Until 18 January next, the Baroque Chapel and the Chapter House of the Italian Cultural Institute of Prague will be hosting “Fotogrammi di moda italiana: dagli anni ‘50, l’Italia che veste il cinema internazionale”, an exhibition curated by Maison Gattinoni’s honorary President Stefano Dominella, as commissioned and organised by the Italian Cultural Institute under the supervision of Marialuisa Pappalardo with the aim of narrating and enhancing the combination of cinema and fashion, which has always been an effective and evocative means of promoting Italian-made products around the world.
The exhibition, which was inaugurated on 15 November, presents 41 original dresses by famous couturiers, stylists and ateliers such as Fernanda Gattinoni, Renato Balestra, Emilio Schuberth, Sartoria Peruzzi, Annamode Costumes, Irene Galitzine, Laura Biagiotti, Armani, Valentino, and Guillermo Mariotto. As Director Pappalardo underlined, these were selected “to tell visitors a story made of beauty, elegance and creativity.”
Coming both from important private archives and from Stefano Dominella’s personal historical archive, the exhibition features dresses worn on the set and at gala events by iconic actresses who have dictated new styles. These include Lana Turner’s draped dress; Audrey Hepburn’s empire style dress in the film “War and Peace”; the mermaid gown worn by Anita Ekberg in Fellini’s “La dolce vita”; and les petites robes noires favoured by Anna Magnani. There are also the imposing capes designed by important fashion houses, which were brought back into fashion by Sabrina Ferilli, one of the protagonists of Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning film “The Great Beauty”, Monica Bellucci, as portrayed by Tornatore in “Malena”, and Sophia Loren, who wore a red dress in the unforgettable Italian mambo scene in Dino Risi’s “Scandal in Sorrento”, and the dresses of Gina Lollobrigida, Fanny Ardant, Charlotte Rampling, Liz Taylor, Claudia Cardinale and Maria Callas.
The Prague leg, where the stage dresses are framed by film posters, includes a tribute to Czech top model and actress naturalised Italian Eva Herzigova and a Giorgio Armani dress made for Scarlett Johansson.
