Vanity, opulence, beauty. Feathers, since time immemorial, have been synonymous with fashion. From the colorful costumes of the Aztecs to the headdresses of Cleopatra, from the dances of 16th-century Venice to the passions of Marie Antoinette (we need only think of a single frame of Sofia Coppola's masterpiece film), from the vaporous boas of the Roaring Twenties to the modern passion for exoticism, feathers have been and remain protagonists because of the extraordinary contrast that characterizes them: that which combines lust and angelicity, sensuality and lightness, stardom and mystery. Even on the Titanic the most precious cargo, scholars tell us, were not the diamonds made famous by James Cameron, but rather forty crates containing extremely rare ostrich feathers destined for New York hat makers. White, black, blue, lilac, pink, green, rust, the dicigno, rooster, ostrich feathers of Gallia e Peter hats for decades dictated styles and told stories. Paired with black straws, veils, caps, columbos, they invite lightness, elegance, exuberance. And they make them protagonists. Leaving room (and air) for the dreams and secrets of the wearer.
