Go Italy: The Renaissance city has had a long love affair with clothes and boasts a thriving artisan fashion industry to back it up, writes DEIRDRE McQUILLAN
AS ANY VISITOR to Florence will quickly learn – and I’ve been quite a few times – this city has a lengthy love affair with fashion. Elite families in the Quattrocentro were obsessed with it, investing as much as 40 per cent of their fortunes on clothes and finery. They prized fabrics like shot silk, velvet, taffeta and brocade, lavish ornamentation forging an artistic legacy with the help of both artists and tailors. The burgeoning wealth of the city from banking, textile manufacturing and trading made it the entrepreneurial powerhouse of Europe.
The Renaissance flowering of the arts and intellectual life also saw the arrival of new materials and goods to tempt the eye on an unprecedented scale; the spread of mirrors brought with it an awareness of self image. Walk down the Via Tornabuoni in Florence today and the vast palaces of those powerful dynasties are now home to their modern equivalents, Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli and other Italian global luxury brands.
There’s scarcely a corner of the city not connected to the Medicis, the founders of modern merchant banking and great patrons of the arts who held sway for more than 300 years. In Palazzo Pitti the majestic if forbidding 16th century building that became the residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, one of the galleries now houses Italy’s only museum of fashion which opened in 1983. “Before the 1980s,” explained our guide, “we didn’t consider these clothes as works of art.”
Most of the items date back to the mid 18th century, counterpointed by 20th century styles showing their differences and similarities and vividly demonstrating how shapes changed with the times and reflected the period. A case devoted to fringing, for example, shows how popular it became during the 1920s when those flat shimmying shapes were perfectly in tune with the heady dancing days of the Charleston. There are pieces from important French and Italian designers from Fortuny and Ferre to Vionnet and Gaultier and amongst the 19th century items is the lovely mauve silk dress worn by Claudia Cardinale in Visconti's celebrated movie The Leopard.
The Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, the wealthiest man of the times, had 600 pairs of shoes (he also, like most of the male Medicis, was afflicted with gout) and a darkened room in the gallery displays his burial clothes and those of his wife Eleonora and their son, Garzia, both of whom died from malaria and had to be buried quickly. These items removed from the tombs in 1947 are rare and fascinating examples of 16th century attire.
In 1951 a fashion show held in Palazzo Pitti paved the way for the modern Italian fashion industry. Pitti still gives its name to the many international fashion fairs held in the city, like Pitti Uomo (menswear) and Pitti Filati (fabrics) during the year.
The industry was the first to thrive after the second World War and that economic boom stimulated the flowering of many individual salons, including that of the talented designer Roberto Capucci, now in his 80s, who started his career in his early 20s. You can see his sketches and some of his extravagant and flamboyant sculptural creations in the lovely Villa Bardini where seven centuries of Florentine botanical history can be also enjoyed in its lovely gardens.
The workmanship of the Capucci creations is astonishing; one dress called Oceano is composed of a 100 metres of taffeta and organza in 30 shades of blue, pleated, frilled and twisted into swirling shapes.
A SIMILAR SENSEof colour and craftsmanship makes the Ferragamo Shoe Museum housed in another magnificent medieval palace an imperative on a fashion tour of Florence. Built by a wealthy merchant and Vatican banker, the building changed hands many times, was acquired by the city of Florence in the mid 19th century and became the headquarters and workshop for Ferragamo when he bought it in 1938.
Born in 1898, Salvatore Ferragamo moved to the US in his teens, became the shoemaker to Hollywood stars and, returning to Italy in 1927, settled in Florence. His clientele included the most famous actresses of the day. Women like Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and Greta Garbo and their lasts (wooden reproductions of their foot shapes) are part of the exhibition.
A giant version of his iconic rainbow sandal made for Judy Garland stands at the entrance to the museum. The original, made in layered Sardinian cork and multicoloured suede, was an inventive, practical solution to wartime shortages of wood, steel and leather. His search for the perfect fit, along with his imaginative use of materials such as lace, raffia or even cellophane for vamps and his relationship with artists established his reputation and helped to reinforce the cachet of the Made in Italy label.
Craftsmanship of all kinds still continues to distinguish present day Florence. The Basilica of Santa Croce where Michaelangelo is buried, another magnificent historic building, is home to the city’s leather school where, if you purchase an item, a tour of the workshops can be arranged. The Irish bag designer Pauric Sweeney’s beautiful atelier overlooks the square of Santa Croce, an area generally associated with leather production.
