How to Shop and Dress like Mrs. Consumer: Rebuilding La Rinascente the American Way

Harris, Jessica L.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-47825-4_3

Jessica L. Harris³

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

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Abstract

Harris examines the presence of American retail models in the postwar reconstruction and modernization of the Italian department store, La Rinascente. Focusing in particular on the rebuilding of the flagship store located in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, the chapter demonstrates how and analyzes why “America” came to be embedded in the newly rebuilt Milan store’s interior and exterior designs, its service method, and in the products sold to its female clientele. As a result, these women were taught how to comprare all’americana (to shop and buy the American way). However, La Rinascente’s executives did not reproduce a facsimile of the American department store. Instead, they adapted its most attractive, pleasing, and innovative aspects to fit the Italian context thereby maintaining some italianità (Italianness).

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Notes

1.
Bombardamento di Milano. Milano dopo gli ultimi bombardamenti, Giornale Luce C0372/6, 01/09/1943, accessed September 20, 2015, http://www.archivioluce.com/archivio/
2.
Miller (1981, 183).
3.
Ibid., 183.
4.
According to Elisabetta Merlo and Francesca Polese, La Rinascente’s contracts with American ready-to-wear designers Rosenfeld and Donnybrook to produce and sell their creations in Italy was a key factor in contributing to the rise of Milan as an international fashion capital in the 1970s. Elisabetta Merlo and Francesca Polese, 2006.
5.
Indice dell’“Album delle Novità Illustrato Autunno-Inverno 1880–81” Fratelli Bocconi, in Franco Amatori 1989, 276–77.
6.
Miller (1981, 42).
7.
Elena Papadia, La Rinascente, 2011, Kindle.
8.
Ibid.
9.
Ibid.; Amatori (2017, 68–69).
10.
Amatori (1989, 37).
11.
Ibid., 55.
12.
Following the Second World War, only three of the fifty-four stores did not reopen. Amatori (1989, 88–89) and Papadia (2011, Kindle).
13.
Ibid.
14.
Alceo Riosa, “Borletti, Senatore,” accessed February 20, 2015, http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/senatore-borletti_(Dizionario_Biografico).
15.
Papadia (2011, Kindle).
16.
Amatori (1989, 242).
17.
In 1931, the La Rinascente Company had forty stores (La Rinascente and UPIM); in 1935, thirty-one stores; 1940, forty-three stores; and 1945, fifty-two stores. Standa’s, another Italian department store, store totals for the first three years mentioned previously were one, seven, and twenty. Figures are unavailable for 1945. The gross value of tangible fixed assets for La Rinascente was the following: 1931—94 million lire, 1935—85 million lire, 1940—unavailable, 1945—104 million lire. The gross value of tangible fixed assets for Standa was the following: 1931—unavailable, 1935—1 million lire, 1940—6 million lire, 1945—unavailable. In 1940, La Rinascente employed 6000 people whereas Standa employed only 1000. Ibid., 266–267.
18.
Ibid., 149.
19.
Ibid.
20.
Senatore Borletti passed away in December 1939. Umberto Brustio, his cousin, became president of the Rinascente Group in January 1940. Ibid, 119.
21.
Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1947. La Rinascente’s magazine for its employees was first published in 1929 as Echi de La Rinascente. In 1936, the title was changed to La Famiglia and in 1947 to Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM. Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Autunno 1967, n. 42, 64.
22.
Furthermore, the company’s 1968 publication on its history and prospects for its future reveals that “from 1947 our company decided to offer customers—forced during the years of autarky and war to buy merchandise of poor quality—high quality products; all trade policy was committed in this direction.” Additionally, Emanuela Scarpellini notes that after the war the company and store adopted “an extremely sophisticated and refined style”—in its aesthetic aspects and publicity material—to appeal to their high-end clientele. She writes that “the idea [behind this decision] was to present a reference point more appropriate for the higher social classes, [yet] that would attract a middle-class eager for social ascent.” Canovaccio Analitico – Basi culturali per le strategie di sviluppo nel dopoguerra; La Rinascente Accenni storici e Prospettive di espansione – Luglio 1968, 8, Archivio Brustio-La Rinascente (AB-LR), Università Bocconi, Milano, Italy.; Scarpellini (2001, 187).
23.
