Fashion: there is little to do: when we talk about fashion we talk about Italy. If you think about it, there are few sectors in which one people it excels so overwhelmingly over all others. But if we think of the most important and consolidated fashion brands in the world, they are mainly Italian: Armani, Versace, Valentino, Gucci, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana… And we could go on and on with the list.
But how did this happen? What are the elements that have led to this extraordinary success in fashion? Let's try to hypothesize some of them.
- The art. Italy is full of art. Maybe we don't realize it but we grow with our eyes continuously swimming in a sea of beauty. Maybe we don't even consciously remember what we see but all the art that history has left us gets inside. And it ends up making us chase Beauty even when we don't notice it.
- Perfection. Italians are perfectionists. But very perfectionists. Much more than they think. Because they are not satisfied and have the best as a reference model.
- The tradition. There remain ancient traditions in Italy that we carry in our blood. The good Sunday dress, the traditional clothes of brotherhoods and parties, the complex social hierarchy that overlooked the differences in clothes. All this still lives on in Italians.
- The competition. So many small states that made up the Italian mosaic have put cities in competition with cities, with an underlying spirit that puts neighborhoods in competition with neighborhoods and families in competition with families. All this can only painfully lead to excellence.
- The religion. Until recently, Italy was a deeply religious place. The care of the Catholic rites that all attended showed an aesthetic beauty of vestments and ornaments that has evidently not been forgotten.
Otherwise why is Italy still synonymous with fashion today?