Narratives of Italian craftsmanship and the luxury fashion industry: Representations of Italianicity in discourses of production

Abstract

In the last few years many luxury fashion labels like Gucci have emphasized, in their communication, the various types of craftsmanship involved in the creation of their pieces as a mean of providing history and additional value to their products. This article investigates this phenomenon with a specific focus on issues of national identity and ‘Italianicity’. First, the different strategies concerning representations of craftsmanship in discourses of production that are employed by Italian luxury fashion labels are examined. This phenomenon is investigated through a series of case studies with the aim of identifying situations of dialogue and contradiction between the strategies employed. Moreover, the article examines how both the celebration of Italian handmade craftsmanship in fashion and issues of technological developments are addressed in the discourses of production of luxury fashion goods. Also, the history of the Italian fashion system and its distinctive traits will be considered in this respect. However, narratives of Italian craftsmanship are not only present in the communication of Italian luxury fashion labels examined here. References to craftsmanship ‘made in Italy’ also features in the discourses of production employed by non-Italian luxury fashion brands like Marc Jacobs. In this respect, this article considers how Italian craftsmanship is strictly intertwined with connotations of quality, arguing that it can be productively employed by luxury fashion labels both to provide additional value to products and, more broadly, to enhance the reputation of their brands. Moreover, it is argued that luxury fashion labels do not merely capitalize on ideas of Italianicity that are already present but instead contribute, in an ongoing proces, to recreate them through narratives that emphasize certain values associated with them. In this sense, the Italian luxury fashion labels examined here also contribute to reinforce the positive image of their brands.