No. 3 (2024)
Essays

A New Era of Italian know-how in fashion: Exploring the (im)possible dialogue of craftsmanship and industry

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  • Gianni Denaro,
  • Andrea Pruiti
Gianni Denaro
Sapienza University of Rome
Bio
Andrea Pruiti
Sapienza University of Rome
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-2713

Published 30-06-2024

Keywords

  • Italian Fashion System,
  • Know-how,
  • Consumer Behavior,
  • Craftsmanship,
  • Fashion Industry Transformation

How to Cite

Denaro, G., & Pruiti, A. (2024). A New Era of Italian know-how in fashion: Exploring the (im)possible dialogue of craftsmanship and industry. Fashion Highlight, (3), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-2713

Copyright (c) 2024 Gianni Denaro, Andrea Pruiti

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The growing availability of information about garments and their production processes has helped today's consumers to develop a deeper understanding and heightened sensitivity towards environmental, economic, culture and social sustainability, as well as towards reputational factors such as product and brand recognizability. This has led to a renewed interest by consumers for local artisanal practices to better respond to sustainability issues, product authenticity and personalization-customization practices. Framed within this scenario, this contribution illustrates the evolution of the concept of “know-how” within the Italian fashion system, and it explores the evolving relationship between fashion craftsmanship and industrial production in Italy. Furthermore, starting from the methods and strategies that merge local craftsmanship and industrial efficiency, the work proposes how education could build contemporary fashion design professionals, specifically describing what are the fundamental skills they need to get to incorporate traditional artisanal practices into industrial production. The paper made use of a desk research approach, combining texts about design, fashion cultures and Italian craftsmanship with more contemporary academic papers and industry reports, to align with the evolving fashion panorama and consumer issues.

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