“Fashion is everywhere”: A cultural glimpse into the world of Milanese Fashion
Ludovica Carini, a sociology professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and recent doctorate recepient, highlights the intricacies of the culture behind Milan’s fashion sector.
by Sydney Champagne, Jasmine Diglio, Maddy Eppers, Audrey Mitchell
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Milan? Most people immediately link the metropolis to fashion. Brands such as Gucci, Armani, and Valentino may come to mind. One of the four fashion capitals of the world, Milan is known for its luxury brands and timeless staples. But what is lush to some is an unforgiving “monster” to others. Our team sat down with Ludovica Carini to discuss the deeper intricacies of Italy’s arguably most well-known realm: the fashion sector. Carini is a researcher and sociology professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. Her research is focused on cultural and communication processes, with an emphasis on designers of Afro-descent in the Italian fashion system.
Q: Can you share your understanding of the history of the fashion district here and how Milan was carded the ‘fashion capital’ of the world?
A: “This is a very long story. I am going to try to keep it as short as I can. Here we will start with a problem; the world has a lot of fashion capitals and we are strongly biased by identifying only the Western European capitals as being the most important in the world. Milan was the 3rd or 4th top capital for fashion in terms of how recent it is. It became a fashion capital after the Second World War…At the time, the U.S. was trying to preserve the stability of the democratic countries in Europe by investing in sectors that had potential to grow and sustain the economy of the country. They looked at Italy, pondering the question of, ‘Well, what are they good at?’. It was decided that fashion was a sector that could grow a lot. At the time, there were many local excellences producing really, really good products but they didn’t constitute an Italian style.
In Naples, you had predominantly male fashion, in Vigevano there were shoes, in Tuscany there was leather, and in Como, the silk production was high. However, all of these elements hadn’t come together to define “Italian Fashion” because the style was originally copied from Paris…Milan, was closer to the border to France, creating an easier connection point as well as a home to many production facilities. Milan had become the obvious answer as to where to expand on the Italian fashion system. It’s important to recognize that fashion in Italy is not only in Milan. Fashion still resides all throughout Italy so without each individual’s territories excellence. To truly understand Italian fashion, one must step outside Milan and integrate themselves in these other territories.”
Q: Understanding the roots of one of the world’s biggest fashion capitals is crucial to the overall interpretation of Italian fashion as a whole. It is clear that like most things, fashion vastly changes over time. How has it changed since the start of your career? How has it evolved for better or for worse?
A: “When I started to research fashion, it was throughout the pandemic. I am able to discuss with you the process that I’ve been able to study through the Afro-Italian fashion perspective. What I have seen is that there has been an increase and visibility to make Milanese fashion more inclusive in terms of race…Also, I think Milanese fashion, like the entire fashion system, is really facing a sustainability issue. There was an event in Venice last October held by Camera Della Moda which is a fashion institution in Milan. A sustainable fashion week was organized centered more towards talks and conferences that discussed how to make their sector more sustainable. Being there was very, very interesting seeing big players interacting and engaging saying we can not have other parties from the outside stating that Italian fashion is not sustainable. We want to be self aware enough to recognize we have issues and that we are working on it. Being proactive in change. I think that there are changes happening.”
Q: We have read of your research regarding the “impact of diasporas on Italian cultural industries”, fashion being one of them. Can you give insight into the importance of this research?
A: “I think that it is particularly relevant for two reasons. One is where and when we are, so time and space. So, one issue would be, why is it relevant now? And the other aspect is, why is it relevant in general? In general I think what we have to keep in mind is that cultures are not a private property of someone. You can’t say ‘This is my culture, it’s mine, and it’s going to be everlasting, fixated like this’. Culture is something that changes and evolves….It is always important and relevant when we study culture to keep in mind that diasporas, if are present in the territory and the community, inevitably impact culture. If we think about fashion as a cultural industry– the production of fashion is not only stuff, it’s not only the physical part, but it has a whole entire dimension of symbols and values. It is important to remember that the cultural production of a people is made by the people. So if a diaspora is there you can not just count it out. It is relevant today because Italian society has kind of always struggled with plurality, and is struggling still. But, the diasporas are growing, so the struggle is increasing because you can not turn the other way and pretend that the issue is not there. Our society is becoming increasingly diverse, but there are still a lot of resistances…Researching the contribution of these peoples into our cultural production becomes extremely relevant in my opinion also to show the agency that they have and the potential impact that a more diverse society could have for everybody.”
Q: Would you say that the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on Italian culture in terms of fashion, or how people engage with fashion and consumer behaviors today?
A: Yes, of course. That’s the easy answer. An event like the pandemic can not be forgotten when we talk about consumer practices. Of course a pandemic is going to have consequences. The real question is how permanent the consequences will be. Traumatic events like this act as accelerators of processes that are already happening. On the side of the consumer, we have seen huge differences. One being that we consumed less fashion, the second being that we bought different kinds of garments: more sportswear, cozy and home-wear, and less fancy items to go out in, And it has changed how we bought them. So there was also a reflection on ‘So maybe we don’t actually need to buy that much’. Now that we are back to pre-Covid, what about those changes? Are they going to stay in place or are we going back to pre-Covid practices? One of the many elements I think we have to keep in mind is that buying cultural products, and fashion is a part of this, is not responding to only physical needs. We don’t just buy shoes because we need them to walk, we buy twenty five different pairs of shoes because we can. It’s not just out of a physical need, it is a cultural need. It is very hard to actually change cultural consumption in a permanent way. That is the struggle, I think.
Q: What lessons or values have you taken with you from your time at Milano Fashion Institute that you hold important?
A: “When I arrived here, I didn’t specifically want to study fashion. I was interested in culture, for sure, and in the meeting of cultures and the sustainability transition. Then I had the idea about diasporas. In particular the African diasporas is one of the most relevant in Italy today. What is their impact on material culture in Italy? My professor suggested that fashion is an interesting field to see all of these elements engaging with one another, because a lot of change is happening. I was not extremely convinced…I was kind of scared. I always saw fashion as a sort of ivory tower, this mythical creature. But then when I started getting into it, for me what it was was meeting the people. And the monster becomes human beings. Struggling like everyone else. Creatives trying to be recognized for their value. A lot of enthusiasm in general, and people that really believe a lot in what they’re doing…One lesson I learned for sure is that you cannot escape fashion. Like a person like me who started by saying ‘Well I’m not into fashion, I don’t care about fashion, I have nothing to do with fashion,’ that’s absolutely not true. Everyone is involved in fashion. Because we live in society. The way in which we engage in community and social relations, the way in which we use clothes, is part of who we are– and that is also part of fashion. Fashion is not only the cover of Vogue or Fashion Week, or the glamour and splendor. Fashion is everywhere. It’s everyday in our lives and our communities, and it’s a lot more human than I thought it was.”
Milanese fashion. A friend and a foe to say the least. Carini’s raw dissection of the fashion world centered within Milan gives us a perspective through a different lens. Her studies paved the way in examining fashion with a sociological approach that opened doors to a variety of interpretations of what fashion truly is behind the scenes. From her, we can take away the idea that the roots of fashion go much deeper than the glamorous events and mannequins in store windows. Behind the cloth, there lies a grander story, a story worth learning about. Because behind the facade of luxury and riches, the backbone of this grand industry are everyday people who are worthy of our attention and understanding.
