Cover, Mario Lupano and Alessandra Vaccari (edited by), Fashion at the Time of Fascism: Italian Modernist Lifestyle, 1922-1944, Bologna: Damiani, 2009.
On the 21st of September, guest speaker Dr Gabriele Monti gave a lecture on fashion under the fascist regime of Italy. While fashion in Italy today is not associated with the fascist regime of the pass, in his lecture for our Fashion Key Systems class, Professor Monti took us through both the history and the methods of historicization that Italy went through under the regime and the reshaping of it thereafter.
Through copious amounts of archival research documented in the book Fashion In The Time of Fascism, Professor Monti shows us not only the practical application of the fascist regime on fashion but also the discourse that it created through media (magazines, photography) and how that was utilized in the aforementioned book. Although when saying European fashion a lot of people think towards Paris’ illustrious couture creations, Italy was much more industrial and focused on craft. It’s interesting to consider how in attempt to expunge French influence, the high quality ready to wear industry is born.
Professor Monti also illustrated how rich the close relationship of fashion and politics in Italy is, from the changing of capitals to the different institutions created to fulfill the political mission to make fashion in Italy a system. While he stresses how Italy is considerably a young nation with a young identity, he gives us multiple examples of how fashion is relevant in shaping the culture and national self esteem.
This lecture by Professor Monti was just a glimpse to how one can consider fashion in the terms of history and politics and not only in a Parisian or American context. It is then important to note that while we can look at Italian fashion, or any fashion, for it’s aesthetic value, there is always an underlying narrative to be discovered and discussed.
________________
Text: Tala AlGhamdi
Image: Cover of the Book, Fashion at the Time of Fascism: Italian Modernist Lifestyle, 1922-1944
Postproduction: Tala AlGhamdi
