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Unlike in the United Kingdom and France, where fashion during the Second
World War is extensively debated, in Italy it is an under researched
topic, and the behind-the-scenes history of the fashion magazine
"Bellezza" - the Italian "Vogue" - launched in 1941, has never been
submitted to scholarly attention; even though its utopian function in
defining a new culture of fashion and code of glamour contributed to the
totalitarian project of building a 'new Italian woman'. The current
volume aspires to fill this gap, using the case of "Bellezza" as a
kaleidoscope for looking through Italian history and culture, drawing on
new primary sources and extraordinary iconography.
About the author
Silvia Vacirca is a historian with an interest in the display, representation and mediation of fashion and dress, especially in the moving image. She is postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Lettere e culture moderne of Sapienza, University of Rome. She is adjunct professor of "Fashion in Audiovisuals" in the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art and Spectacle of Sapienza University and "Fashion History" at RUFA Rome University of Fine Arts. Winner of the Limina Award 2013 for the best translation in the field of film studies, she has contributed articles on fashion and film to publications including "Film, Fashion & Consumption. Studies in Costume & Performance", and "Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies".
