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2. The Cult of Femininity
- University of Minnesota Press
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2 THE CULT OF FEMININITY Micol Fontana (in conversation with cristina giorcelli) I had the good luck and pleasure to speak with Micol Fontana: my good luck because, at the age of ninety-four, she is still vivacious, energetic, and a volcano of initiatives—all feasible; a pleasure because through her words, colorful and immediate, she relives a human world and a city, Rome, in all its fabulous contours, those of the mythical 1950s and 1960s, when, after the horror and devastation of the war, the Eternal City blossomed again and, thanks to the contributions of ingenious creators undertaking enterprises of extraordinary quality (such as the Fontana Sisters atelier) it became the privileged destination of beautiful people, from princesses in exile to Hollywood actresses, from highsociety ladies to artists. In those years, Italian high fashion rapidly developed, and for many reasons and a combination of motives, Rome was its capital. As Micol writes, after 1948 “in the Italy that was ready to live its second rebirth, the cult of femininity exploded and immediately made converts. Not the cult of beauty . . . but of femininity, precisely , the new way of being a woman, joyful and carefree.”1 She continues: “The golden, frenetic, sleepless, curious Rome, the Rome of nightclubs, of nights drawn out till dawn, it was all there” (96). This was the Rome that served as backdrop for the fashion shows of the three sisters. Today Micol Fontana directs the foundation that carries her name, located on the first floor of the building that, since 1957, has housed her famous atelier on Via San Sebastianello , near the Piazza di Spagna. She remembers all of her clients/friends warmly, with admiration, with humor, and a few with deep aƒection. I converse with her in her study, surrounded by gowns on exhibition and by photographs on the walls of models (even famous ones) who wear afternoon outfits and evening gowns from that golden epoch: in reality, they are timeless works of art. On a mannequin, next to me, there is a short evening dress made of black silk velvet with a low-necked fitted bodice and wide fuchsia and maroon double-satin bands (but the shadings of the colors, boast of the atelier , are, in fact, indescribable) that, above the straight skirt, fall from the waist. It would be a privilege to wear it even today! After having admired its harmony, I examine it closely and am enchanted by the extraordinary finishing: more than seams, what I see are chiselings made by high craftsmen. The style from which the fortunes of the Fontana sisters began derived “from their taste for the past (the remote past, not the dramatic past we had just come out of ) with some indulgence to the Renaissance. Women liked it; the colors seemed chosen by an artist” (149). Micol lets herself remember: from Rita Hayworth to Joan Collins, from Colette Rosselli to Renata Tebaldi, from Margaret Truman to Jackie Kennedy, from Marella Agnelli Caracciolo to the enfante of Spain, from Linda Christian to Kelly Le Brock, from Soraya of Persia to Maria Pia of Savoy—to cite only a few—she describes their beauty, their elegance, in some cases, sadly, their adverse destiny, but also their complete faith in her taste and in that of her beloved and inventive sisters, Zoe and Giovanna, who knew how to find the right shape for every body and for every occasion. Micol speaks to me also of her travels around the world and of some of the many invitations and numerous prizes that the sisters received as testimonials and tributes to the refinement of their craftsmanship . She dwells on their Italian artistry and how, even today, illustrious personalities remember them and stay in contact with her (Giovanna and Zoe died several years ago). Having arrived in Rome from the province of Reggio-Emilia (from Traversetolo, near Parma) in 1936 literally in search of fortune, the young and comely Fontana sisters, deM I C O L F O N T A N A / 1 8 [44.221.45.48] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 12:14 GMT) scendants of three generations of seamstresses, found what they were looking for. After having worked as helpers in various seamstress workshops, they were able, in a few years—and despite the serious slowdown in productivity due to the war—not only to found their first atelier, integrating themselves perfectly into the big city, but also to become a reference point for the many...