Italy: Fashion, Style and National Identitydesigners such as Pucci.^45 For example, Emilio Pucci’s printed ‘fishtail’ cotton
capri pants and thong sandals, are worn with a fisherman’s-style jumper and
set against an evocative backdrop of boats and fishermen. The article
concludes that ‘knitwear is an ideal complement to today’s wardrobe’ and is
not only ‘the basis of the sporting wardrobe in every season’ but also ‘the
ultimate news in elegance, which, for its line and colour fits in well with
high fashion’. Clearly, colour and practicality combined with elegance was
the selling point.
This ethos was taken further in a 1955 Linea Italiana editorial which
proposed ‘refined knitwear, which enables you to dress from morning to
night.’^46 This suggests a completely new way of dressing for the smart woman
of the 1950s. Instead of a formal fitted suit for day, and perhaps a full-length,
strapless gown for evening, a one-step alternative is suggested in knitwear.
This was multi-functionalism and refinement combined. Another example
Figure 11.4.Boutique beachwear by Veneziani, Moro, Lilian and Rina. Source:
Linea Italiana, Summer 1949: 9.
45.Linea Maglia, Summer 1954, pp. 42–7.
46.Linea Italiana, Spring 1955, pp. 27–72.