L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano I t's called Gianfran- co Ferré. Design P r i n c i p l e s t h e exhibition organized at the Italian Cultu- ral Institute in Los Angeles from February 8th to May 1 5 t h . D e d i c a t e d t o t h e famous Milanese fashion designer who died in 2007, it was curated and opened by Paola Bertola, profes- sor of Design at the Politec- nico di Milano, and Rita Airaghi, steer advisor of t h e G i a n f r a n c o F e r r é Research Center. The exhi- bition aims to explore Gian- f r a n c o F e r r é ' s u n i q u e approach to fashion throu- g h a s e l e c t i o n o f d e s i g n s and iconic garments, offe- ring visitors an immersive e x p e r i e n c e m a d e e v e n richer by the use of images and videos from the Archi- vio Ferré. G i a n f r a n c o F e r r é w a s among the great masters of Italian fashion, especially b e c a u s e o f h i s u n i q u e a p p r o a c h t o d e s i g n . A n architecture graduate from Milan Polytechnic - class 1969 - Ferré drew from the h e r i t a g e o f a r c h i t e c t u r a l c o m p o s i t i o n , b l e n d i n g a rigorous technical process with rich poetics, and crea- ting an original language along the two dimensions Blaise Pascal had once cal- l e d e s p r i t d e g é o m é t r i e (geometric knowledge) and esprit de finesse (artistic knowledge). Design Principles is the first exhibition since the establishment of the Gian- franco Ferré Research Cen- ter at the Politecnico and, for this reason, it has been an opportunity to reflect on t h e d e s i g n p r i n c i p l e s u n d e r l y i n g G i a n f r a n c o F e r r é ' s w o r k , w h i c h r e m a i n s a m o d e l o f b o t h polytechnic culture and the continuous tension to har- monize technical-scientific and artistic knowledge. This exhibition also allows us to s h a r e e a r l y e x a m p l e s o f what will lead, in the next three years, to the develop- ment of an ambitious "aug- m e n t e d a r c h i v e " p r o j e c t . Paola Bertola, professor of Design at the Milan Polyte- chnic, explains that "Ferré was one of the interpreters of a fundamental develop- mental phase in the Italian culture of design, in fashion and in general. This phase began after World War II and transformed the coun- try into an internationally recognized player in design and design culture. Ferré represents, in this sense, a f u n d a m e n t a l f i g u r e a n d emerges among his contem- poraries for certain charac- teristics that this exhibition highlights. A graduate of architecture, he cannot only express with his work such a rich phase of Italian desi- gn, but he also manages to c o d i f y i t , w h i c h i s something not all designers managed to do." The drawings and shirts on display are part of the designer's archive, recogni- zed as heritage "of special c u l t u r a l i n t e r e s t " b y t h e Ministry of Cultural Herita- ge and Activities - Archival Superintendence for Lom- bardy, and today part of the Historical Archives system of the Milan Polytechnic. The exhibition is divided i n t o t w o m o d e s : t h e DRAWINGS WALL is a col- l e c t i o n o f t h e d e s i g n e r ' s s k e t c h e s , a j o u r n e y i n t o F e r r é ' s v i s i o n o f f a s h i o n d e s i g n , u n d e r s t o o d a s a dynamic process and a con- tinuous search for a synthe- sis between art and science, inspiration and compositio- nal rigor, cultural content and technical innovation. T h e g a r m e n t s o n d i s p l a y will take the visitor on an experiential journey throu- gh Ferré's stylistic research, a l o n g a n i t i n e r a r y w h e r e t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f d e s i g n materialize in endless varia- t i o n s o n t h e a r c h e t y p a l white shirt, a true icon of t h e d e s i g n e r ' s c r e a t i v e work. How did the idea for t h i s e x h i b i t i o n c o m e about? P a o l a B e r t o l a : A y e a r ago, the Ferré family deci- ded to donate the Gianfran- c o F e r r é a r c h i v e a n d t h e f o r m e r G i a n f r a n c o F e r r é Foundation with its head- quarters to the Politecnico di Milano. This choice was inspired by a project deve- loped by a research group with me and Professor Rita Airaghi. This project wants t o t r a n s f o r m t h e F e r