Dianora Marandino. Fantasies of Colour
An activity animated by a clear imagination and lively curiosity
Dianora Marandino is the protagonist of this exhibition which presents garments and preparatory sketches realised and decorated by the artist herself. The exhibition presents a selection of garments created by Dianora Marandino between 1947 and 1971.
The artist devoted herself to the study of colours by experimenting and trying new techniques for painting and printing on fabric, and for the dying of wool yarn to be used in weaving. She then used her own print-decorated fabrics to create linear garments, avoiding complicated and elaborate models. She became one of the most original and modern post-war stylists whose dresses were worn by the stars of the time. Some of her friends stimulated her creativity by giving her books with drawings and decorations from other parts of the world.
The show presents a range of dresses, tunics, skirts and coats, as well as the preparatory sketches that are part of the vast collection generously donated to the Museum of Costume and Fashion by her husband, the painter Enzo Faraoni. The design theme is inspired by the rotation and the movement that characterise many dances. Rotation in dancing creates circles, a shape which has no beginning and no end, and presents an ideal movement.
The objective is to focus attention on an artist who deliberately excluded herself from large-scale production, and has continued to be little-known outside the specialist. Dianora Marandino was neither a true stylist nor a true artist nor a true entrepreneur, but all of this together.
