For a fashion designer, Italian cities are an invaluable source of inspiration. We live constantly immersed in beauty, enchanted by the charm of artistic works and architectural structures of unparalleled splendour. Everywhere it is possible to see traces of the ingenuity of the great designers, evidence of the skill of master craftsmen, despite the thousands of contradictions that can be felt in urban centres, dominated by exhausting rhythms and homogenising lifestyles. Creative ideas, which a fashion designer can translate into clothes and accessories that stand out for their aesthetics, originality and functionality, to meet the needs of a clientele that is attentive to quality, eager to take back their time and affirm their uniqueness.

DESIGN BETWEEN AESTHETICS, FUNCTIONALITY AND CHANGE

The term “design” means creating objects capable of synthesising functionality and aesthetics. In this sense, the designer’s work can have an extremely significant impact on people’s lives: it translates beauty into everyday elements, able to provide aesthetic satisfaction and be, at the same time, flexible, practical and high-performing.
To understand the revolutionary significance that design has had within Italian society, we can go back to the epochal change straight from interior furnishings in the period between the late 1950s and early 1960s. Visionary designers like the Castiglioni Brothers, inventors of the “Arco” lamp, and the architect Gio Ponti, creator ofthe “Superleggera” chair, introduced into Italian homes handy and transportable furnishing accessories, which at the same time had the seductive charm of a work of art. These objects, practical and “desirable”, radically changed the way of experiencing the home, expressing the flexibility and changes of a country undergoing transformation.

In fashion, the need for change was embodied by the diffusion of comfortable and non-constrictive garments such as the trapeze dress, which reflected the need for women to express their desire for freedom and emancipate themselves from the ancient patriarchal models. The designer Yves Saint Laurent made the trapezoid model an icon, capable of expressing the perfect “mix of art, design, culture, travel“, with collections inspired by Mondrian, Andy Warhol and Matisse.

FASHION DESIGN

Many fashion designers choose Italy as the base for producing their creations, attracted by the quality of the raw materials, a long manufacturing tradition and a highly innovative vocation. Today clothes and accessories “must fulfil very specific functions: they no longer have only an aesthetic value, but must also be high-performing products”. The winning formula of Italian fashion brands, compared to foreign competitors, is the ability to offer “a mix that is more intriguing and not replicable, made of history and tradition, taste and style […] as well as pure technique” (Turinetto, 2015).

In a country where the scourge of counterfeiting has reached maddening levels, it is essential for a fashion brand to stand out for its originality, attention to detail, functionality and innovation.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION IN THE JAJO MADE IN ITALY COLLECTION

The Itinerarium collection by fashion designer Rosario Migliaccio offers versatile and comfortable clothes, ideal for those who love the adventurous dimension of travel, but also for those who want to stand out with style in the city’s “jungle”. Playing on earth tones, with touches of black and acid green, the 2019 spring-summer collection offers a combination of pure cotton handcrafted yarns and waterproof technical fabrics, able to create a perfect union between manufacturing tradition and innovation. T-shirts, dresses, trousers, ponchos, ring collars, vests and bomber jackets are created to combine aesthetics and functionality. As well as the multi-function bags, in which the modernity of nylon inserts enhances the value of leather, processed to guarantee the excellence of Made in Italy craftsmanship.