B3666 - WRITING FOR FASHION IN ITALIAN AND EUROPEAN CULTURE.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows in depht the main fashion writings in Italian and European culture, is able to interpret them critically and acquire the tools to elaborate professional texts for written fashion communication through specific analysis of various textual typologies such as literature, the language of advertising and journalism.

Course contents

Students are invited to reflect on the importance of language within the dynamics of fashion in the context of Italian and European culture. This means learning not only how to read but also how to write using this type of language, in order to achieve an all-encompassing reflection. Since fashion, as a system of communication, exists thanks to language, it is necessary to know its different typologies, which range from fashion journalism to literature and from criticism and philosophy to moral and even religious reflection, via the words of the fashion designers themselves. Knowing how to read these texts also means knowing how to write about fashion, using the many registers available and taking into account one’s own (mother) tongue and cultural language, in an exercise of cultural deconstruction that is essential to every form of writing about fashion within the contexts of both marketing and scholarly criticism.

So, what does it mean to write about fashion in Italian and European culture? The course begins with a statement that already entails its thesis: every culture, which is expressed through different languages, transmits, describes, and processes the issue of fashion in several different ways when it comes to the creation of fashion, its marketing, and the literature and scientific criticism revolving around it. Therefore it is essential to be able to deconstruct, from a cultural point of view, what it means to write about fashion – or ‘mode’ or ‘moda’, to use three languages that take up a sizeable share of the fashion market and its aesthetics – also taking into account different registers and genres, as well as geographic differences. What does it mean to write about fashion in a non-European or non-Western culture? The very term ‘fashion’ is used in different ways and is also a source of power. A culture, in fact, can also transmit ethical, moral, and cultural values that have historically been hostile to certain fashions. Indeed European culture, just like other cultures, has written not only in favour of fashion but also against it. Thus, the knowledge of these cultural dynamics is essential to understanding the meaning behind the written words of fashion.

Readings/Bibliography

Alberto Fabio Ambrosio, “Fashion, Clothing, and Modesty in Republican Turkey (1925–34)” (in press) in A. Utriza Yakin, A. duderija & A. Van Raemdonck (dirs.), Shame, Modesty, and Honor in Islam, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2024, pp.127-140.

Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

M. Carter, Fashion Classics: from Carlyle to Barthes, Oxford: Berg Publishers 2003.

Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Peter McNeil and Sanda Miller, Fashion Writing and Criticism: History, Theory, Practice. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons with commentary on texts, images, and videos and discussions with the students.

Assessment methods

Writing about fashion means being able to write in different styles and from different points of view. The students will be assessed on their ability to write a paper (3,000 words) the content of which will be chosen according to the lessons and the nature of the text itself (fiction, magazine article on fashion, scientific literature, and philosophical essay).

Teaching tools

Texts; slides; videos.

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Carlo Antonio Ambrosio