The Fortune of the Ancient World’s Heritage Within the Context of Fashion Museums’ Communication in Italy

Abstract

Demonstrating the contribution and the communicative potential of classics to the history of Italian art and, as a consequence, to the history of Italian fashion is the aim of this paper. In support of this thesis, some museological and museographical cases studies will be highlighted. The Museo Salvatore Ferragamo and the Gucci Garden, for example, are both strategically located in historical and well-known Florentine palaces such as Palazzo Spini Feroni and the Tribunale della Mercanzia. The Valentino Garavani Museum, the pioneering virtual fashion museum launched in 2011, recalls the imagery of a modern temple such as the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome with its exquisite “marbles” decorating the walls, the large interior spaces marked by staircases and skylights. Some iconic exhibitions and fashion shows organized by luxury brands in cultural venues will be also presented as a general expression of this trend about the use of the Ancient world’s heritage as a tool in the narration of Italian fashion.

Keywords

• ancient culture heritage
• art history
• communication
• fashion
• museology