are aware of their history? Before beginning this project, I was blissfully unaware of the rich history Italian fashion had and how much of it shaped Italy’s national identity. Studying abroad in Rome last spring, I lived in a neighborhood whose main street is one of the main shopping centers in Rome. Walking by high end fashion boutiques and expensive department stores everyday peaked my interest into the world of fashion and specifically, how Italian fashion came to dominate the industry. Doing more research and exploring this topic for my senior capstone, I saw just how important Italian fashion is and was to the Italian people. After World War II, Italian fashion bloomed into a booming industry with the help of some key players and good timing.
2 So lets look at Italy after World War II. with Italy’s dire financial situation, the only way they could begin to rebuild after the war was to accept help from the United States. In the era that followed the end of World War II, Italy seized many opportunities that led them to achieve a status of world domination in one particular avenue, Fashion. Notable as well is Paris’ decline after the War. France was also left in economic peril and was unable to produce the kind of high end fashion it had been before the war. Remember this as we witness Italy’s rise in the Fashion world.
3 Italy seizes the opportunity to establish a new national identity in the wake of World War II. They look to Fashion, an avenue they had been good at in the past, but saw potential. At the time, designers would not have been able to put up enough money to produce clothing at a rapid speed. They also would not have been able to publicize their work to a large number of people without quality publication outlets and financial assistance. The United States supported a new “system of production” through supplying progressive manufacturing methods and providing an international market that Italy could rely on for increased popularity and demand. New production methods allowed Italian designers to produce clothes at a faster rate and enhanced their markets on an international level. In the end, this could not have been achieved without the help of the United States and with their influence in “the development of an authentic Italian style and modern fashion system.” Thus, Italian fashion began to boom.
4 Well off men and women in post-World War I Italy looked to Paris for inspiration and fashion. The alternative was an extensive network of Italian court and private dressmakers. Italian designers, whether private or not, took much inspiration from Paris and would copy or “translate” popular Parisian techniques and styles.
The only way Italians could use the original design would be at great financial cost. Before World War II, reduction of the dependence of Italian designers on Parisian style was an integral part of the fascist pursuit of “self-sufficiency” between 1923- 1943. There was also a determined government effort to establish “La Linea Italiana” or Italian Style based on regional dress and design. The Ente Nazionale della Moda Italiana (National Fashion Office) was established in order to consolidate top designers and dressmakers to try and achieve the goal of a unified Italian style. All designers at the time were encourage to make twenty-five percent of their production of original designs which bore a specific trademark which said “Ideazione e produzione Nazionale” or in English, “Conceived and Made in Italy.” Designers received financial support from the government as long as they maintained their originality and promoted the message of the importance of Italian novelty in the new “Italian Style.”
5 In Fascist Italy, this was used as a tool to further Mussolini’s mission of a unified empire. Fashion that was Italian could be used as propaganda
5 After the war, fashion production improved and expanded. Americans began to see Italian fashion as “aristocratic” and “full of imagination.” The Italian stereotype of glamour became appealing and inviting to foreigners. Italian fashion also began to create a “souvenir effect” as it became more popular in the United States.
Stephen Gundle notes the rise in Italian fashion in the United States through his article “Hollywood Glamour and Mass Consumption in Postwar Italy” where he points out that as Italians began to shift towards consumerism, they were following closely the American example. The “imagination” of Italian style led a lot to the idea of Italian “glamour.” He notes that glamour itself was invented by Hollywood but slowly arrived in Italy through film, magazines, and news reel footage. Movies like “Roman holiday” and “Rome Wedding” helped to further this idea of glamour in Italy and how it could be achieved by those in other places.
Italian designers used the idea of Italy’s inherent glamour as a benefit to them. With a limited amount of their own money and the United States helping substantially, Italians strove to find every outlet they could to publicize their work and promote the idea of “glamour.” The growing idea of glamour in fashion and in Hollywood led to a greater demand for fashion in the United States and across Italy itself.
6 None of this new interest and demand would have been possible without the brilliant idea of one man, Giovan Battista Giorgini who is usually credited with the commercial invention of Italian fashion. He had the idea to host a fashion show on February 12th, 1951 at his residence at the Villa Torrigianni in Florence. As a businessman, Giorgini had considerable experience in selecting Italian-made products for American department stores. He used this experience and began to think of creative ways to get American buyers to want to display Italian designs in their stores.