More and more craftsmen in Florence are seeing the advantage of opening their workshops to the public, explaining their techniques and giving an insight into their skills. We watched Bruno Lapi making passementerie accessories for Vionnet’s forthcoming womenswear collection, Renzo Scarpelli making hardstone mosaic pictures from malachite, lapis lazuli and other stone gathered in the mountains, one of five left in Florence and learned the secrets of paper marbling from the genial, jazz loving Francesco Giannini who buys his gelatine solutions from Irish seaweed suppliers. “I started to show what I did three years ago and now people come from all over Europe,” he said.
Many young artisans are giving the city’s traditional crafts a modern look. Saskia Wittmer is a young German shoemaker who came to Florence and set up a ground floor workshop in the Santa Lucia area, making made-to-measure shoes mostly for men, but also for women in traditional menswear styles each one taking six months to complete.
Her leathers not only include calf, kid and ostrich, but even perch and tripe. From time to time she introduces more exotic styles, like a loafer in deep green velvet decorated with tiny iridescent green feathers inspired by a trip to Scotland.
Unlike Irish or British high streets, dominated by chains, Florence is full of small specialist artisan shops like this all over the city.
In the main shopping area near the Duomo, present day Florentine fashionistas head to Luisa Via Roma, a haven of the latest clothes and accessories; its website has nearly half a million hits a month. “Florentines are really fashion conscious,” said buyer Maria Odetti. “And they are not afraid to show off. It’s very visual here and the city is smaller than Milan or Rome so showing off is part of being seen by others.”
But take note that this is a walking city. Footpaths, as Mary McCarthy observed, “are mere tilted rims skirting building fronts”, so if visiting Florence leave the stilettos at home. No wonder old Cosimo invested in footwear.
- March 17th will mark an important date for both the Irish and Italians. It's St Patrick's Day of course, but it will also be a state holiday in Italy to mark 150 years of Italian unity. For those thinking of visiting Florence, February 17th will see the launch of a new €50 visitor travel card valid for three days covering 33 different museums. See firenzeturismo.it.
Florence Where to shop
Clothes
- Elio Ferraro Gallery Store, 47 Via del Parione (elioferraro.com). A great vintage store with rare finds in clothes and accessories. Fornasetti plates currently in the window.
- Luisa Via Roma, 19 Via Roma (luisaviaroma.com). The city's most chic shop with a great owner at the helm, Andrea Panconesi, whose passion for art and culture shows in the assured choice from the world's leading collections of clothes, jewellery and accessories. Their multi-talented Irish stylist, Carmel Walsh, is a shoemaker and occasional model.
- Société Anonyme (societeanonyme.it), 3F Via Niccolini. A shop showcasing avant garde and up and coming brands.
- Stefano Ricci, 1 Via dei Pescioni. Beautifully displayed in walnut cases and cabinets, this is one of the best menswear and cashmere shops in Florence. The flagship shop alone is worth a visit with its stained glass ceiling and frescoes.
Fabrics
- Lisa Corti Home, 33 Piazza Ghiberti (lisacorti.com). Owner Angela Passigli's love of the vivid colours of the east shows in this emporium, a haven of organza, muslin, cotton and other striped and patterned fabrics.
- Antico Setificio Fiorentino (anticosetificiofiorentino.it), 4 Via L Bartolini. A wonderful place for handloomed fabrics in silk damask and other traditional l8th century fabrics in natural dyes.
Jewellery
- Angela Caputi (angelacaputi.com), 44 Borgo SS. Apostoli and 50 Via S. Stagi is a jewellery designer with a flamboyant and original style offering all sorts of collections at affordable price points.
- Oreria, 87 Via Borgo Pinti. A goldsmith's workshop run by two women, Rita Rinaldi and Marzia Poggi, creating unique pieces that highlight unusual gems.
Fragrances
- Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella (smnovella.com), 16 Via della Scala. Absolutely unmissable and dating back to 1612 when its famous scents and formulas were created, it's the place for wonderful potpourris, soaps, bath oils, and home fragrances of exceptional quality.
- Olfatorio Bar A Parfums, 6 Via de Tornabuoni. A wonderful perfume shop with unusual ways of offering new olfactory experiences from specially selected and often rare fragrances.
Ice cream
- Gelateria Grom, Via del Campanile. The most delicious ice creams and sorbets in this corner shop – arguably the best in Florence – are scrupulously prepared with the season's freshest ingredients with no chemical additives or colourings.