1952, "Sala Bianca" Palazzo Pitti, Florence

to the days of “La Dolce Vita” and “Roman Holidays” when Rome and Cinecittà lived their golden years and sleek, glamorous and rich where the only adjectives one could use to describe Italian style. Following are the golden years of fashion houses such as Versace, Gucci, Prada, Armani, Ferrè, Missoni and Dolce & Gabbana; all pioneers of what would become - and still to this day is- the “Made in Italy”. The exhibition ends with a look to the present of Italian fashion with works from designers like Giambattista Valli, Fausto Puglisi and Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. A huge exhibition, the biggest ever dedicated to Italian fashion, but for some reason there is something slightly bittersweet about seeing such talent and hard work displayed in a country that’s not the one where all these creations were born.

Exhibition

Furthermore, while admiring the glory of the past one cannot help but think of the rather dull present condition of Italian fashion where all there seems to be are these ever-present masters of fashion who should pass the torch to a group of new, up-and-coming designers that seem to be nowhere to be found. Let’s all hope that while walking by the greatest pieces of our fashion history we can all keep in mind what Mrs. Stanfill said about the exhibition: “This isn’t just a celebratory show. Of course, there are beautiful clothes displayed throughout the exhibition, but we wanted to look at Italy and its own fashion future. It’s important to play their history forward”.