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Revolutionary Fashion (1965–1975)

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Italian Fashion since 1945

Part of the book series: Italian and Italian American Studies ((IIAS))

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Abstract

The chapter tells the story of the “revolutionary decade” and its influence on culture and the production of fashion. Firstly, the new styles are analysed, through music and films, from Swinging London and the United States, linked to youth subcultures and their symbols (blue jeans, T-shirts). Then there is an analysis of the importance of colour in the youth revolution, both from a cultural and a productive point of view, and the “political uniforms” that the various youth groups wore as they faced each other on the streets in 1968 and in the following years. The chapter closes with an overview of the characteristics and data of the production of jeans, knitwear and “modern” garments, which grew enormously in Italy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Blow Up, directed by M. Antonioni, United Kingdom-United States-Italy 1966.

  2. 2.

    The literature about the London of the 1960s is vast; cf. for example regarding the subject of fashion C. Evans, “Post-war Poses: 1955–75”, in The London Look: Fashion from Street to Catwalk, eds. C. Breward, E. Ehrman, C. Evans, Yale University Press and Museum of London, London 2004, pp. 117–137.

  3. 3.

    Archivio storico Alinari, A group of beatniks sitting in front of a street door, Dufoto, Rome 1965, n. DAA-F-000567-0000; Ibid., Two girls sitting on the ground in front of a Fiat 500, Dufoto, Rome 1965, n. DAA-F-000569-0000; cf. also Archivio Luce, Caleidoscopio Ciac C1767, 31 August 1966 (Investigation about beatniks).

  4. 4.

    Cf. for example P. Bugialli, “Tempi duri per i ‘capelloni’ che bivaccano a Trinità dei Monti”, in Corriere della Sera, 6 November 1965; “Spedizione punitiva a Roma contro i ‘beatniks’ zazzeruti”, ivi, 6 November 1965; “Incursione di genitori disperati nel villaggio di ‘Nuova Barbonia’”, ivi, 24 May 1967.

  5. 5.

    See, for example, the photographs presented by L’Espresso on the portal dedicated to 1968: http://temi.repubblica.it/espresso-il68/category/foto/.

  6. 6.

    I.V., “Ecco le minigonne a spasso per Milano”, in Corriere della Sera, 28 May 1966.

  7. 7.

    Archivio storico Luce, Radar R0155, 25 October 1967; ivi, Tempi Nostri T1243, 1 May 1972.

  8. 8.

    Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-war Britain (1975), eds. S. Hall, T. Jefferson, Routledge, London and New York 2006, pp. 12–20, 46–55; S. Cohen, Moral Panics and Folk Devils: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers (1972), Routledge, London and New York 2002.

  9. 9.

    D. Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979), Routledge, London and New York 2002, pp. 46–59, 84–89.

  10. 10.

    D. Muggleton, Inside Subculture: The Postmodern Meaning of Style, Berg, Oxford 2000; T. Polhemus, Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, Thames & Hudson, London 1994. Cf. also The Men’s Fashion Reader, eds. P. McNeil, V. Karaminas, Berg, Oxford and New York 2009, pp. 347–404.

  11. 11.

    This theory was formulated by C. King, “Fashion Adoption: A Rebuttal to the ‘Trickle Down’ Theory”, in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. S. Greyser, American Marketing Association, Chicago 1963.

  12. 12.

    T. Polhemus, Streetstyle cit. (the author defines the phenomenon as bubble-up).

  13. 13.

    J. Miller, Fashion and Music, Berg, Oxford and New York 2011, pp. 11–49, 93–99.

  14. 14.

    E. Cerulli, Vestirsi spogliarsi travestirsi. Come quando perché, Sellerio, Palermo 1999, pp. 37–38, 61, 120–123.

  15. 15.

    L. Negrin, “The Self as Image”, in The Fashion History Reader: Global Perspectives, eds. G. Riello, P. McNeil, Routledge, London 2010, pp. 504–513; Miller, Fashion and Music cit., pp. 51–69.

  16. 16.

    Archivio storico Alinari, A homosexual walking through a street in Rome, Team, 1973, n. TEA-S-001075-0006. For a discussion about the oscillations between the extremes of effeminacy and machismo in gay cultures and styles cf. Edwards, Fashion in Focus cit., pp. 106–109.

  17. 17.

    The description of this wardrobe was also obtained thanks to the above-mentioned inquiry with questionnaires and interviews. Those of the author with G. Bertasso in 2015 were particularly useful for the wealth of information they provided. Regarding the case in question, cf. A. Bonanno’s interviews in 2014 of Raimondo B. born in 1932 and Concetta A. born in 1933; as well as the interviews conducted by G. Incalza in Rome in the summer of 2014.

  18. 18.

    The Wild One, director L. Benedek, USA, 1953; Rebel Without a Cause, director N. Ray, USA, 1955.

  19. 19.

