Creatività e Cultura. Patrimoni nascosti nel settore tessile manifatturiero

Abstract

A debate as to whether fashion should be considered as a creative or a cultural industry has been raging in fashion studies for several years. If we were to enter this discussion, which involves scholars of various extraction, we could say that fashion, whilst expressing the productive side of the textile and clothing sector, is “a creative and cultural industry of its own kind”. The cultural dimension and the creative dimension lead to the designing of clothes that in time will “write” a designer's story. They mark out an identity. They provide narratives of weaves, styles, colours, volumes and experimentations. They particularly reveal the dialogue between fashion designers and others involved in the process: weavers, artisans, pattern makers and embroiderers, but also chemists, engineers and mathematicians. Over time, these connections become a historical asset to be protected and enhanced.
Italian fashion is created and built on the many connections between designers and companies. One interesting case is the relationship between Gianfranco Ferré and "Ricami Laura". It is a cultural and creative exchange based on knowledge and technique. It deals in drawings, letters, faxes, strips of fabric, sketches and designs. These materials now enable us to reveal the thought processes behind the style choices of one of Made in Italy's biggest designers and the masterful skill of embroiderers steeped in the Italian tradition.