Month: July 2023

No foreign literary work has contributed as much to building an imaginary of our country as the famous Italian Journey by the prolific German scholar J. W. Von Goethe, who travelled through Italy between 1786 and 1788, portraying it as an ideal place of beauty, suspended between the Eden-like dimension of its landscapes and the sublime inspiration of its art. It was not until the 1980s that this zeitgeist was transcended into matter. And while it is true that a decade later, the rock band Afterhours were singing that “You can’t get out alive from the 80s”, it was precisely in those years that Italy came back to the fore with a new identity: bold, industrious and organised with a production system recognised for its high quality and unmistakable style. The ‘Made in Italy’ concept, which took off in those years, decreed the success of an exquisitely Italian heritage, in many respects.

There were four categories that defined the identity of an entire country: clothing, agri-food, furniture and automobiles. The designers who championed the ‘Made in Italy’ concept the most include the genius that was Gianfranco Ferré, known for the harmonious volumes of his creations, celebrated for the impeccable style of his pinstripe suits and for turning the shirt into a fetish. The women he imagined for his creations, at a time when the euphoria of prosperity was often overshadowed by superficial appearances, alluded to the rediscovery of their power. Women could aspire to top roles in society. Hence the formal style accompanied by the bold nature of their accessories. Retro forays into eyewear had feminine shapes: cat-eye and elongated, but also slightly trapezoidal, in both dark and coloured tones, the influences of which follow one another in the thread of the story, from the temples to the lenses, in certain collections produced by Marcolin.

It is not only the title of one of the most significant short stories by Stephen King, the king of thrillers, published in Italy in 1981, that links the last gasps of the 1970s to the new era. The zeitgeist comes in wearing full revival silhouettes: these include the iconic round, coloured or tortoiseshell glasses inspired by Andy Warhol, appearing in the brightly coloured magazines, film sets and city streets of the West and of Italy full of ardour, as well as the famous teardrop lenses which made a comeback thanks to the films of an era seductive in terms of aesthetics and storylines. And it is with this spirit, conjuring up pages from books, archive footage and films, that Marcolin gave a voice to these atmospheres in its collections.

This is what we could call the themes, like the echoes of the famous (star) wars by director George Lucas, that marked the decade: amidst new intergalactic and imaginary spaces to be explored, political and social revolutions that defined its contours through the renewal of taste and lifestyle of an era that was revolutionary in many ways. This turmoil, which was linked to the revolutions of the previous decade through a contradictory sense of defeat and victory at the same time by those involved in the counterculture, rediscovered an individualism that tended to express itself in eccentricities: from the serial and irreverent art of Andy Warhol to the disturbing sounds of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, through to Elton John and David Bowie, who with unparalleled originality sang of the unknown of another space beyond the earth. And in terms of design, how did this turmoil permeate everyday spaces and accessories? Through a revolution of taste with unequivocal intent.

The identity of the decade shifted from the world of ideas to the world of design with a significant post-modern twist. It was the clean, essential lines of the world of objects, particularly those relating to lighting – with the consecration of the immaculate white pendant lamps – that were juxtaposed with imaginative, typically optical effects, the result of influences from the world of psychedelia still in vogue, characterising the geometric shapes of the brightly coloured wallpapers that decorated homes. The destiny of colours seemed tied in with that of shapes artfully constructed to deceive the eye: optical art, which originated at the end of the 1960s, developed and found the best framework to express itself in the decade that followed, combining two colours in particular: black and white, the matching of which gave way to its most congenial use in fashion and accessories. The mood board of this style, with its nods to science fiction, also through the use of oversized glasses with a printed effect, is well captured in the video clip created by Jack Whiteley and Laura Brownhill for the song Bennie and The Jets, by Elton John, who at that time was intent on carving out a place for himself in the temple of style: performing in front of an audience with flashy sunglasses, richly decorated even at sunset, becoming a viaticum for the iconography of an era. But it was the boldly shaped and brightly coloured glasses that best represented the ironic and eagerly light-hearted tones of that current of taste, the offspring of those flowers we all know, which helped give a new impetus to the objects and interior design of the period. The close link claimed by the revival of oriental philosophies and the need for a sense of wellbeing linked to a state of nature is imbued with the trend that still influences Marcolin’s most glamorous and luxury collections, with their bold shapes and pastel colours.

Just like designers of the decade, turning to new shapes and materials. From pop culture and the world of animation came mouths, hands, vegetables to be transformed into the most eclectic of seats. From the desire to experiment, however, came the need to focus on new materials. Even controversial ones. This is not the case with foam rubber – the forerunner of polyurethane foam – but with plastic, regarding the use of which the two opposite poles of the counterculture clashed: the hippy one, which abhorred the very word because “…plastic was used for mass-produced objects, easy to manipulate and lacking in authenticity. Plastic people had the same attributes,” as Ken Goffman wrote in his book Counterculture Through the Ages. In contrast, for Warhol, plastic possessed qualities: flexibility, mutability, variability. “In the realm of authenticity, flexibility can be suspect,” Goffman continued, pointing out the contrast in aesthetics and thinking of a highly contradictory decade, which prompted part of the hippy movement to follow Warhol’s eccentric variability, characterised by his ironic detachment. After all, the artist went down in history for being attracted by money, fame and superficial beauty.