“La Rinascente” Ufficio Studi e Propaganda, Rassegna Economica Milanese, Rassegna della situazione economica, Settembre 1946, AB-LR.
24.
Ibid.
25.
Amatori (1989, 37).
26.
Umberto Brustio, Senatore Borletti’s cousin, served as La Rinascente’s CEO from 1919 to 1940, president from 1940 to 1957, and its honorary president from 1957 to 1968. Brustio’s two sons, Cesare and Giorgio, were also involved in managing the company’s operations. Cesare was vice president from 1957 to 1967 and its CEO from 1967 to 1969. He was also an adviser for La Rinascente’s supermarkets, Supermercati SMA, and its ready-to-wear fashion company, APEM. Giorgio was a managing director and president of SMA during his time as part of the Rinascente Group from 1950 to 1969. Aldo Borletti, Senatore Borletti’s son, participated in company management from 1938 to 1967 and served as president from 1957 until his untimely death in 1967. “I consiglieri e le loro più importanti attività in Italia (1917/1969),” Ibid., 284–288.
27.
Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM 1949–1950, Gennaio-Marzo 1950, Anno 4, n. 1, 11.
28.
Ibid.
29.
AB-LR, Relazione del 26 aprile 1950 – Sulla Ricostruzione del Nuovo Grande Magazzino “La Rinascente” Milano – Piazza del Duomo.
30.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 1.
31.
Ibid.
32.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 2.
33.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 1.
34.
Ibid.
35.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 3.
36.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 1.
37.
Lancaster (1995, 4).
38.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 1.
39.
Ibid.
40.
Ibid.
41.
Ibid.
42.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 2.
43.
Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1951 n. 4.
44.
Ibid.
45.
AB-LR, Ricostruzione Nuova Sede Piazza Duomo – Diario 1948, Relazione del 26 aprile 1950 – Sulla ricostruzione del Nuovo Grande Magazzino “La Rinascente” Milano – Piazza del Duomo.
46.
AB-LR, “L’incendio non si addice alla nuova rinascente.”
47.
“L’apertura della nuova Rinascente di Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1950 Anno IV, n. 4.
48.
AB-LR, Relazione del 26 aprile 1950 – Sulla ricostruzione del Nuovo Grande Magazzino “La Rinascente” Milano – Piazza del Duomo.
49.
“Quattro interni della Rinascente Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Gennaio-Marzo Anno VI, n. 1, 4.
50.
“L’apertura della nuova Rinascente di Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1950 Anno IV, n. 4, 3.
51.
Ibid.
52.
AB-LR, “Visita alle cave di marmo di Candoglia,” 6/10/1949, Photo.
53.
AB-LR, Relazione del 26 aprile 1950 – Sulla ricostruzione del Nuovo Grande Magazzino “La Rinascente” Milano – Piazza del Duomo.
54.
Ibid.
55.
Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1951 n. 4, 9.
56.
Ibid.
57.
“Premiazione Annuale del ‘Fedeli dell’Azienda’ ‘Il programma della ricostruzione illustrato del presidente – La nuova filiale di Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Aprile-Giugno 1949, Anno III, n. 2.
58.
“L’apertura della nuova Rinascente di Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1950 Anno IV, n. 4.
59.
Ibid.
60.
“Gli auguri del presidente del Consiglio,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1950 Anno IV, n. 4. Umberto Brustio’s support of and reverence for De Gasperi are further revealed in a letter written to his son, Cesare, expressing his concern for Italy’s future following the death of the former Prime Minister. He wrote: “I have a great fear in my heart for the death of De Gasperi—it is certainly a great loss for Italy … I do not see another similar personality in Scelba nor Fanfani … Maybe our country is headed for darker days. God forbid.” AB-LR, Umberto Brustio to Cesare Brustio, 21 agosto 1954.
61.
AB-LR, Viaggio Signor Maestri, Milano, 7 ottobre 1950.
62.
Papadia (2011, Kindle).
63.
Italy did not have a strong haute couture tradition and there were a limited number of Italian fashion houses that dedicated themselves to this style. The main supplier of clothing for upper and upper middle-class Italian women was, the sartoria, or dressmaker. Typically operating independently, the dressmaker made garments that were based off the latest fashion trends in Paris. Thus, the resulting articles of clothing were adaptations of Parisian haute couture. Nevertheless, they were still characterized by “immense technical skill, precise construction and the use of high-quality textiles.” Stanfill (2015, 85).
64.
“Gli abiti in serie si diffondano in Italia,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM 1953, Anno VIII, 17.
65.
Ibid.
66.
Ibid.
67.
