From Fashion to Food : Analyzing ‘Fashionized’ Gastronomic Experiences Through a Tourist Perspective. The Case of the Rhinoceros Entr'acte Restaurant Powered by Alda Fendi

Abstract

This article argues that fashion-branded gastronomic facilities (e.g. restaurants, cafés, etc.) can constitute a privileged viewpoint for observing the interrelation between fashion and tourism industrie(s). High fashion maisons have been investing in the restaurant and hospitality sector since the 1980s : however this trend has been systematized over the last two decades. Specialized literature is mainly focused on the marketing and management analysis of the phenomenon : this papera ims to depict the consequences of this systematization, both in terms of urban policies and narratives. Our research is based on a single, localized case study (the Rhinoceros Entr'acte restaurant powered by Alda Fendi within the city of Rome) and is underpinned by key hypotheses: through the wise use of food, the fashion designers can be vectors of heritagization both by acting as city boosters and by increasing the tourism potential. The data used are mainly qualitative : interviews, observations and media content analysis were executed between 2018 and 2021. We suggest that the process of commodification of the (touring and food) experience implemented by personalities associated to fashion brands may disguise a much more complex path of relationships and tensions between city actors, namely around how imaginaries and perceptions associated with cities are designed, iterated and perceived

Keywords

• consumption spaces
• experiential tourism
• fashion
• gastronomy
• rome