90853 - History of Costume and Fashion

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student acquires skills and knowledge concerning the main socio-economic and cultural transformations occurred in Italian and European fashion, with a node out of Europe, during the ninetieth and twentieth century. In particular, he has the ability to read analytically documents, apply appropriate methodologies and historiographical concepts, to critically interpret, in a global perspective, historical change of fashion in contemporary age.

Course contents

The course traces the history of fashion and costume from their origins to the contemporary period, analysing the evolution of clothing forms and production systems in relation to social, economic, and cultural change. From Parisian couture to the rise of prêt-à-porter, through to the emergence of Made in Italy and the transformations of the 21st century, the course outlines a comprehensive overview of the dynamics that have redefined the role of fashion in modern societies.

Alongside the historical development, the programme includes thematic insights into the tools through which fashion is designed, represented, and transmitted. This section focuses on fashion illustration and drawing as design practices, devices of stylistic codification, and visual archives; on issues related to the preservation and valorisation of textile and fashion heritage; on fashion museums, public and corporate archives, exhibitions and runway shows as forms of narrative construction and cultural communication. Further topics include digital humanities applied to fashion – reconstruction, cataloguing, data analysis and new visualisation methods – and the dialogue between fashion and art, examined across both historical and contemporary perspectives, from the avant-gardes to recent transdisciplinary practices.

The course thus aims to provide an integrated understanding of fashion as an aesthetic, cultural, artistic, and design phenomenon, capable of connecting history, creativity, visual representation, and processes of heritage-making.

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students

Mafai, G., Storia del costume dall’età romana al Settecento, Skira, Milan 2011.
Rossi, V., Vestire a matita. Il disegno nella moda dagli anni Settanta ad oggi, Mimesis, Milan 2026.
Lecture slides and reading lists provided by the instructor.

 

For non-attending students

Mafai, G., Storia del costume dall’età romana al Settecento, Skira, Milan 2011.
Rossi, V., Vestire a matita. Il disegno nella moda dagli anni Settanta ad oggi, Mimesis, Milan 2026.
Lecture slides and reading lists provided by the instructor.

In addition: choose two texts from the following

Bianchino, G., I disegni, il progetto, l’illustrazione, in Bianchino, G. (ed.), Sorelle Fontana, exhibition catalogue, CSAC – Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione, Parma 1984.
Bolton, A., A Line of Beauty, in Bolton, A. (ed.), Karl Lagerfeld. A Line of Beauty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Yale University Press, New York–New Haven–London 2023.
Ferrè, G., Il design della moda, in Frisa, M. L. (ed.), Gianfranco Ferrè. Lezioni di moda, Marsilio, Venice 2009.
Monti, G., Moda, curatela, museo: un dibattito lungo un decennio, un decennio lungo quarant’anni, in “ZoneModa Journal”, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019.
Paulicelli, E., Fascism for Export: Fashion and Textiles in 1930s Italy, in Pouillard, V., Dubé-Senécal, V. (eds.), The Routledge History of Fashion and Dress, 1800 to the Present, Routledge, London–New York 2023.
Quintavalle, A. C., Archivio della moda, in Nodolini, A., Quintavalle, A. C., Arata, C., Truant, M. N. (eds.), Brunetta. Moda critica storia, exhibition catalogue, CSAC – Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione, Parma 1981.
Rossi, V., Walter Albini sulle note del Camp, in “ZoneModa Journal”, vol. 13, no. 2, 2023.
Segre Reinach, S., Fashion Museums and Fashion Exhibitions in Italy: New Perspectives in Italian Fashion Studies, in Vänskä, A., Clark, H. (eds.), Fashion Curating. Critical Practice in the Museum and Beyond, Bloomsbury, London–New York 2017.
Steele, V., Fashion, in Geczy, A., Karaminas, V. (eds.), Fashion and Art, Bloomsbury, London–New York 2012.
Steele, V., Museum Quality: The Rise of the Fashion Exhibition, in “Fashion Theory”, vol. 12, no. 1, Taylor & Francis, London–New York 2008.
Volonté, P., La figura dello stilista, in Frisa, M. L., Tonchi, S. (eds.), Italiana. L’Italia vista dalla moda, 1971–2001, Marsilio, Venice 201

Teaching methods

Theoretical lectures by the professor; viewing of audio-visual materials; in-depth meetings on specific topics.

Assessment methods

There will be two types of final exams: one for attending students and one for non-attending students.

Both will be written tests (multiple choice questions; no penalty for incorrect answers), but one will cover the programme for attending students and the other the programme for non-attending students.

Teaching tools

Videos, slides, in-depth analysis.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Rossi