    P. Pasolini, “Il ‘folle’ slogan dei jeans Jesus”, in Corriere della Sera, 17 May 1973. Cf. also G. Zincone, “In vendita anche Gesù”, ivi, 7 May 1973; “Il pretore moralista di Palermo: caccia a tutti i manifesti dei jeans blasfemi”, ivi, 11 May 1973.

  20. 20.

    C. Guagnoni, “Questa è la ragazza del mini-jeans che fanno scandalo”, in Corriere della Sera, 9 April 1974.

  21. 21.

    Crane, Fashion and Its Social Agendas cit., pp. 182–188; R. Arnold, American Look: Fashion and the Image of Women in 1930’s and 1940’s New York, I.B. Tauris, London and New York 2009.

  22. 22.

    Cf. The California Shop Records, 1938–1942, Archives Centre, National Museum of American History.

  23. 23.

    G. Votolato, American Design in the Twentieth Century: Personality and Performance, Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York 1998, pp. 237–248; W.R. Scott, “California Casual: Lifestyle, Marketing and Men’s Leisure Wear, 1930–1960”, in The Men’s Fashion Reader cit., pp. 153–167; Ibid., “Dressing Down: Modernism, Masculinity, and the Men’s Leisurewear Industry in California, 1930–1960”, Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley 2007.

  24. 24.

    U. Volli, Jeans, Lupetti, Milan 1991; Denim: una storia di cotone e di arte, ed. G. Rossi, Fashion System, Milan 2012; Global Denim, eds. D. Miller, S. Woodward, Berg, London and New York 2011.

  25. 25.

    See the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento, Vittoriano, Rome.

  26. 26.

    C. Taccani, I Love T-Shirt: Origine e storia di una maglietta in cotone a forma di T, Fashion Illustrated and Cotton USA, Milan 2014.

  27. 27.

    I. Calvino, The Nonexistent Knight (1959), in The Nonexistent Knight & The Cloven Viscount, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego 1962.

  28. 28.

    W. R. Scott, Dressing down cit., in particular pp. 11–16.

  29. 29.

    The fairy tales referred to are in C. Perrault, The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1696–1697), Gollancz, London 1977.

  30. 30.

    H.C. Andersen, The Red Shoes (1845), in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes, Nick Hern Books Limited, London 2017.

  31. 31.

    Portal of the newspaper L’Espresso on 1968 cit., Section “La contestazione (1968–1969)”, La Manifestazione, photograph of R. Gentile/ A3, Rome 1968.

  32. 32.

    For the historical and cultural aspects of colours see the works of M. Pastoureau, in particular I colori dei nostri ricordi (2010), Ponte alle Grazie, Milan 2011; Ibid., Blue: The History of a Color (2000), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2001; Ibid., Black: The History of a Color (2008), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2009; Ibid., Green: The History of a Color (2013), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2014; Ibid., Red: The History of a Color (2016), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2017. Cf. also M. Brusatin, Storia dei colori, Einaudi, Turin 1999.

  33. 33.

    Barthes, The Fashion System cit., pp. 148–149.

  34. 34.

    Online Catholic Bible, “Leviticus”, 19.

  35. 35.

    Lévi-Strauss, Tristes Tropiques cit., p. 89.

  36. 36.

    M. Pastoureau, The Devil’s Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabric (1991), Columbia University Press, New York 2001.

  37. 37.

    D. Cardon, Natural Dyes: Sources, Tradition, Technology and Science, Archetype, London 2007.

  38. 38.

    R.L. Blaszczyk, The Color Revolution, MIT Press, Cambridge 2012; Bright Modernity: Color, Commerce, and Consumer Culture, ed. R.L. Blaszczyk, U. Spiekermann, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham 2017; The Fashion Forecasters: A Hidden History of Color and Trend Prediction, eds. R.L. Blaszczyk, B. Wubs, Bloomsbury, London 2018.

  39. 39.

    F. Aftalion, A History of the International Chemical Industry: From the “Early Days” to 2000, Chemical Heritage Press, Philadelphia 2001; S. Califano, Storia della chimica, vol. 2, Dalla chimica fisica alle molecole della vita, Bollati Boringhieri, Turin 2011; Le fibre intelligenti cit., pp. 43–51.

  40. 40.

    Le fibre chimiche cit., pp. 9–15.

  41. 41.

    “Ricostruito il feroce pestaggio”, In Corriere della Sera, 17 December 1971; “Questa è la topografia della violenza politica”, ivi, 16 January 1973.

  42. 42.

    E.H. Kantorowicz, The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Mediaeval Political Theology (1957), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 1997; W. Parkins, “Introduction”, in Fashioning the Body Politics. Dress, Gender, Citizenship, ed. W. Parkins, Berg, Oxford and New York 2002, pp. 2–5, as well as various essays in this book.

  43. 43.

    M. Ridolfi, Italia a colori. Storia delle passioni politiche dalla caduta del fascismo ad oggi, Le Monnier, Florence 2015, pp. 141–159. Cf. also Ibid., La politica dei colori. Emozioni e passioni nella storia d’Italia dal Risorgimento al ventennio fascista, Le Monnier, Florence 2014.

