See ‘Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses’ in Cleveland
Family and fashion merge at the Cleveland Museum of Art in an exhibition that shares how iconic Italian design houses have transcended centuries.
The long, black Alberta Ferretti halter dress with a white lace blouse stands alongside “Portrait of a Woman,” a 16th-century Agnolo Bronzino painting that depicts its subject wearing a lace partlet sown over the neckline of a black dress. Like the more than 100 examples of modern Italian fashions and accessories featured in “Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses,” the Alberta Ferretti ensemble appears to be inspired by the depictions of style seen in art of the past.
The exhibition, on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art Nov. 9 through Feb. 1, compares contemporary fashions to Italian fine, decorative and textile arts from the 1400s to the early 1600s. Five hundred years ago, powerful Italian families, or “houses” controlled textile production and set the fashion trends shown in portraiture of the time. Now, houses like Versace and Ferragamo, which are often run by families, set today’s trends while featuring fresh takes on the past.
“You can see it in the historical sense through the art that’s presented from our collection and then also through the clothes themselves and the perspectives of the 20th- and 21st-century Italian designers,” says Darnell Lisby, associate curator of fashion at the Cleveland Museum of Art. “It is an Italian story, two worlds coming together.”
The exhibition features clothing from some of the biggest designers in fashion, including Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Valentino, Moschino, Moncler and Bulgari. The outfits are each given context via works of art. A Gianni Versace-designed chainmail dress embroidered with crosses is displayed alongside a processional cross from the museum’s collection to highlight how Catholicism inspired Versace. Several velvet textiles with a floral motif from the 1600s are presented next to a 2025 Max Mara dress in a similar fabric.
“It’s a nice retrospective of so many different houses that have contributed so beautifully to the lexicon of fashion,” Lisby says.
The past also meets the present through a large digital installation that greets visitors upon arrival. Acclaimed fashion creative director and videographer Francesco Carrozzini created the installation in conjunction with Henry Hargreaves and used AI to blend traditional art with the pieces on view to show how fashion transcends time.
“Fashion can really be this portal to understanding not only layers of the past but how the past really informs the present,” Lisby says.
11150 East Blvd., Cleveland 44106, 216/421-7350, clevelandart.org
For more Ohio arts inspiration, sign up for our Ohio Magazine newsletters.
Ohio Magazine is available in a beautifully designed print issue that is published 7 times a year, along with Spring-Summer and Fall-Winter editions of LongWeekends magazine. Subscribe to Ohio Magazine and stay connected to the beauty, adventure and fun across our state.
Related Articles
See ‘Manet & Morisot’ in Cleveland
This Cleveland Museum of Art exhibition delves into the multilayered relationship between 19th-century painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. READ MORE >>
Cincinnati Writer and Musician Nick Greenberg Talks Fungi Fiction
The classically trained musician in a variety of styles also had a stint in the food industry, which he draws from for his novels that feature culinary capers. READ MORE >>
Lords of the Sound Present ‘The Music of Hans Zimmer’
See this acclaimed Ukrainian symphony perform pieces from the award-winning composer in two Ohio cities this March. READ MORE >>
