101 years full on
The Cinema, Art, Fashion, Customs of these last 101 years, and even the different bras that have appeared are used to illustrate what has happened in that time.
An exhibition-event, conceived and mounted by Dress in Dreams by Elisabetta Cantone and Francesca Silvestri, that is part of the “Risonanze” (echoes) section of the official Rome International Film Festival calendar, sponsored by the Ministry for Equal Opportunities, Rome City Council's Department for Cultural Policies, the Region of Lazio, the Province of Rome and Rome's own Cinema Foundation. “The aim”, explains Elizabetta Cantone, “is to stir up some excitement amongst visitors and make them feel as if they are entering into the world of a huge “circus”, where the colours, images and installations celebrate an item of clothing that has taken on cult status in our history”. Used to seduce, something that men probably think about more than women, and the cause of feelings that range from maternal to transgressive. Some of the big names from the world of lingerie, like Gattinoni, Grimaldi Giardina and La Perla who have designed items inspired by unforgettable films and for international stars are partnering Dress in Dreams in this venture. Gattinoni has taken its cue from Luchino Visconti's masterpiece, “The Leopard”, and from the world of Pop Art, whilst for the Grimaldi Giardina duo it is the bustier that takes centre stage, with almost invisible items of lingerie that include for example, another take on the bodice worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in “Shakespeare in Love”.
La Perla's collection on the other hand, was conceived with the stars of yesterday and today in mind and includes, amongst other items, a bra made of gold dedicated to Keira Knightley that will reign supreme in the centre of a black carpet. One of the big names in cinema costume designers, GP11 has loaned the corsets and costumes designed by Oscar winning Milena Canonero and worn by Kirsten Dunst in “Marie Antoinette” along with Sophia Loren's costume from “Francesca and Nunziata”. The Academy of Costumes and Fashion's contribution is all about Gina Lollobrgida, the lady whose generous “feminine attributes” in the 1954 film, “Bread, Love and Jealousy” gave rise to a new word in the French vocabulary – les “lollò”. The academy has spawned many of Italy's great talents, including Frida Giannini, the artistic director for Gucci who has created 20 panels that use cottons and all sorts of other materials to recreate that great Italian icon, “la Lollo”. Madame Chantal Thomass makes a special guest appearance at the exhibition with some historic pieces from her collection that are being displayed in a specially designed boudoir, complete with art deco touches. Here pink triumphs, whether in the historic pieces of Coco Chanel's lingerie collection or the two-piece bustier designed by artist Federico Paris. There's cinema and yet more cinema in Livia Cannella's video made thanks to contributions from the historic archives of the Istituto Luce, and the never-before-seen “Ricolage” digital compositions by the Brivido Pop trio making its debut here with a crazy amalgam of pixels and superimposed pictures in which movie advertising clips and classical paintings take on new guises.
This “101 years full on” exhibition would not be complete without a contribution from the Arts of course and there are the bodices sculpted in pink marble from Portugal and white marble from Carrara by Margherita Serra, not to mention a new take on the Love and Psyche myth from Antonella Cappuccio Muccino with her picture-installation or an original “bustier separé” desigined by Federico Paris covered with San Leucio brocades.
