‘Italiana. L’Italia vista dalla moda 1971-2001‘ (Italian. Italy seen through fashion 1971-2001) is the title of the exposition curated by Maria Luisa Frisa and Stefano Tonchi that will be inaugurated during Milan Fashion Week on February 22 and that until May 6 will be on show at Palazzo Reale in Milan.
‘Italiana’ – which will also become a book published by Marsilio -, traces thirty fundamental years of the history of Italian fashion and of the affirmation of the Made in Italy by illustrating the cultural, political and artistic mixtures that influenced, and have been influenced by, the styles, objects, atmospheres and characters of the time. The project is part of a wider program promoted by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI – National Chamber for Italian Fashion) to re-establish the importance and peculiarity of the Italian fashion in the international fashion system by reconstructing its founding moments and key developments while opening up to a wider public.
The exhibition does not follow a chronological order, but thematic one divide in nine sections that form the explorative path: ‘Identità’, ‘Democrazia’, ‘In forma di logo’, ‘Diorama’, ‘Project Room’, ‘Bazar’, ‘Postproduzione’, ‘Glocal’, ‘L’Italia degli oggeti’. Exploration that involves creative fields such as design – with iconic objects -, photography – with images by Oliviero Toscani, Paolo Roversi, and Alfa Castaldi -, art – with the works of Michelangelo Pistoletto, Maurizio Cattelan, Francesco Vezzoli, and Alighiero Boetti -, and, obviously fashion – with many brands including Alberta Ferretti, Antonio Marras, Benetton, Bottega Veneta, Diesel, Etro, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Ferragamo, Fila, Fiorucci, Giorgio Armani, Max Mara, Missoni, Prada, and Valentino.
‘Italiana’ represent, indeed, a unique opportunity both to see archival pieces from the most famous Italian fashion houses and to reconstruct an important piece of the country social and cultural identity.
Ilona Catani Scarlett