By throwing the first Italian fashion show, he decided he was going to showcase the original designs of a few Italian designers and firms. Among those featured were Maria Antonelli, Carosa, Alberto Fabiani, the Fontana Sisters, Emilio Schuberth, Contessa Simonetta Visconti, Emilio Pucci, Avolio, Bertoli, and many more. In total, 180 designs were shown.
Representatives from eight American department stores and one American journalist attended the show and the trade publication Women’s Wear Daily published a front- page article entitled “Italian Styles Gain Approval of U.S. Buyers” sparking interest in Italian fashion and the new industry developing. Word traveled fast of the new Italian fashion industry and at his next event in July of the same year, more than two
7 hundred American buyers and journalists showed up to the event along with another four hundred from Italy and other European countries. A gala followed the fashion show where distinguished guests were encouraged to try on and wear some of the creations featured in the show. This set of shows sparked an international interest in Italian fashion and the beginning of a new era for Italian designers and consumers all over the world.
7 Following the success of the Giorgini shows, demand for Italian clothing grew exponentially. This need sparked the movement in Italian fashion of the “pret-a- porter” or “ready-to-wear” clothing. Ready-to-wear, or prêt-à-porter, is the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure clothing tailored to a person’s frame. In today’s terms, it would be clothing you could pull off the rack at any store and wear comfortably to multiple occasions.
This trend became very popular after the end of World War II because of its affordability and its functionality to fill multiple needs. High-end, expensive, designer clothing was no longer the style. Italian designers needed to make clothing that could be worn every day and that could be shipped out quickly and uniformly in order to stay relevant and to make money. The mass-production of women’s ready-to-wear clothing in the United States formed a key model for the development of the Italian fashion industry during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
8 Many designers took advantage of the pret-a-porter Began designing clothes in the 1920s, but only became popular in the latter part of the 20th century. The 1950s saw her creation of graphic pleated dresses, her most famous design theme. The New York Times described the collection as “decidedly focused on the modern world rather than the past.” She also became famous for her sunglasses as well as her oversized earrings. These designs were widely popular and attainable. Since she had been around for many years by the time the “pret-a-porter” began to catch on in Italy, she was able monopolize some aspects of the new market and infiltrate the American and European demand for the world’s new favorite fashion trend.
9 The Fontana sisters were also champions of the Italian fashion industry in post-World War II Italy. Opening their first atelier in 1943, Zoe, Micol and Giovanna Fontana brought elegance and class to a world broken by war and despair. They designed elegant dresses, most notably a wedding dress for Linda Christian for her marriage with Tyrone Power. In 1958, the Fontana sisters were even called to represent the Italian style in a conference at the White House. They also designed dresses for film, increasing their popularity, and developed a long-lasting partnership with Ava Gardner while designing many of the outfits she wore in her films.
10 Roberto Capucci, along with the Fontana Sisters, was a featured designer at Giovan Battista Giorgini’s fashion show in 1951. He is credited with creating the “box line.” This would turn out to be his most famous work and it helped start a new trend in not just Italian fashion, but fashion across the world. He created a “stylistic revolution” by introducing and including shapes and lines into his designs as well as embellishing his looks to create more volume.
11 Veneziani’s innovative designs rapidly became known regionally and internationally. Veneziani was particularly adept at capturing the spirit of the times in her designs, and was named among the ’Greats of Italy’ along with Emilio Pucci and Sorelle Fontana. The Jole Veneziani collection is distinguished for its sumptuous, elegant forms, rich and generous creativity, and modern style. Veneziani had the rare talent of being able to anticipate the direction of fashion of the following decades, and was at the cusp of fashion with innovative designs. She was a pioneer in using fur as a fabric to create luxurious details, for using unexpected combinations of materials and colors, and for using avant-garde silhouettes as inspiration and design leadership. Through all of this, she was able to design clothing that was desirable across the globe. Her innovative designs kept her relevant and in demand. Her legacy is of one of female entrepreneurship and of her unmistakable contributions to the development and success of Italian fashion throughout her lifetime.
