The fashion of the 1950s arose following an explosion of Italian creativity, a period that ran from the 1948 political elections to the 1960 Rome Olympics.
The Italy of those years was a country that had just emerged from the destruction of the Second World War which, thanks to a great internal strength, saw its economic and material rebirth. The Italian people wanted to live, experiment, show off, dream and rejoice; and so it was that, thanks to the peculiar Italian creativity, the rise of "Made in Italy" occurred. The decade of the 1950s was the first moment of well-being for Italy; a fast and carefree era in which the concept of life received a new meaning: well-being.
Therefore, even the woman, first seen as the mother of the family, obedient and submissive, now represented, thanks also to the influence of our local cinema, hope after the hunger of the war, an elegant and sophisticated woman, cared for in every aspect, sure of self. The political situation, with a stable government, also contributed to giving more security to the Italian people. This entire framework of innovations also allowed a path of evolution in the field of fashion which today, despite not having yet reached its goal, makes Italy a leading nation in world fashion, equal to France and the United States.
After the First World War, women, who now had the opportunity to access roles previously held exclusively by men, began to aspire to practical and functional clothes and simple hairstyles: they shortened their skirts, began to wear trousers and wear very short hair. It was probably the first real revolution in the history of fashion. Perhaps even greater was the revolution after the Second World War, as for the first time we talked about fashion as we understand it today. The clothes were not exclusively functional and practical, but depicted the mood of an entire generation, full of life and new colors.
This new fashion was introduced by the French designer Christian Dior and nicknamed "new look", which quickly caught on in Italy too. According to Dior, the "new look" was used to give women the femininity and refinement lost during the war: the female figure Lidia Trivisonne WS 2006/07 2 comes back to life: the shoulders are stripped and become soft and rounded, the breasts is highlighted, the waist is very thin, the use of the corset with padded hips returns, the skirts are voluminous and puffy. The woman as an object appears again, beautiful to admire but who does nothing and spends her time in beauty salons. The hair is permed and soft, the makeup heavy but detailed, unbridled use of blush on the cheekbones, plucked eyebrows, black eyeliner, colored eyeshadow and mascara, red lipstick.
Italy had understood that its fashion could counter the hegemony of French Haute Couture thanks to the imagination, the wearability, the simplicity of cut and the refinement of the materials, the skilful use of color and decorations. It wasn't just a question of lower prices: Italian fashion was above all in tune with the new lifestyles that the first real generation of working women were affirming in the United States and northern Europe. Until the beginning of the 1950s, Haute Couture was reserved for an elite: aristocracy, upper middle class and cinema . But soon the desire to dress well and to be elegant both in clothes and accessories arose among the rest of the population. However, we had to wait until the 1960s where, thanks to "prêt-à-porter", fashion became accessible to a large part of the population. Typical item of clothing of those years is the balloon skirt, with a puffy shape, obtained with a narrow band attached to the hem in order to create an inward curvature towards the knees. Also called "bubble skirt" (in England), this skirt became a symbol of femininity, which represented the return to a sumptuous and somewhat nostalgic style with a nineteenth-century taste, especially enhancing adolescent builds. The first to propose the balloon line was the Spanish Cristobal Balenciaga, and today this line has returned to be part of our wardrobe. I would also like to briefly mention another symbol of that era: the "beehive" hairstyles. We competed to see who styled their hair the highest and who sprayed the most hairspray. These funny hairstyles were typical of young people and, consequently, viewed with contempt and distrust by older people.
Since the 1930s, the creators of clothes were no longer tailors, but renowned stylists; in the 1950s they then began to make a name for themselves among the stars of Italian Fashion. This innovation was possible thanks to the post-war expenses and receipts which increased the ever stronger demand for branded clothes as there was a general economic boom. Names such as the Sorelle Fontana, Roberto Capucci, Emilio Pucci and Fernando Gattinoni designed the most beautiful dresses of those years; Wanting to name a foreign designer, I cannot leave out the "God of Fashion" Cristian Dior who had been filling people's souls with his creations for 20 years. Although we have already heard a lot about the Sorelle Fontana, I would like to refresh our memories: For the art of the Sorelle Fontana it is a celebration in the places of origin of their family and their activity. Lidia Trivisonne WS 2006/07 3 In fact, Zoe, Micol and Giovanna Fontana began right in Traversetolo, in their mother's tailoring shop, the path that with courage and genius would lead them to achieve success and recognition first in Rome and then throughout the world.
The first of the Sisters' dresses to bring fame and prestige overseas was the wedding dress of Linda Christian who married Tyrone Power in the Basilica of Santa Francesca Romana. From that day onwards a sort of frenzy was born among America's fiancées to desire wedding dresses created by the Fontana Sisters.
For example, the daughter of the President of the United States, Margaret Truman. Having thus relaunched the Italian look, the "Sorelle Fontana" brand established itself in an era in which France unchallenged dominated the international fashion scene with the names of Dior and Balmain and from the Rome atelier it reached the markets of the world entire. These first successes were followed by many others, the Fontana Sisters intertwined their work with famous Italian industries, linked themselves to theater and cinema, finance and politics, without ever forgetting the artisanal origin of their art and the profusion of culture that he always distinguished them. I would like to introduce yet another world-famous Italian designer: Roberto Capucci. Born in Rome in 1930, Capucci was judged the best creator of Italian fashion (especially by Dior) at just 26 years old. In '62 he opened an atelier in Paris where he was welcomed amidst fanfare and enthusiasm. Capucci was the first Italian artist who was asked to sign one of his creations.
In the 1950s, a new role for models also emerged, who, from almost anonymous faces, became characters. Thus was born the era of famous models which then increased even more in the 60s . Among the first we remember the English Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy (the first female "breadstick"), who became famous for their photographs taken by the English David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy. They were not interested in how elegant a model could make the clothing, they wanted to show how sexy the dress could make the model look, and thus brought about a revolution in thinking.
As mentioned before, fashion was reserved for an elite , including film stars: Linda Christian, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Liz Taylor and Audrey Hepburn; but the Italian cinema of Cinecittà also bore fruit: Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Silvana Mangano and Marisa Allasio. By becoming fashion ambassadors, they thus established a relationship between fashion and cinema. This began in the early 1900s in Hollywood; until then the divas provided the stage clothes themselves. Subsequently, the figure of the costume designer played a decisive role in determining the success of the protagonist and consequently of the films. A well-known costume designer of those years was Travilla.
