June Editorial

What does it mean to dress well? The fashion trends in the last hundred years have been so different, extreme and unsettling that it seems to be difficult to find a minimum common denominator that can unite them in the concept of elegance. Fashion has always been influenced by historical moments, thought, music or political struggles to launch trends that become uniform especially for young people, for those who ride and understand those thoughts.

A few examples? The break-up jeans worn by Elvis and James Dean in the 1950s that from America come to revolutionize post-war European respectability. In Europe these are the years of reconstruction and the economic miracle and if Paris dictates the law with the creations of Emilio Schuberth and Christian Dior, the fashion world begins to be invested by mass consumption, so much so that the Italian fashion industry was born in Florence with the first fashion show at Palazzo Pitti in 1952 with models that were not made to measure. If before dressing well meant being imprisoned in rigid bodices and petticoats, now clothes become easier and more wearable, until the arrival of the new Coco Chanel revolution that clears trousers and garçonne looks, removes collars from jackets and fills them with necklaces .

But the 60s had to arrive and the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to drastically reduce the hems of skirts thanks to Mary Quant’s stroke of genius and the unrepeatable atmospheres of swinging London, where true youth rebellions are born. Le seguaci di Twiggy, la prima magrissima top model universalmente nota, indossavano microgonne, stivaloni, i capelli a caschetto e le ciglia finte: eccentricità, rottura col passato, voglia di vivere, rock and roll.

In the 70s, on the other hand, the girls are tougher, they do not want to be noticed for their beauty and sex appeal but, in spite of appearance, they claim their intelligence and political commitment. These are the years of student uprisings, feminism, the refusal of war and peace and love: long skirts and hippy dresses, flared jeans and a low waist to show that belly they want to dispose of according to their will. These are the years of the sexual revolution and everything is possible. Even in this historical period, clothing, which today we would not define as respectable, served to make an entire generation of girls who had ideals of equality, emancipation and independence feel good.

That genius of Armani had to arrive in the 1980s to finally create a look for career women that did not make them feel less authoritative than men but equally feminine in the workplace: the trouser suits with unstructured jackets but with strong shoulders have redefined the style in a very specific historical moment, the one in which women began to weigh in social and public life. From then on, fashion followed the change of times by consecrating the great Italian brands as guidelines for style: the woman now had a thousand faces and could choose based on her personality, whether to be Mediterranean and sexy in Dolce and Gabbana, refined and very chic wearing Valentino, wild and animalier with Roberto Cavalli’s dresses, romantic at the Blumarine or intellectual as was designed by Miuccia Prada.

Women’s struggles in the 21st century are no longer just those of women: the new generations take to the streets today to recognize gender equality and to raise the awareness of the great of the Earth towards a problem that is global and affects everyone, attention to the planet. And fashion once again accompanies this social commitment with other changes. The collections of the last few seasons are increasingly unisex, supporting the right of everyone to be exactly as they feel, without more diktats and labels: masculine and feminine mix in a fluid fashion, without borders, free as it has never been before.

Dressing well today means more than ever feeling good in an image that is our calling card to the outside world, the dress is the first thing you see about us and everyone has the sacrosanct right to interpret it as they wish. But dressing well also means consciously wearing clothes that are durable, the result of a textile supply chain that respects the parameters of sustainability, a fashion that does not pollute the environment, that respects animals and plants.

Today dressing well is a common responsibility we have towards ourselves and our planet, not just a matter of aesthetic elegance.

Crida knows this and does it, not just in words. It is more difficult and more expensive to follow this commitment but it is essential that it be shared by businesses and consumers, especially the youngest. I dress well because I know that my dress is a flag, which tells not only my image but also the values I believe in.