History of Italian Fashion Houses

1951 can be called the official birth year of Italian haute couture (viola) fashion. In the days of fascism, Italian fashion designers initially followed the traditions of French fashion, copying the models of French designers. The leading fashion designers at that time were Biki, Fircioni, Karacheni. However, in 1935, the Italian Society of Fashion Designers was created, which decides to use only its Italian models and materials in fashion production. After the end of World War II, Giovanni Battista Giorgini began working with one of the American department stores. What was his job? He bought the finest clothes from Italian fashion designers for sale in a department store. In order to make his work easier, he decided to arrange a fashion show in his villa from the best Italian designers of that time. The fashion show hosted by Giorgini was a resounding success that resonated far beyond Florence, where the event first took place in 1951. Models of Italian craftsmen demonstrated excellent tailoring skills. Among them, it is worth noting Angelo Litrico, Carlo Palazzi, Nino Cerutti and many others, whose names were immediately recognized throughout Italy. And then, thanks to the Cinechita film studio, the capital of Italy, Rome, became famous. Movie stars from all over the world began to dress with Italian couturiers.

Angelo Litrico and Nino Cerutti

Jackets Angelo Litrico

Already in the 70s, Missoni, Ken Scott and Krizia decided to organize mass production of clothing in northern Italy, since the factories were mainly in this area. Consequently, it was decided to hold the fashion shows in Milan now. The northern capital of Italy, which now hosts a fashion show by the best designers twice a year, has become a trendsetter. But this is very short, and in fact it took Italian fashion a long way to earn the title of haute couture ...

Angela Missoni, Rosita Missoni, Margherita Missoni

In Italy after the First World War, women, as indeed in all countries, began to demand the right to participate in all spheres of life, including politics. They felt independent, able to build their own lives. Many of them managed the family budget. There was a growing demand for women's products, and post-war advertising was targeted specifically at women. And hence the number of women's magazines increased.
The magazine Lidel, founded in 1919, was of particular interest to Italian women. It was this magazine that decided to use fashion as a means of developing the aesthetic, cultural and political unity of Italians. These were the first attempts to create Italian fashion, to evoke a sense of pride in their country. In France, there was a Syndicate of Haute Couture for a long time, which coordinated the activities of not only fashion designers and tailors, but also many branches of light industry. Fashion, art, and the French economy were all one thing, while Italy had several diverse regional traditions, as well as rival cultural centers.

One of the most active founders of Lidel magazine was Rosa Genoni and Lydia Dozio De Liguoro. Genoni considered fashion an important tool in shaping national culture. Her main idea was that the world of fashion is unthinkable without a national economy. The magazine's leaders understood that government support was needed to coordinate the fashion industry. The project was promising, but many provinces continued to compete not only with Rome, but also among themselves, so the unity that the creators of the magazine spoke about, unfortunately, did not exist. The founder of the magazine, Lydia Dozio De Liguoro, supported Rosa Genoni in this regard. She also believed that it was necessary to create a special government institution, which would not only normalize the process of manufacturing clothes, but also stabilize the situation in light industry (on the eve of a strike of textile workers in Italy). The relationship between the cities continued to be in an atmosphere of rivalry, even in which city would be the "headquarters" of Italian fashion. And this, of course, held back and hampered the entire conceived project of the founders of the magazine. Both women were political activists, only with different ideologies. De Liguoro supported the fascist regime in Italy in 1922 and continued to fight to strengthen Italian industry. She proposed all sorts of measures that would bring Italian fashion, at least to the European level. The magazine focused on the fact that Italian fabrics are bought by France at ridiculous prices, and returned to Italy in ready-made clothes at prices ten times higher than the prices for fabrics.
Italian fascism, which came to power, built its policy on fashion in accordance with the proposals of Genoni, De Liguoro and Albanese, who was one of the main figures in the government organization for the coordination of the activities of light industry. Albanese described the plans and objectives of the organization that would later become the National Fashion Organization. But this is afterwards. And at that moment the new organization could not develop. ... .. The construction of a "new Italy", the creation of a "new Italian" was actively discussed in society, therefore, it was supposed to change not only society, but also people themselves with the help of fashion.

In 1927, an exhibition was held in Como, which showed silks. The exhibition was attended by the famous French couturier Paul Poiret. A few months later, a fashion show was held in Venice, at which not only French models, but also Italian ones, performed for the first time. As a result of the exhibition in Como, the "National Silk Organization" was created, and for the first time they saw original and sophisticated Italian clothes in a fashion show. However, competition between cities, especially between Rome, Milan and Turin, continued. Each city had its own famous and worthy craftsmen. But Milan began to occupy a leading position thanks to the active work of Montano, the owner of the Ventura atelier, who put a lot of effort into organizing the exhibition in Como.

In 1932, the Women's Academy was established, which mainly graduated female teachers. And on its basis, national fashion shows were organized, and then there was a transformation into the "National Fashion Organization". Sports, cinema and fashion were controlled by the new fascist regime in order to reinforce a sense of discipline among the people. Films became a source of inspiration for many tailors, who, without the opportunity to flip through a fashion magazine, could draw ideas from films. Sports in Italy also received a lot of attention, which influenced women's fashion as well. The tasks of the "Organization of National Fashion" included not only the creation of a "new Italian style", but also the creation of exports abroad. But still, there was some inner feeling of the superiority of French fashion. And many at that time famous fashion houses of Italy "Ventura", "Sorelle Gori", "Palmer", "Testa" tried to copy French fashion designers so as not to lose rich clients. For example, Margarita Sarfatti, a well-known writer at the time, who was a friend and biographer of Mussolini, bought outfits only from French couturiers. Her evening dresses were an overwhelming success, and they were created by Elsa Schiaparelli. The habit of high society in Italy to dress in Paris remained.