The stories we love are usually those that we somehow consider close to our world. On the contrary, the discoveries catapult us into scenarios far removed from our own reality. And yet they captivate us. A bit like the art of Monica Sjöö, whose story offers insights into hot topics such as, above all, gender equality. This is a topic very close to Marcolin’s heart, as since its foundation, the company has been committed to supporting gender policies in the broadest sense and actions aimed at promoting a work-life balance. From the very beginning, we chose to prevent female workers first and foremost, who by choice or necessity decided to take care of their families, from leaving their jobs. Over time and as new challenges have arisen, we have set up pathways to support parenting alongside the inclusion and empowerment of women, which Sabrina Paulon, Group HR Director of Marcolin, has already talked about. The idea to tell you about The Great Cosmic Mother came about from an interregnum combining the similarities and quality of the discovery of this Swedish artist. A unique journey that brings together three inseparable and interconnected elements of Monica Sjöö’s world: art, politics and spirituality.

If the principle of all thought is measured in words, Monica’s is connected to Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, understood as the creative principle of the world, reflected in a woman’s body. It is precisely this painted idea that unites the cycles of nature with motherhood, which, descending into ritual practices close to paganism, make Monica Sjöö’s art disruptive. What she puts on stage is not a fairytale, and the canvas God Giving Birth (1968) offers up an unequivocal translation of feminist iconography: God is a woman intent on giving birth. Inspired by the experience of the birth of her second son, the work, accused of blasphemy and obscenity, goes on to be censored and removed wherever it is exhibited. Today, it is part of a collection of 50 works, including the mystical suggestions of large canvases and wall paintings, as well as the protest posters that accompanied the artist on her environmental and peace marches as early as the late 1960s.

Like many artists, Monica Sjöö experienced a personal parable that led her beyond the confines of home. Born in Härnösand, in the Swedish county of Västernorrland in 1938, she found her way to emancipation in Bristol, where she moved after meeting her British future husband, Stevan Trickey, in Paris. The traumatic experience of giving birth to their first child in a Swedish hospital was a subject of personal exploration until the catharsis of the birth of her other two children in the more reassuring confines of her home. In Bristol, in 1964, Monica exhibited her first abstract canvases, thus initiating her commitment to feminist and pacifist movements. It was a rite of passage that brought her into contact with the civilised and radical circles of her time: from the protests against the war in Vietnam through the liberation marches of the women’s movements, which saw the freedom of the individual, regardless of sex, gender or class, as an inalienable right. The exhibition documented the artist’s all-round commitment, delivering to the public the portrait of a woman whose art is poetic, controversial and never banal, radical and poignant – like the canvas to which she entrusts her grief over the death of her youngest son, Lament for my Young Son, the first of a long series – and forces reflection. The Moderna Museet in Stockholm, in collaboration with Modern Art Oxford, has established a common thread between Monica Sjöö’s ecologist and feminist action and the contemporary Fridays for Future movement, created by another, much better-known Swede, Greta Thunberg. Due to its topics and original narrative, the exhibition could not leave a company like Marcolin indifferent. You have until 15 October to see it in Stockholm.

The Misfits, directed by John Houston and released in 1961, made history for various reasons. Firstly, because the film stars Marilyn Monroe and was written by her husband playwright Arthur Miller, as his first and only script. Secondly, because it also features Clark Gable, who had never worked with Marilyn Monroe before. As a final addition to this stellar cast – specifically assembled to promote the film written by Miller – comes Montgomery Clift. Today, for the first time ever, the public can view, set against the breathtaking backdrop of Forte di Bard (AO), a story within a story, thanks to discreet and never intrusive shots from the archives of the celebrated Magnum agency. The shots depict the behind-the-scenes of a movie shadowed by the fame and personal life of its main characters (film icon Marilyn Monroe more than anyone, who at the time was going through the end of her troubled relationship with Arthur Miller – the couple in fact officially announced their divorce after the shooting). The exhibition, open until September 17, 2023, offers the typical behind-the-scenes graceful approach, a peek at the atmosphere and energy of a unique mix of scenic fiction and vivid emotions.

A small group of photographers with a great personality had exclusive access to the movie set: Eve Arnold, Cornell Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Ernst Haas, Erich Hartmann, Inge Morath and Dennis Stock. Every one of them documented, with their own style, the film shooting. The exhibition showcases 60 shots, as a tribute to the decade to which it refers, the 1960s, when the wind of change was blowing in America, shining the spotlight on youth protest movements. Western movies that were so popular in the 1940s and 1950s were now out of fashion; Arthur Miller knew it and so he chose a very personal approach to his script. Magnum Photos also wanted to be part of the change and welcomed the first woman photographer aboard: Eve Arnold, whose backstage shots of The Misfits are featured in this article as they really capture and express Marilyn Monroe’s emotional authenticity on and off stage.

The diva, instead, the one who was born when she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, expressed herself with seductive femininity – an allure that in the 1950s the Hollywood industry had already built around other icons of the time, from Elisabeth Taylor to Ava Gardner. After all, the audience just wanted to dream and the post-war period provided fertile ground for the codification, also in aesthetic terms, of a diva status that would continue until the 1960s. The classic dark cat-eye or butterfly sunglasses that were so popular at the time featured the typical shapes that were considered real style must-haves and that are now back in fashion in the Marcolin collections. In fact, in the shots featuring Marilyn in New York City on the day after her divorce announcement from Arthur Miller, she is captured forever wearing a pair of dark cat-eye sunglasses, her face framed by a classic white scarf, perhaps shielding her, like never before, from the tough outside world.