Mappamodello

Mappamodello, by clothes designer Nanni Strada, contains the models created in 1974 for the competition “Arab-Islamic National Dress” which subsequently became a classic in the collection produced and distributed by the Milanese shop “Oriente e Cina”.

It consists of a series of clothes inspired by work clothes, and other models which, thanks to their ‘any size’ cut, appeared in some of the world's most famous women's magazines, and were copied throughout the world. Mappamodello is a blueprint of these historic clothes, all contained on a single paper pattern. The result is a hybrid product, versatile and suited to a huge, multigenerational public. To use the words of Nanni Strada: “This universal paper pattern is a compendium of many design features and as such it is hard to classify commercially; it can be appreciated for its graphics or as a fashion design product, or else used to make up the clothes on the patterns, or even used as a game. Despite all of these qualities it is extremely simply made and it conveys a design message of great modernity”.

Nanni Strada, Milanese, is famous for having brought the language of design to dressmaking. Her studies of the geometric dress that does not require cutting outstripped the rules of tailoring and trends. In 1979 she won the Compasso d’Oro prize for her project “Il Manto e la Pelle” (cape and leather), to which the first piece of clothing made entirely without stitching belonged. The transversal nature of her approach, firmly rooted in the principles of industrial experimentation, has always been characterized by a surprisingly concrete approach. During her career she has worked with European and Japanese fashion companies and has designed compressible “travel” clothes which have been copied all over the world.

Language: English