There was no real ready to wear garment industry in Italy before the end of the 'Forties: 90% of all clothing was custom made by tailors and seamstresses. The bare windows of notions shops looked onto the streets of the big cities and small towns that still bore the marks of war. These little stores would later be replaced by the first boutiques. 

There were about 25,000 people working for companies that produced ready-made clothing and the propensity to export - along with the identity of Italian fashion - was quite different from what we see today. Only 10% of Italian made goods went to export. 

In Florence and the surrounding area there was a lively core of artisan and craft businesses, but above all - because of its artistic, historic and environmental heritage - the city played host to a large and wealthy colony of travelers, students and English and American merchants, and this gave rise to the first Italian buying offices as the outposts of the overseas department stores.

Photo Archive Giovanni Battista Giorgini