Welcome to the Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance (c. 1350s–1520s), Mannerist (c. 1520s–80s), and early Baroque (c. 1580–1630s) periods have served as dynamic inspiration for Italian fashion from the late 1800s—as the Italian fashion industry remobilized after having been in the shadow of Paris fashion in the previous centuries—to the present. Encapsulating this exchange, Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses examines how the early modern period ideologically underpins the Italian creative lexicon within the medium of fashion design. Conversely, Italian fashion over the past century acts as a portal to the past, allowing us to fantasize about a pivotal time in history. 

The historical garments and imagery that inspire modern and contemporary fashions have a groundwork of textile arts. From kermes-dyed Venetian double-pile alto e basso silk velvets to Florentine cloths of gold glistening with pomegranate motifs, historical textiles have been referenced by storied Italian fashion houses like Fortuny, Romeo Gigli, and Etro. Such early modern designs were often commissioned by noble families, the “original Italian houses,” like the Sforza, Medici, and d’Este families, members of which were the style plates of their time. Their personal fashions and self-styling approaches were often visually represented in marvelous portraits composed by the Old Masters who captured the era’s artistic movements. These portraits provide a glimpse into a time when fashion was rapidly changing. They capture nuances like the billowing or tailoring of sleeves, the padded bodices that lead to corsetry, men’s long hose that become ballooned trunk hose, or the expansion of neck ruffs. 

Such historical portraiture has informed the design process within many Italian fashion houses in the past century. Gianfranco Ferré is celebrated for his experimentation with a white button-front shirt that mimics the camicia, Italian for “chemise,” or undershirt. In sculptural taffeta silhouettes that informed mid-to-late 1900s style, Roberto Capucci embraced the conical shapes that had swept the Italian peninsula by the late 1400s and throughout the 1500s. Salvatore Ferragamo’s famed shoes fuse his academic study of foot anatomy with his analyses of high-platform chopines, worn in the early modern period by women who could afford the fashion. Pearl necklaces—a coveted accoutrement that historically symbolized purity—have become popular designs of leading jewelry and decorative arts houses such as Buccellati and Bvlgari.

Beyond portraiture detailing personal fashion choices, Renaissance artworks have also preserved the period’s articulation of Catholic imagery and Christian art, which hold their own enduring relevance for more recent fashions. Nicola Brognano translated the visual nature of angels for his spring 2024 collection for Blumarine, showcasing a serene yet glamorous essence akin to how early modern art represented heavenly beings. In Gianni Versace’s atelier fall 1997 collection, he presented a host of chainmail mesh dresses with cross embroideries, while 20 years later, Pierpaolo Piccioli interpreted imagery of the Virgin Mary in his fall 2018 and fall 2019 nylon-lacquered collections for Moncler. Giorgio Armani embraced religious dress in his privé spring 2021 collection, suggesting the vestments that adorned men of the cloth, while Giambattista Valli transcended the religious use of monochromatic black and white with contemporary avant-garde constructions. Secular works from the period also serve as a reference in Italian design. Primavera by Sandro Botticelli has persistently impacted Italian fashion over the past century, from the House of Gucci taking note of Botticelli’s floral study to approach its famed house print during the 1960s to Antonio Marras’s diaphanous designs from the early 2000s that suggest mythological nymphs. 

We encourage you to visit Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses to see many of these fashions and the historical works that inspired them. They represent only a fraction of the expansive realm of Italian fashion that intertwines early modern expressions and contemporary design and ideologies, setting the stage for future generations to contemplate how innovation can come by expounding on contributions from the past.