In the first book to examine the role played by textile manufacturing in the development of fashion in Italy, A New History of -Made in Italy- investigates Italy-s transition from a country of dressmakers, tailors and small-scale couturiers in the early post-Second World War period to a major producer of ready-to-wear fashion in the 1980s. It takes the reader from Italy-s first internationally attended fashion show in 1951 to Time magazine-s Giorgio Armani April 1982 cover story, which signalled the fashion designer-s international arrival, and Milan-s presence as the capital of ready-to-wear.Chapters focus for the first time on the material substance of Italian fashion - textile - looking at questions including the importance of manufacturing quality, design innovation, composition, production techniques, commerce and the role of textile on the country-s overall fashion system. Through these, Lucia Savi brings to light the importance of synthetic fibres, previously littl
