A New History of Made in Italy: Fashion and Textiles in Postwar Italy. RUFA is pleased to invite all students to the upcoming Talk featuring special guest Lucia Savi, Head of Curatorial and Interpretation at the Design Museum in London. The event will provide an in-depth look at the history of fashion and textiles in Italy during the post-war period, exploring the crucial role of textile manufacturing in the development of Made in Italy. Curated by Silvia Vacirca.
Event: Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 10:30 AM in Aula Magna (G13) at the RUFA campus on Via Giuseppe Libetta, 7. The talk will be held in English.
The event will be an opportunity to present the book A New History of Made in Italy: Fashion and Textiles in Postwar Italy (2023), the first work to examine the role of textile manufacturing in the development of Italian fashion. The book explores Italy’s transition from a country of tailors and small-scale couturiers in the post-World War II period to a global reference point for ready-to-wear fashion in the 1980s.
Lucia Savi will take participants on a journey from Italy’s first internationally recognized fashion show in 1951 to the iconic Time Magazine cover featuring Giorgio Armani in April 1982, a symbol of Italian fashion’s global success and Milan’s emergence as the capital of ready-to-wear.
Through an analysis of how garments are made, by whom, and where, the talk will explore the significance of the Made in Italy label, drawing on extensive archival research and bridging often-separated disciplines such as fashion, textile, and design history.
The Guest: Lucia Savi
Lucia Savi is the Head of Curatorial and Interpretation at the Design Museum in London.
She curated the exhibition Bags: Inside Out (2020) for the Victoria & Albert Museum and its accompanying catalog.
She has also contributed to numerous fashion and design exhibitions and events, including Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924—Today (2022), Shoes: Pleasure and Pain (2015), and The Glamour of Italian Fashion 1945—2014 (2014). Don’t miss the opportunity to delve into the history of Made in Italy and its impact on the fashion world.
Registration for the talk will be available starting Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
The Talks are open to all RUFA students. To register, log in to the RUFA Career System with your credentials.
If you have any doubts during registration, consult this Guide. If you still have questions after reading the guide, contact careers.alumni@unirufa.it
Intended audience: all students, particularly recommended for Sustainable Fashion Design students.
Duration: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Location: Aula Magna (G13) – Via Giuseppe Libetta, 7