FlavioLucchiniArt Museum reconfirms itself as a space for art, culture, encounter, even more for contamination between the various forms of expression, always able of "understanding" each other, in a logic that sees interaction as an undoubted enrichment for anyone who is involved and fascinated. This is the reason why the space hosted the presentation of the book "Not only kimono. How Japan revolutionized Italian fashion", an interesting and in-depth study by Laura Dimitrio, published by Skira, which explores the centuries-old and more than consolidated Japanese influence on the style and fashion production of our country, starting from the kimono up to get to the new-pop launched by manga.
The presentation took the form of a dialogue between the author and Gisella Borioli, who as a journalist was the first to endorse the Japanese "nouvelle Vague" in the 1980s with her cult magazine "Donna". Laura Dimitrio's interest in Japanese influences in Italian fashion came to light on the occasion of her specialization thesis in Art History, with the decision of studying the sketches designed by the Milanese painter Giuseppe Palanti for the costumes of the first performance of “Madama Butterfly”, which debuted at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1904. The related watercolor sketches, no less than 73, revealed an accurate knowledge of Japanese clothing, even though the Empire of the Rising Sun was totally unknown to the designer. This was a more than stimulating starting point for the author, who broadened her attention, focusing on the passion for Japan that crossed Italy and Europe between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The volume reveals how Laura Dimitrio's field of observation has expanded further. The first news that reached Italy on Japanese clothing, on the occasion of a Japanese embassy that arrived in Italy in 1585, is in fact the starting point of a research that traces, with surprising results, over four centuries of the history of Italian fashion.
Cover of "Non solo kimono", by Laura Dimitrio, edited by Skira, 2022