Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-176) and index.

Despite its long eclipse by Perisian couture, Italian fashion is now celebrated globally for the quality of its tailoring, fabric, and design. But an Italian label was not always a yardstick for excellence. In the twenty years following the Second World War. America played key role in the development of Italy's fashion industry. However America's specific influence on the regeneration of the Italian textile industry has been largely passed over, despite the meteoric rise of design houses such as MaxMara, Gucci, and Prada.

While American interest was central to the industrial and stylistic expansion of Italian fashion, the lessons learned were combined with Italian ideas and energies to crests fashions with a distinctly Italian edge. Reconstructing Italian Fashion reveals that a deliberate effort went into the development of an Italian national identity in fashion design, pertially in response to American interest.