Fashion: The Cultural Economy of Made in Italy

The article examines the concept of Made in Italy in the context of the long history of Italian fashion and Italian nation building. It wishes to pose some methodological questions: it argues for a more sophisticated understanding of Made in Italy, suggesting that it must be considered in relation to the complexity of the formation of an Italian style that harks back to early modernity when a prolific literature and culture came to the fore and elaborated an Italian taste or sprezzatura that was then exported to the rest of Europe. Second, the article argues that today's Made in Italy must be examined in the context of both a multilayered identity and a plurality of fashion cities and capitals. Lastly, the article argues that, as is the case with sprezzatura, a study of Made in Italy must be attentive to how Italian style has been, over the years, translated and exported beyond the spatial confines of the nation and the temporal confines of history.