Italiana. Italy Through the Lens of Fashion 1971-2001

The myth of Made in Italy depicted in its symbolic home, Milan. More than 100 outfits, plus objects of art and design, magazines and historic fashion photography, offer a view of 30 years of frenetic activity and success: from 1971, when Italian prêt-à-porter inaugurated its triumphant season in world fashion, to 2001, in which the attacks on the Twin Towers marked a radical change in the already globalised markets. In the middle, the “democratic luxury” of the ‘80s and the rise of the modern priests of the cult of style like Armani, Krizia, Versace, Fendi, Biagiotti, but also the saga of the top models of the ‘90s, the ultra-paid queens of a star system the likes of which had never been seen before. If fashion is the self-portrait of a society, Italy changes and it is evident: it changes look, lifestyle, desires. The image of the Bel Paese also changes abroad: while in ’73, the German weekly Der Spiegelhad a cover with a P38 pistol photographed on a plate of spaghetti, in the following decade it was Italy’s stylists and their work that grabbed world attention. After Bellissima. L’Italia dell’Alta Moda 1945-1968, curators Maria Luisa Frisa and Stefano Tonchi have dedicated their new project to the 60 years of the Camera della Moda Italiana (the Italian Chamber of Fashion): an opportunity to think about the past, while looking towards the future.

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