Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fashion
Italians have strong opinions about aesthetics and aren't afraid to share them. A common
refrain in Milan is
che brutta!
(How hideous!), which may strike visitors as tactless. But
consider it from an Italian point of view - everyone in this fashion town is rooting for you
to look good, and allowing you to step out in an unflattering get-up would be considered a
serious failure of taste on their part. After all, Italy's centuries-old reputation for style is at
stake.
The beret originated in Italy during the Renaissance. It was made of a circular piece of cloth gathered onto
a band dec-orated with jewels or embroidery. Inside the band was a string, which could be tightened to fit
any head.
Medieval Trendsetters
Northern Italian artisans and designers have been shoeing, dressing and adorning Europe's
affluent classes since the early Middle Ages, when Venetian merchants imported dyes from
the East and Leonardo da Vinci helped design Milan's canal system, connecting the wool
merchants and silk weavers of Lake Maggiore and Lake Como to the city's market places.
Further south, Florence's wool guild grew so rich and powerfulthat it was able to fund a
Renaissance.
As this cultural reimagining transformed philosophy, art, music and literature, fashion
flourished as a new expression of taste and status. Dresses and men's doublets grew shorter
and fuller; impractical, pointy Gothic headdresses were tossed aside; and hair reappeared
trimmed with golden ribbons and covered in fine Venetian lace. Patterned velvet and broca-
de were in vogue, and robes, sleeves and skirts were slashed to reveal shockingly bright
silks and dainty jewelled shoes.
Promoted by the celebrities of the day - the Sforza's of Milan, the Este's of Ferrara,
Mantua's Gonzaga dukes and the extravagant Florentine Medicis - they immortalised their
style choices in newly commissioned portraits and public works. Da Vinci painted three of
Ludovico Sforza's mistresses, and Mantegna's frescoes in the
Camera degli Sposi
depict
the latest men's trend, pastel hose. On her wedding to Henry, Duke of Orleans (later King
of France), in 1533 Tuscany's Catherine de'Medici (1519-89) single-handedly transformed
French fashions, wearing the first pair of four-inch, high-heeled shoes. Some courtesans