r é archives, with their histori- cal heritage, into a research center. This exhibition is the first public display of the principles that inspired Gianfranco Ferré's work, which are also closely rela- ted to polytechnic culture. A culture he absorbed becau- se he graduated from the Politecnico di Milano. We wanted to present ourselves to the public starting from these very principles, and with the awareness that the research center will develop with a vision for the future. Indeed, the research center w a n t s t o b e p a r t i c u l a r l y active in fields such as digi- tal innovation in a creative- cultural context, including that of fashion, which is a very important sector. What are the charac- teristics of this exhibi- tion? P a o l a B e r t o l a : I t i s a small exhibition, but big in terms of content. You can use the term "augmented," as we say in digital jargon because the materials in our a r c h i v e a r e a c c e s s i b l e through QR codes that lead to much broader narratives than what is physically on display. This allows for a more detailed exploration of the principles and processes t h a t h a v e c h a r a c t e r i z e d Gianfranco Ferré's work. Rita Airaghi: It was not easy to match the culture of the Foundation and make it one with the way of thinking and work habits of the Poli- tecnico. But it was a very satisfying experience, based on material the Foundation had already prepared but r e v i s e d a n d a r r a n g e d t o become a memory for the future. This, in fact, charac- terizes all choices we made for the exhibition. I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e digital part, are there any physical pieces? Paola Bertola: Yes. Our a m b i t i o n i s t o b e a b l e t o make a continuum between p h y s i c a l r e a l i t y a n d i t s exploration and expansion into the digital realm. There are some very beautiful pie- c e s , l i k e F e r r é ' s w h i t e s h i r t s , a n a r c h e t y p e h e e x p l o r e d u s i n g " d e s i g n dimensions" we just call, as the exhibit's name reveals, "design principles." Starting f r o m t h e s a m e a r c h e t y p e then he developed his own variations. playing with the shirt's basic compositional elements but getting very different outcomes depen- ding on the material used, the construction, the volu- mes, the details. Next to the shirts, there is a selection of d r a w i n g s e x p l o r i n g t h e same principles and then gradually enhancing them. Rita Airaghi: Analyzing the content of the QR codes is very interesting and enri- ches the exhibition itself. W e s t a r t f r o m a p h y s i c a l exhibition of 10 shirts and a r o u n d 6 0 d r a w i n g s a n d reach, thanks to the docu- ments accessible through t h e Q R c o d e s , a t o t a l o f hundreds of images, pho- tos, and sketches as well as plenty of details about what is physically there. This is one of the most important characteristics of the exhi- b i t i o n b e c a u s e u s u a l l y fashion exhibits are limited t o w h a t i s d i s p l a y e d . I n d e e d , o u r a i m w a s t o e n r i c h a n d e x p a n d w h a t was displayed with all that our archives had to offer about each of the pieces. How can this exhibi- tion be interpreted? Ferré's clothes and sket- ches are like notes he left us, which we can use to nar- rate his creative path. His own ability to codify creati- vity is the result of the stu- d i e s h e c o m p l e t e d a t t h e Politecnico, and represents h i s o w n w i s h t o e x p l o r e , also critically, the relation- s h i p b e t w e e n a r a t i o n a l dimension made of techni- cal refinement, and a creati- ve one -more free and poe- t i c - i n s p i r e d b y c u l t u r a l diversity and historical, cul- tural and artistic research. Ferré's work almost has a double soul where creativity a n d r a t i o n a l i t y f i n d n e w ways of expression: this is what emerges in this exhibi- tion. SILVIA NITTOLI An example of Gianfranco Ferré's archetypal mix of sartorial elegance and architec- tural plasticity in one of his iconic white shirts (Photo courtesy of IIC Los Angeles) Gianfranco Ferré's skills and creativity on display at Los Angeles exhibition LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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