  44. 44.

    “Quelli dello scontro in piazza”, in Corriere della Sera, 6 November 1973; “I picchiatori ‘neri’ di San Babila”, ivi, 16 April 1973; “La ‘Spoon River’ di Milano”, ivi, 30 July 1988. Cf. also A. Bravo, A colpi di cuore. Storie del Sessantotto, Laterza, Rome and Bari 2008.

  45. 45.

    N. Aspesi, Nel paese delle meraviglie, preface by G. Malossi, “Liberi tutti: 20 anni di moda spettacolo”, Actabook, Milan 2007 (first published as an article in the magazine L’Espresso).

  46. 46.

    Archivio Elio Fiorucci (company archives). Cf. in particular the press reviews which document its activities from 1967 until the sale to the Edwin Company in 1990, and then with the Love Therapy brand.

  47. 47.

    Ente italiano della moda, Il mercato dell’abbigliamento ed il guardaroba della popolazione adulta italiana, Turin 1976, tables 27–40. Cf. also Pinchera, La moda in Italia e in Toscana cit., pp. 219–225.

  48. 48.

    D. Giochetti, “Tre riviste per i ‘ragazzi tristi’ degli anni sessanta”, Impegno, XII, 2 December 2002.

  49. 49.

    Denim cit., pp. 54–69.

  50. 50.

    Ente italiano della moda, L’abbigliamento informale-sportswear. Caratteristiche e dinamica di un nuovo mercato, Turin 1978, pp. 37, 40, 46.

  51. 51.

    Associazione italiana industriali dell’abbigliamento, Abbigliamento ’79, Milan 1980, p. 111.

  52. 52.

    Ente italiano della moda, L’abbigliamento informale-sportswear cit., pp. 37, 40.

  53. 53.

    C.M. Belfanti, Calze e maglie. Moda e innovazione nell’industria della maglieria dal Rinascimento a oggi, Tre Lune, Mantova 2005, pp. 34–47.

  54. 54.

    N. White, Reconstructing Italian Fashion: America and the Development of the Italian Fashion Industry, Berg, Oxford 2000; Merlo, Moda italiana cit., pp. 76–83.

  55. 55.

    Belfanti, Calze e maglie cit., pp. 133–142; E. Benenati, La scelta del paternalismo. Un’azienda dell’abbigliamento tra fascismo e anni ’50, Rosenberg & Sellier, Turin 1994, pp. 78–85.

  56. 56.

    Belfanti, Calze e maglie cit., pp. 142–150; G. Favero, Benetton: I colori del successo, Egea, Milan 2005; Maglifico! Sublime Italian Knitscape, ed. F. Poletti, Silvana, Milan 2016; regarding historic advertising in this sector cf. Messaggi… di maglia. Mostra storica dei manifesti pubblicitari dal 1923 a oggi, Piemme, Milan 1986.

  57. 57.

    R.L. Blaszczyk, “Styling Synthetics: DuPont’s Marketing of Fabrics and Fashions in Postwar America”, The Business History Review, 80, 3, 2006, pp. 506–514. Cf. also Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture, and Consumers, ed. R.L. Blaszczyk, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2008.

  58. 58.

    Hagley Museum and Library, DuPont Textile Product Information collection 84.259, box 67, sf. Italy—February 1961, communiqué n. 59 with the three relevant photographs, Geneva, 20 February 1961.

  59. 59.

    Ivi, box 67, sf. Italy—February 1961, Information on Italian pictures, 6 February 1961. In the same file there are the photographs and the relevant communiqués referred to.

  60. 60.

    Ibid.

  61. 61.

    Ibid.

  62. 62.

    Ivi, box 9, Italian designers favour “Orlon” for knitwear, New York, 13 February 1962.

  63. 63.

    Ivi, box 9, series of photographs with accompanying descriptive text of February 1962. The text of Brioni’s creation and other photographs of the collections themselves can be found ivi, box 18.

  64. 64.

    Ivi, box 6, Note to the Editor, 1 August 1963; series of photographs with accompanying descriptive text of August 1963.

  65. 65.

    Ivi, box 17 and box 13, Note to the Editor, 6 February 1964; photographs with descriptive text dated February 1964.

  66. 66.

    Ivi, box 15, Note to the Editor, 5 February 1965; photographs with descriptive text dated February 1965. Cf. also box 14 for the autumn-winter collection.

  67. 67.

    Ivi, box 36.

  68. 68.

    Ivi, box 35, Note to the Editor, 5 February 1969; photographs with descriptive text dated 1969.

  69. 69.

    Ivi, box 52.

  70. 70.

    Istat, Annuario statistico italiano 1956 cit., pp. 300–305; Id., Annuario statistico italiano 1960 , Rome 1963, pp. 287–292; Id., Annuario statistico italiano 1971, Rome 1972, pp. 240–246.

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    Emanuela Scarpellini

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Scarpellini, E. (2019). Revolutionary Fashion (1965–1975). In: Italian Fashion since 1945. Italian and Italian American Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17812-3_4

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