PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO N. 44

LA REGOLA ESTROSA

“La regola estrosa, cent’anni di eleganza maschile italiana”: (The creative rule, one hundred years of italian men’s fashions): it was in the ‘fifties that Cecil Beaton spoke authoritatively of Italian elegance in men’s wear. And now, more than forty years later, its role is universally acknowledged. It is a comprehensive whole based on history, styles, fashion and a world of its own which involve designing but do not stop there.

There is the compendium of artisan techniques, workmanship and behavior patterns that escape even the Italians themselves, since many are still convinced that they are “dressing in the English style”. It is to reestablish a historical truth which honors the image of the Italian man around the world, that this exhibit was created by Luigi Settembrini, and set up by Pierluigi Cern, architect and graphic artist, and Pierluigi Pizzi, director, set and costume designer, in the Stazione Leopolda. It was organized by Gherardo Frassa and Cristina Aschengreen Piacenti, director of the Costume Gallery in the Pitti Palace, provided the scientific coordination.

The show is a series of profiles and images of those who have come to symbolize Italian masculine elegance: people from the worlds of the arts, literature, science, industry, politics, sports and entertainment over the last 100 years. And it is time to acknowledge that they have embodied these different forms of elegance over the years.

The exhibit will remain open until 31 October. Rather than a catalogue, the show publication is a book, edited by GianninoMalossi, with contributions and essays by Gillo Dorfles, Vittoria de Buzzaccarini, Giannino Malossi, Adriana Mulassano, and Luigi Settembrini. It is published by Electa Editrice. The book will be presented by prominent cultural figures.

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