The Who's Who in Italian Fashion: Part I

The Who’s Who of the Italian Fashion: Part I

•  February 12, 1951: The official birthdate of the Italian Look.

• Italian high fashion was invented by the efforts of Giovan Battista Giorgini.

• He was an insightful businessman who organized the export of Italian products during WWII.

• He was convinced of the talent of Italian workers and the quality of Italian craftsmanship. 

• He even went so far as to bring back American products to Italy to see if there were ways in which they could improve their technique, including dolls and shoe molds.

• He was the first to suggest to the major houses in Italy to create a look completely different from those of the French fashion houses.

•  He convinced 10 high fashion names and 4 boutiques to put on a show in his home in Florence for American buyers and journalists.

• The show was such a success that he had to transfer venues to the Grand Hotel for the next season’s showing in July of 1951. 

•  In 1953, he had to change venues again because of size, obtaining the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace, and introduced the T-shaped catwalk. 

•  In 1954, the Florence Chamber of Commerce and the Tourist Board established the Florence Center for Italian Fashion.

• By 1959, tensions began to emerge as certain houses decided to show their collections outside of Florence, such as Paris and Rome.

• By 1966, all of the major fashion houses had decided to show in Rome instead of Florence.

• The Roman Era of fashion fell into decline because of the overly rich fashions of haute couture, and Florence and Rome came to an agreement in scheduling of fashion shows that ended the feud between the two.

• By the early 1970s, however, Florence came into conflict with another city: Milan.  And my 1974, there had been many major defections to Milan.

• Milan became as famous, and maybe even more so, than Paris for its ready-to-wear, high Italian fashion.

• Milan and Florence finally found a compatible compromise: Milan was to showcase the new and exciting fashions, and Florence became the marketplace of the fashion boutiques.