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Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Historical & Political Studies; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Hilary Parsons Dick
Abstract
Under the Fascist rule of the Second World War, creatives of the Italian fashion industry were suppressed by Mussolini’s centralized fashion body, the ENM. Once liberated from the Fascist corruption and creative confinement, the Italian nation was reconstructed using an aesthetic-driven imaginary, produced by nation-builders, policy makers, and prominent actors within the fashion industry. First, the national imaginary facilitated an internal reorganization amongst regionalist societies which united the nation on the commonality of artistic culture. With a cohesive national aesthetic identity, the imaginary then fostered the reinstitution of the Italian nation-state in Europe where the aesthetic identity served as the nation’s ambassador. The identity would demonstrate physical beauty through art and figurative beauty of the nation through the distinguishable aesthetic-driven identity. Lastly, the aesthetic-driven imaginary promoted economic sustainability through the development of the national ‘Made in Italy’ label which granted economic prosperity but transformed the modernizing society that strove to uphold tradition.
Recommended Citation
Victor, Luke, "The Revival of Fashion: Aesthetic Imaginaries and the Reconstruction of the Modern Italian Nation" (2020). Capstone Showcase. 13.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2020/is/13
The Revival of Fashion: Aesthetic Imaginaries and the Reconstruction of the Modern Italian Nation
Under the Fascist rule of the Second World War, creatives of the Italian fashion industry were suppressed by Mussolini’s centralized fashion body, the ENM. Once liberated from the Fascist corruption and creative confinement, the Italian nation was reconstructed using an aesthetic-driven imaginary, produced by nation-builders, policy makers, and prominent actors within the fashion industry. First, the national imaginary facilitated an internal reorganization amongst regionalist societies which united the nation on the commonality of artistic culture. With a cohesive national aesthetic identity, the imaginary then fostered the reinstitution of the Italian nation-state in Europe where the aesthetic identity served as the nation’s ambassador. The identity would demonstrate physical beauty through art and figurative beauty of the nation through the distinguishable aesthetic-driven identity. Lastly, the aesthetic-driven imaginary promoted economic sustainability through the development of the national ‘Made in Italy’ label which granted economic prosperity but transformed the modernizing society that strove to uphold tradition.
Comments
International Studies