October 1, 1980. The sidewalk on Via Monte Napoleone is buzzing: a swarming of passersby and onlookers, as well as journalists, fashion experts, and intellectuals. In the boutique at number 3, the first exhibition of Gallia e Peter dedicated to the history of the hat. Among those present - discovering an itinerary that recounts models, types, and forms of use of headgear from 1880 to 1980 - are also poet Clara Mieli, who writes a poem dedicated to the hat on a flying sheet of paper out of the blue, and designer and journalist Brunetta, who pins a drawing dedication on the guest book and publishes an irresistible piece about the exhibition. There will be many newspapers that will talk about the day: from Repubblica to Annabella, from Harper's Bazar up to Occhio, the daily newspaper edited by Maurizio Costanzo. The purpose of the exhibition, which opens a few months after the exhibition curated by Lea Vergine at Palazzo Reale "The Other Half of the Avant-Garde 1910-1940. Women painters and sculptors in the historical avant-garde movements.", is very simple and at the same time crucial for those years: to highlight the universe of millinery that, for creativity and industriousness, represents a genuine and authentic expression of art. At the same time, the exhibition cannot fail to bring to the forefront another piece of women's history. So, what better place to host this choral tale than the Milanese store that conceived the exhibition? Why Gallia e Peter is the only Italian milliner's shop with a business handed down through four generations: great-grandmother Angela Paschero married Gallia, grandmother Mariuccia Gallia, mother Lia Giacomini up to the current owner, Laura Marelli. In fact, to support in the enterprise of the exhibition Laura Marelli we find Lia Giacomini herself, who, working alongside her daughter, carefully contributed to the research and selection of the hats to be exhibited, unfortunately passing away only a few months before the inauguration. Then alongside the family in fine-tuning the project are some of the most important costume historians of the time and the booksellers of the bookstore Le Mille e una Notte, who compiled a thorough bibliography on the subject for the occasion. The hats on display (most of which are still in Marelli's historical archive) are authentic pieces, researched and patiently gathered from collections and private homes, retro stores, auctions and theatrical tailoring.
Eight years later, in 1988, the book, "il Cappello da Donna" (Woman's Hat) was published, depicting many of the hats on display in the exhibition. The itinerary that the exhibition and volume tell opens with a sturdy straw hat in deep blue, with embroidered ribbons of pink and a cluster of cherries as an ornament (for a Scarlett O'Hara class). From here the adventure begins, starting with hats adorned with feathers and flowers and others with simpler shapes: different styles coexisting in a late nineteenth century in which the instincts Belle Epoque were juxtaposed with new needs related to a more active female life, just as the art of millinery was being born. In the years that followed, the hat continued to reflect the changing habits of women: bulkier styles gradually disappeared, and hairstyles also became more varied with the debut of the 1920s taper cut. Bold and eccentric shapes never went out of fashion, but in the late 1950s, with the debut of backcombing, the hat began to be a sometimes uncomfortable accessory. Its history, however, did not end there. Far from it! The hat makes a comeback precisely when the modern woman, engaged on all fronts of everyday life, senses that it can reveal her personality in a new way than in the past. Perhaps because of this she feels the desire to express herself through different ways, adorning herself from time to time with different hats, specially chosen for the occasion and often very different from each other: fresh, unpredictable, original. Thus, in that autumn of 1980, the exhibition proposed by Gallia e Peter gives the Milanese a ticket for a journey through time: through the history of hats, through the history of women, between joie de vivre and creativity, charming 1920s cloches, 1950s pillboxes, big hats Fin de Siècle and, why not, 1930s tricorns with veils. Because women, it is a well-known fact, never put limits on what they feel like telling.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
