Autarkic Materials and Types

The Culture of the Product Between Industry and Handicrafts in Italy in the Early Forties

Abstract

The autarkic products of the years 1940 – 1943 are an interesting field of research because they represent the end of a cultural cycle, reflecting the political-economic setup that emerged in Italy after the iniquitous sanctions of 1935. This essay focuses upon groups of materials, glasses,  reconstituted woods and textile providing an overview of furnishings and artefacts – even minor ones – conducted by looking at the main magazines of those years. This exploration, in-between industry and crafts, analyzes fragments of the autarkic aesthetics that involved architecture, design and fashion.