50 YEARS OF ITALIAN STYLE

After being staged in the most prestigious museums around the world, the exhibition dedicated to the best names in Italian fashion has now landed at the splendid Villa Genovese Zerbi in Reggio Calabria, open from July the 12th till August the 31st.

The wonderful show Cinquant’anni di moda italiana (Fifty years of Italian fashion) tells the story of the main protagonists who made Italian fashion famous over the years, beginning with the birth of glorious high fashion in 1950 up to the present day. On display on artistic manikins by Bonaveri are representative creations by each Italian famous designer. This captivating journey through fashion history includes the biggest names in High Fashion and prêt-a-porter, with creations closely linked to the movie industry, such as the cassock dress created by the Fontana sisters for actress Ava Gardner and then worn by Anita Ekberg in the movie “La dolce vita” (Federico Fellini- 1960), not to mention the famous pajama-palazzo created by Galitzine and worn by Claudia Cardinale in “The Pink Panther” (1963), or the legendary Empire style dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in “War and Peace”(1956), entirely created by the Italian designer Gai Mattiolo who obtained a nomination for the Oscar for the costumes used in the film.

Of course, male high fashion is also on display, such as the tuxedo created by Litrico and worn by Rossano Brazzi (1958) and the one designed by Brioni for the invincible  007-James Bond, alias Pierce Brosnan, for the movie “Die Another Day” (2002). The personality of each desiger is instantly recognizable trough their creations, such us the typical masculine cut of Giorgio Armani’s “Regimental” woman’s dinner jacket, embroidered in blue and gold (1991), as well as Gattinoni’s  bottle -shaped” dress with jaïs and paillettes (1991), or Versace’s unmistakable glamorous style in the dress made of “Jungle effect” printed silk jersey (2000), the rich embroidery and hand-painting of Gai Mattiolo (in the picture, a model worn by Carla Bruni).Furthermore, various accessories linked to celebrities: the first round-shaped evening bag created for Jacqueline Kennedy (1975) by Helietta Caracciolo, the necklace worn by Nancy Reagan and the earrings created for Hillary Clinton, Roberta di Camerino’s “Bagonghi” handbag, one of Grace Kelly’s favourites (1959), the sandals worn by Madonna in “Evita” – exact copies of those made by Salvatore Ferragamo for Evita Peròn, as well as the Audrey Hepburn style “ballerina” shoes from “Roman Holiday”.