12 Probably the most notable of Italian “pret-a-porter” fashion designers is Emilio Pucci. Pucci has been called the “prince of prints” and is known for his “postwar jet set glamour.” As an avid skier, he desired to make clothing that was comfortable and practical while also being stylish and modern. He designed a revolutionary ski outfit that led to the design we commonly see on the mountain today His love of the outdoors inspired him to open a boutique on the island of Capri. This led him to design the first ever “Capri Pant.” Island visitors and residents loved the idea of the ready-to-wear clothing he was producing and praised the stretchy fabrics and free moving patterns. Later, his designs were prized by world-renown female icons, including Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Jackie Kennedy and Gloria Guinness as well as Madonna and Nicole Kidman. Pucci became an instant hit with American retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman. The effortless, elegant clothing, which took women from day to evening and from jets to seaside cocktail parties, perfectly captured America’s new sportswear sensibility and complemented the glamour of the high-rolling, jet set crowd.
13 Between all of these designers, they set the stage for decades of prosperity. After the war, Italy became an even more desirable tourist spot. The intrigue of antiquity and classicism mixed with the new industrialization and modern production brought a new interest in the country.
Milan became the fashion capital of Italy and remains one of the largest fashion hotspots in the world. Milan became a destination for specialized resources. It was industrial and had a diversified economy. It had enough distance from Rome to separate itself from the papacy which allowed for it to become defined by the fashion industry. Milan provided an escape from all of the tourism, papacy, and monuments of Rome and yet maintained elegance, wealth, and a new economy that the fashion industry would need in order to survive and thrive in Italy. Florence, on the other hand, monopolized the accessory market and production due to their large influx of leather.
US Vogue played a large role in the popularization of Italian fashion abroad. In 1947, Marya Mannes commented in her article for Vogue that Italian clothing styles were “as extroverted as the people wearing them.” This comment on both Italian clothing and Italian people illustrates the newfound fascination with the new “Italian style.” In
14 another article titled "Fashion: Italy: A Natural for America: The Young Look that's in 1955 Italian Fashion," the author syas that fashion can serve as an “autobiography.” It is reflective of time and space and highlights regional accomplishments and identity. Italians, as very territorial people, took this as a compliment.
American Vogue also reported on specific trends that Italians were designing and enhancing. Reporters noticed the large variety of styles like turtlenecks and low cut neck lines as well as specific styles like the “black pouf dress,” a jar collard coat, a “fitted and full suit,” the introduction of a white suit, and the “flared costume.” The reporting on these trends began an influx of interest into the new designs and clothing Italy was pioneering.
14 Establishing a national Identity is no easy task. However, Italy managed to redefine themselves after a devastating loss as a prosperous and independent fashion empire. They used their influence on their own fashion as well as international publications to propel themselves forward. They focused on Italian designers and creativity to make themselves known and to break free from other countries’ ideas and control.
In an article titled "Fashion: Italy: A Natural for America: The Young Look that's in 1955 Italian Fashion," the author takes note that fashion can serve as an “autobiography.” It is reflective of time and space and highlights regional accomplishments and identity. Identity can be defined through many things, especially for a nation as large and as territorial as Italy. By having fashion be united through large cities and large design houses, Italy was able to foster an idea of success over an idea of loss and heartbreak after two World War losses.
15 Today, the Italian fashion industry plays a key role in the Italian economy as well as the image of Italy aboard. In 2019, the Italian fashion industry amounted to $4,541 million American dollars in profits. Revenue on this market is expected to show an annual growth rate of 11.2% resulting in a market volume of $6,938 million American dollars by 2023. The market’s largest segment of revenue is in apparel with a market volume of $2,544 million American dollars. You don’t have to be an economics major to understand that Italian fashion is a million dollar industry and is continuing to grow year after year.
Interest in Italian fashion designers is also on the rise. More than 5.5 million people have watched the television show “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” and since the shows first airing in 2018, Versace revenue has increased.
Italian fashion today relies heavily on technology and social media. Brands have learned to construct their image by utilizing all available channels, from YouTube to collaborations with “influencers” on Instagram, which have both become increasingly sophisticated. It is no longer a question of giving the right bag to the right personality and waiting for the photo to appear in the press, but, brands must know how to exploit the potential of the communication and media outlets.
16 In conclusion, Italian fashion has brought a new national identity to Italy. Contemporary Italian clothing and design would not have been possible without the new fashion markets, unification of Italian design, and international influence that led it to define a new national identity for a country recovering from a world war
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