Exactly one year after its reopening, Florence’s renovated Palazzo Pitti Fashion Museum has refreshed its 20th-century collection, presenting a new chapter in costume history. The exhibition showcases 40 garments, some never before displayed, organized chronologically from the 1920s to the present, with each room featuring a painting in dialogue with the fashion looks.
“This new selection of garments,” explained Simone Verde, Director of the Uffizi Galleries, “tells the story of 20th-century fashion as a visual and cultural language, in constant dialogue with painting and the arts. Fashion is revealed not only as a mirror of the transformation of femininity but also as a heritage of forms, materials, and visions that complements and enriches the figurative narrative of art.”
The first room focuses on the vibrant, exuberant Charleston style of the 1920s. It features Galileo Chini’s Triptych alongside the dress worn by the painter’s wife at the premiere of Turandot at Milan’s La Scala on April 25, 1926. Nearby are typical flapper girl looks – light, exotic-accented dresses in precious silks, sometimes featuring decorative motifs inspired by China, Japan, and India.
Two subsequent rooms cover fashion between the wars, displaying Art Deco-inspired dresses and others dedicated to the cinematic glamour of the 1930s, created by couturiers like Madame Vionnet. These more austere looks reflected the era’s cultural and political climate, favoring sober elegance (this room displays Felice Casorati’s painting, *Lo straniero* / *The Stranger*).
The exhibition continues into postwar fashion, featuring corsets and full skirts. Highlights include a rare dress by a young Yves Saint Laurent created for Christian Dior (which he led from 1957) and three dresses that belonged to Ingrid Bergman, including one by Gattinoni.
Three further rooms are entirely dedicated to the 1960s and 1970s, featuring trapezoidal cuts and futuristic Space Age looks by designers such as André Courrèges, André Laug, and Pierre Cardin. A final room spotlights Roberto Capucci with his sculptural dresses and Enrico Coveri with his iconic sequined looks.
This new installation, visible starting today, will remain for approximately one year. The museum intends to renew the exhibited collections annually, rotating pieces from its archive of approximately 15,000 garments and accessories.
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