In the middle of the 1990s Italian fashion rediscovered decoration, a taste for embellishment and the pleasure of ornament. Both the grandmasters of the made in Italy tradition and the new designers turned, more and more, to embroidery as the fundamental inspiration for their clothes. New embroidery covers all the trends of the last ten years of Italian fashion, from ethno-folk to conceptual, from eclecticism to deconstructivism, from romantic to gothic. This book illustrates, through a rich collection of photographs and the words of Italian fashion designers, the true history of new embroidery and the inspiration behind the embroidery of their collections.
Embroidery is a door open on a wondrous, opulent dimension where light plays with the richness of the threads. The modern violence of gesture transforms the substance of the material, like the burnt Swarovskis that are a hallmark of Riccardo Tisci. The ancient virtuosity of the lace-pillow is charged ‘s if, says Antonio Berardi, ‘it came directly from the diary of my life and memory’. Precious and sophisticated, embroidery is a timeless art that time renders increasingly rare due to the absolute dedication it requires – mental even more than physical – concentrated on the minuscule and the perfect, and to the infinite patience it demands, virtues that are so far from contemporary, so eccentric in a society that wants everything and wants it at once (Giusy Ferrè).
artworks by: Alessandro De Benedetti, Alessandro Dell’Acqua, Amen, Anna Molinari, Antonio Berardi, Antonio Marras, Bluemarine, Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Etro, Gianfranco Ferrè, Haute, Kenzo, Marni, Maurizio Pecoraro, Riccardo Tisci, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Versace.
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The absolute dedication required by embroidery's sophisticated, precious handiwork has rendered it increasingly rare: as a craft, it calls for mental discipline even more than physical, and for infinite patience, virtues so far from contemporary, so eccentric in a society that wants everything delivered at once, that of course embroidery has come into the spotlight again. Embroidery: Italian Fashion follows the technique's recent rise in a national culture known for its opulence and emotion, and brings readers the experience of both with a soft, embroidered cover. Inside, the details of micro-paillettes, mirrors, bugle beads, ribbons and implausibly thin threads produce virtuosities, coups de theÇtre, surprising elegances.
Embroidery is a door on a wondrous, opulent dimension where light plays with the richness of threads, and Embroidery shows its meaning transformed by the violence of modern lines and gestures, like the burnt Swarovski crystals that are Riccardo Tisci's hallmark. When Antonio Marras presented a skirt at his first Milan show in which the embroidery seemed to allude to beginner's work, to the gauze on which little girls once learned to sew, he asked his embroiderers to imitate this style, calling it "wrongstitch." And those extraordinary craftswomen, accustomed to perfection, learned just what feeling, what fascination can be concealed in an apparent mistake.
The embroiderers and their colleagues remain the silent but ever-present heroines of this revival, their handiwork recalling the human touch at every glance. Includes work from Anna Molinari, Blumarine, Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Gianfranco Ferre, Marni, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino and Versace.
