Politicizing Milan Made in Italy

Giorgio Correggiari and Transnational Fashion in the 1970’s and 1980’s

Abstract

Giorgio Correggiari was an Italian fashion designer, exponent of the phenomenon known as the “era degli stilisti”, which corresponds to the period between the 1960’s and 1980’s. He distinguished himself by his political attitude, which made him a critical insider of the Italian fashion system. From his criticisms emerge problems related to the globalization of Made in Italy and his ideological-cultural-ethical-productive conflict with the United States. His attitude presents a different postcolonial panorama, which can be defined with the concept of Global South for his experiences in India and Brazil, that together with the collaboration in Japan, suggests a critique of the Italy-United States relationship, characteristic of Made in Italy. Through the designer's private archive and interviews with his brother and colleague Lamberto Correggiari, the paper aims to analyze the designer’s strategies for penetrating the Indian, Brazilian and Japanese markets and the possible reasons that led him to prefer these to the North American market, suggesting the transnational relations of the fashion designer as a way of politicizing the Made in Italy label.