L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 2023 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano M ilan, 1967: t h i s i s when Fior u c c i f i r s t r a i s e d t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f f a s h i o n l o v e r s . F o u n d e d b y E l i o Fiorucci, the son of a shoe shop owner, the brand soon became a symbol of innova- tion and unique flamboy- ance, inspired by the very essence and creativity of the 1960s. It all began when Elio, a young creative mind of 27, encountered the vibrancy of L o n d o n ' s i c o n i c C a r n a b y Street. Elio's trip to the UK inspired him to make of fash- ion a living. Upon returning to Milan, the natural design- er in him found a canvas in his family's shoe shop. There, Elio created a collection of brightly colored galoshes, that reflected his unique flair and the kaleidoscopic spirit he absorbed from the streets of London. The distinct designs soon garnered the attention of a local fashion magazine and, just like that, Elio was thrust into the limelight and recog- nized as a budding fashion t a l e n t . I n 1 9 6 7 , t h e f i r s t Fiorucci store opened in Gal- leria Passerella in Milan, marking the start of a brand that would later become a symbol of Italian fashion. Transitioning from a mod- est store in Milan to an iconic f a s h i o n h o u s e t o o k b o t h b o u n d l e s s c r e a t i v i t y a n d meticulous craftsmanship, the hallmarks of the best Made in Italy, mixed with the designer's continuous inter- est in finding new trends and developing new ideas. 1983 marked a seminal moment for the brand: pio- neering the Flashdance aes- thetic, Fiorucci was the first to design and market brand- name leggings, legwarmers, and sweatshirts. This collec- t i o n , w h i c h m i r r o r e d t h e a m b i t i o u s n a r r a t i v e p o r - trayed in the movie Flash- dance captured the zeitgeist of a generation enchanted by the tale of a dancer striving against all odds. With this collection, Fiorucci success- fully led his fashion brand into the real world, actively associating with the aspira- tions and expressions of a generation. A n d t h a t w a s j u s t t h e b e g i n n i n g b e c a u s e s o o n Fiorucci turned into a pop culture icon in its own right. The Fiorucci store on New Y o r k ' s L e x i n g t o n A v e n u e morphed into a bustling hub o f c u l t u r a l e x c h a n g e ; i t became a hub for artists of all kinds and a place where art, music, and fashion merged into one. This was the venue where Andy Warhol found a home for Interview maga- zine, and where a 16-year- old Madonna, a star in the making, performed her first concert. The store became a rendezvous point for the cre- a t i v e m i n d s o f t h e e r a , a place where ideas bloomed a n d t r e n d s w e r e s e t . T h e name Fiorucci became syn- onymous with a culture of expression, an ethos that cel- ebrated creativity and inno- vation not just in Italy, but across the globe. Through the evolution of music and fash- i o n , F i o r u c c i e s t a b l i s h e d itself as a brand that cele- brated creativity in all its forms. T h a t ' s w h y t h e b r a n d caught the attention and loy- alty of numerous high-profile fans over the years, including icons such as Audrey Hep- burn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Andy Warhol, among others . The brand's appeal hasn't waned, as its bold aesthetics continue to attract those who appreciate its unique blend of eclectic designs and Italian craftsmanship. O n t h e b u s i n e s s f r o n t , Fiorucci has made strides in expanding its global pres- ence: under the stewardship of the Schaffers, the brand achieved an even higher level of success, with around 80 stockists across the globe, including prestigious plat- f o r m s l i k e S e l f r i d g e s a n d Zalando. This growth has b e e n p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t a b l e among younger consumers, signaling a promising trajec- tory for the brand's influence and reach . Some of Fiorucci's most iconic designs include its vin- tage angels' logo, the already- mentioned Flashdance aes- t h e t i c , w h i c h f e a t u r e d leggings, legwarmers, and sweatshirts, and the creation of stretch blue jeans. The brand's ethos of eclectic and playful design is perhaps best represented by its vintage angels' logo, which is still f o u n d t o d a y o n T - s h i r t s , sweatshirts, and accessories. The brand's ongoing jour- ney reveals a broader narra- tive about its strong identity and the continual role of the "Made in Italy" ethos in the global fashion landscape. Fiorucci's history, coupled with its innovative and cre- ative approach, has not only solidified its status in the f a s h i o n i n d u s t r y b u t a l s o made it a symbol of the last- ing appeal and versatility of Italian creativity. The brand's ability to combine tradition with modernity, and to foster a culture of artistic expres- s i o n , f u l l y r e p r e s e n t s t h e dynamic spirit of Italian fash- ion. T h e i n v e n t i o n o f t h e c a l c u l a t o r d a t e s b a c k t o a n c i e n t t i m e s with tools like the abacus. However, the elec- tronic calculator we are familiar with today came to be thanks to an Italian engi- neer, Pier Giorgio Perotto, a n d t h e I t a l i a n c o m p a n y Olivetti. The story centers a r o u n d t h e c r e a t i o n o f the Olivetti Programma 101, one of the first commer- cial programmable desktop calculators, which paved the way for personal computing as we know it today. Pier Giorgio Perotto, an engineer at Olivetti based in I v r e a , P i e d m o n t , w a s t h e brain behind the Programma 1 0 1 , a l s o a f f e c t i o n a t e l y known as Perottina or P101. His journey into this ground- b r e a k i n g i n v e n t i o n b e g a n with an aspiration to design a machine that was not only functional but user-friendly: in the early 1960s, most com- puting devices were bulky, complex, and intimidating to the average person. Perotto imagined a device that would sit on a desk, usable by any- one without specialized train- ing. The Programma 101 was a marvel of engineering that h a d m a n y f e a t u r e s o f t h e larger computers of its era, yet it was compact enough to f i t o n a d e s k t o p . I t w a s launched at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and vol- ume production commenced i n 1 9 6 5 . P r i c e d a t $ 3 , 2 0 0 (equivalent to $29,700 in 2 0 2 2 ) , i t w a s a f u t u r i s t i c design that captivated many, leading to the sale of about 44,000 units, primarily in the US . What set the Programma 101 apart was its user-centric design: Perotto and his team created a simple and intuitive machine that was very differ- ent from the competition, reason for which it won the Compasso d'Oro Industrial Design Award 1 shortly after being invented. The hardware of the Pro- gramma 101 included discrete d e v i c e s l i k e t r a n s i s t o r s , diodes, resistors, and capaci- tors mounted on phenolic resin circuit card assemblies. It had 240 bytes of informa- t i o n s t o r e d e l e c t r i c a l l y i n magnetostrictive delay-line memory. The calculator could p e r f o r m b a s i c a r i t h m e t i c functions - addition, subtrac- tion, multiplication, and divi- sion, along with square root, and absolute value calcula- tions. Its programming was a form of assembly language, a l b e i t s i m p l e r t h a n t h e assembly used in contempo- rary computers of the time . The legacy of the Program- ma 101 and Pier Giorgio Per- otto is profound. This inven- tion showcased the strength of Italian creativity and the ability to envision and devel- op products that were not just functional but beautifully d e s i g n e d w i t h t h e u s e r i n mind. With the Programma 101, Olivetti and Perotto laid a f o u n d a t i o n t h a t w o u l d inspire the development of u s e r - f r i e n d l y c o m p u t i n g d e v i c e s a l l t h e w a y t o o u r days. Giorgio Perotto and Olivetti are behind the calculators we are using today (Photo: Vichaya Kiatyingangsulee/Dreamstime) Trendy Fiorucci accessories (Photo: andersphoto/Shutterstock) The electronic calculator The Legacy of Fiorucci LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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