Studies in Design and Material Culture Becoming Couture

Becoming couture explains how post-war Italian fashion reinvented itself through the persuasive strategies of intermediaries in Italy and the United States, beyond the myth of Giovanni Battista Giorgini and the Sala Bianca. Italy is synonymous with fashion. Fashion is one of the country’s leading exports, and Italian brands are recognised and coveted across the world. But this was not always the case.Traditional accounts of the ascent of Italian fashion begin in 1951, when Giovanni Battista Giorgini hosted the first Italian High Fashion Show at his home in Florence. Becoming couture offers a compelling counter-narrative. Tracing continuities between the Fascist period and the First Republic, the book reveals the links between the private companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations that worked to promote the international launch of Italian fashion. It also examines the impact of the Second World War on fashion intermediaries, showing that the experience gained from 'silent' assignments during the conflict improved their performance in peacetime.Identifying the years 1944 to 1953 as the decisive period for the strengthening of the Italian fashion offer, Becoming couture sheds light on the challenges of reconstructing Italy, both physically and in terms of image. At the same time, it tells the story of a creative industry finally achieving recognition in the international market. Becoming couture is the first book to examine the history of the Italian fashion industry during the global transition brought about by the Second World War. It draws on a wide range of primary sources, some of them newly unearthed, to demonstrate that the Italian fashion industry in the Republican era continued to rely on business practices and professionals established during Fascism. Analysing changes in promotional discourses and press coverage, the book traces the shift that occurred when manufacturers were encouraged to expand their exports of accessories to include sportswear, knitwear and moda boutique. This ultimately led to the legitimisation of Italian dressmaking as creatively independent of French influences and therefore worthy of the label ‘couture’.