AB-LR, “Italian Store Manager Finds Less Femininity in U.S. Clothes,” The Dallas Morning News, November, 20, 1948.
68.
Amatori (1989, 193).
69.
Henry Rosenfeld was a New York born designer who started his business in 1942. His clothes, which were priced between $6.95 and $25, appealed to working-class as well as middle and upper-class women. For example, a shirtwaist that he made and that was sold for $12.95 was worn by film star Ginger Rogers and Elizabeth Impellitteri, the wife of New York’s mayor in the early 1950s. This reputation for “[representing] a great value” earned him the monikers, the Henry Ford of the dress business and the Christian Dior from the Bronx. In 1964, he liquidated his company. Morris (1986).
70.
Merlo and Polese (2006, 445).
71.
Ibid., In 1955, ready-to wear clothing represented 22 percent of national consumption, 56 percent in 1965, and 75 percent in 1969. This increase was due not only to upper-class women purchasing the garments but to women of the middle-class doing so as well. Moreover, the presence of ready-to-wear clothes in Italy was, according to Elena Papadia, “one of the driving sectors of the department store’s expansion.” Papadia (2011, Kindle).
72.
“La moda americana,” Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1950, Anno IV, n. 4, 18.
73.
Ibid.
74.
Ibid.
75.
“Modelli di primavera e d’estate – Sfilano al Tea Room della Rinascente di Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Gennaio-Marzo 1951, Anno VI, 8–9.
76.
La Rinascente Advertisement, Annabella, 22 aprile 1951.
77.
“La moda americana,” Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Ottobre-Dicembre 1950, Anno IV, n. 4, 18.
78.
Papadia (2011, Kindle).
79.
“Un mese di America a Milano,” Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM 1958–1959, Primavera 1958, Anno XI, n. 9, 12–15.
80.
Ibid.
81.
Ibid.
82.
Ibid.
83.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 2.
84.
AB-LR, Relazione sul viaggio negli Stati Uniti D’America – 24 ottobre – 8 dicembre 1948 Vol. 3.
85.
Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Inverno 1958, Anno XII, n. 12, 37.
86.
“If you haven’t seen La Rinascente, you haven’t seen Milan.”
87.
“In Milan, shop where the people of Milan shop … at La Rinascente.”
88.
Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Luglio 1961, Anno XV, n. 25. La Rinascente had worked with Macy’s ten years earlier on an event dedicated to Italy and its consumer products that was held at the American retailer’s New York Herald Square store. The event, “Italy-In-Macy’s” lasted for two weeks in September 1951 and featured “over 1,000 handicraft and artisanal items, ranging from rugs to neckties to cheese” that were worth $1,000,000. Amerian (2015, 63).
89.
AB-LR, Jelmoli to Messrs. E. W. Bruno Co., Inc., Zurich, July 8, 1946.
90.
AB-LR, E. W. Bruno Co., Inc. to Jelmoli, New York, July 12, 1946.
91.
“Ufficio de La Rinascente a New York,” Cronache della Rinascente -UPIM, Estate 1968, Anno XXI, n. 44.
92.
AB-LR, Cesare Brustio to George D. Bryson, November 28, 1968.
93.
“Ufficio del La Rinascente a New York,” Cronache della Rinascente-UPIM, Estate 1968, Anno XXI, n. 44.
94.
AB-LR, George D. Bryson to Cesare Brustio, June 21, 1969, AB-LR.; George D. Bryson to Cesare Brustio, June 25, 1968.
95.
AB-LR, George D. Bryson to Cesare Brustio, August 1, 1968.
96.
AB-LR., George D. Bryson to Cesare Brustio, August 5, 1968.
97.
Amatori (2017, 73).
98.
Cesare Brustio to George D. Bryson, June 30, 1968, AB-LR.; Cesare Brustio to George D. Bryson, August 5, 1968, AB-LR.
99.
Cesare Brustio to George D. Bryson, November 28, 1968, AB-LR.
100.
Ibid. Following La Rinascente’s change in ownership and leadership, the company facilitated U.S. retailing giant J.C. Penney’s entrance into the Italian market. A new law on commercial licensing passed by the Italian government in 1971 allowed the American retailer to open four stores in Milan. Despite their promise, the stores were not successful, and in 1976, they were sold to La Rinascente. Franco Amatori writes that this sale “contributed in a relevant way to reviving the fortunes of the very depressed Milanese company.” Amatori (1989, 234–235).

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St. John’s University, Queens, NY, USA
Jessica L. Harris

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Harris, J.L. (2020). How to Shop and Dress like Mrs. Consumer: Rebuilding La Rinascente the American Way. In: Italian Women's Experiences with American Consumer Culture, 1945–1975. Italian and Italian American Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47825-4_3

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