Portrait of a Lady
Forty period dresses from a private collection, displayed in the Appartamento dei Conservatori at the Campidoglio and the Montemartini Power Plant, document Italian fashion from the nineteenth into the twentieth century.
To celebrate the Rome Fashion Week, the Deputy Mayor Enrico Gasbarra and the Councillor for Cultural Affairs Gianni Borgna present an exhibition of period dresses from the private collection of Mara Parmegiani Alfonsi, an enthusiastic collector, student and teacher of and export on fashion and costume.
The show, with the patronage of the President of the Republic, is made up of a total of forty dresses dating from the early nineteenth century through to the 1940's and takes place across two different sites: the Montemartini Power Plant in Ostiense and the Palazzo dei Conservatori at the Campidoglio.
In the Hall of the Horatii and Curiatii and the fourteenth century rooms of the Palazzo dei Conservatori some fine eighteenth century dresses are on show.
Most notable among these is the rare 1862 dress belonging to a Calabrian noblewoman, decorated with a bow of tricolour ribbons in honour of Italian unity. At the Montemartini Power Plant, meanwhile, among the old sculptures and machinery, some elegant early twentieth century period dresses can be seen in their original surroundings, true masterpieces of design and tailoring.
The choice of these two prestigious locations to display this refined collection of period dresses marks a first for public interest.
The meeting of fashion and archaeology, between fashion and art in the classic sense of the terms, makes the museum space come even more alive, creating a new atmosphere for frequent visitors while fashion enthusiasts can find new tensions between the folds of pure marble in the clothing of the ancient sculptures and the detailing of Chantilly lace, braiding, trimming, ostrich feathers, pearls and sequins on the rare dresses on display.
The exhibition is aimed at creating a moment to reflect on our history and the historical roots of Italian fashion between two centuries, because – as Gianfranco Ferrè writes in the preface to the catalogue - "(…) the past of elegance should be loved, understood, studied, analysed … in order to gain an understanding of roots - without which the fashion of today and tomorrow will find it difficult to have any content".
Among others, it is possible to admire the 1882 dress created by the Florentine tailors Emilia Bossi, suppliers to the royal family, for princess Giulia Simonetti; the dress for the "delizio" made in Catania for a Sicilian noblewoman to travel from her city to her country house; the 1880 “Lingerie” dress for walks in the garden.
As well as these there are the 1902 "spolverina", adopted by the first few daring women drivers, equipped with an anti-dust veil, and the dress of the Duchess of Terranova for her début at court as Lady in Waiting for Queen Elena.
