The Glamour of Italian Fashion, 1945-2014

Elegant exhibition at the V&A looking at the growth of the Italian fashion industry and what makes it different.

The first section of the show was chronological starting with the post war industry based on artisan craftsmen where fashion was used to boost the economy, through the growth launch of the Sala Blanca fashion shows at the Pitti Palace in Florence and the role of the Hollywood films made in Rome.

The second section began with the role of the stilista in Milan, who aimed to create the perfect style. It then looked at different materials and ended with a wonderful room of brand designers seen as modern taste makers.

There was a lovely section on the role of local dressmakers with a great collection of clothes owned by Margaret Abegg and made by Maria Grimaldi which discussed the relationship between women and their dress makers. This was lvoely because Margaret was not a standard model shape and it was nice to see how the clothes would work on more normal people.

It is so hard to pick a favourite piece but I think it goes to an early gold silk tailored evening dress which buttoned up the front and had a shawl collar and a hug bow on the back, very classy and elegant. However I did also really want the Miu Miu glitter boots!

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