This dress, designed and made by Alice Gariboldi, is inspired by Leonardo flight studies, who today is very much appreciated by youngest people for his wide interests and his own capacity of technical achievements that still remain forerunners. But the intuition of this Project is also in having been able to grasp the anguish of Leonardo himself towards an inhuman perfection, which however he persisted in pursuing in an even growing independence in his relationships.

Curator of the exhibition is Dr. Simona Gallo, ‘Area Giuridico Pedagogica’s authority of ‘Ministero di Grazia e Giustizia’ at ‘Milano Bollate, II Casa di Reclusione – Area III F1’, who could get and promote the wish, born among a few young prisoners, for a specific Project.

 

 

One can marvel nowadays at the entrepreneurial ability, when we are weakened by short-sighted chronicles rebound striking our pages at unsustainable speeds.

As a matter of facts we are surprised indeed by this Project which took off in prison, the ‘II Casa di Reclusione’ of ‘Milano Bollate’, where a few young prisoners could think of, propose, plan and make – also capable to collect consent and collaboration, the ‘Teatro della Moda’[2], Milan municipality, ‘Palazzo Morando’[3], the textile industry Ratti Spa[4] generosity other than a number of established stylists’ – 30 evening dresses inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’ main and most known inventions, as he lived in Milan in the most fruitful years of his own life, whose Milan commemorated in 2019 the 500° anniversary from his death.

With today’s issue a series of short presentations starts of those dresses exposed at Palazzo Morando from December 11, 2019 to January 5, 2020 and for which a public auction sale has been prepared, whose proceeds will go to the benefit of V.I.D.A.S.[5] for free assistance to children with incurable diseases : at the end of these introductions, a more detailed report will be published, thanks to the availability of whom, despite serving a prison sentence, could think of, propose and take care of the Project until its realization.

Opens my review the very dress inspired by the longest, deep studies by Leonardo Da Vinci about the technique of birds flight : as a matter of facts he liked to deepen what he soon became convinced of, that is that the flight is a mechanical phenomenon due to a wing stroke in the air, nothing of mysterious and then that also men could fly, getting wings.

 

Author of the dress is Alice Gariboldi, student at the ‘Il Teatro della Moda’, and this is how she described her creation for the exhibition.

 

“…Leonardo reserves an extensive and detailed research to the study of the wing, which evolves over the years. After a number of researches, he seems to lean towards a wing type ‘with doors’ like that of a bat, which is divided into three zones and for which he foresees the use of different naterials… One of the last machines designed by the artist adopts a wing type completely different, with a skeleton similar to that of a hand…

Composed by three pieces (the dress I created – editor’s note) would like to remember the paper on which the notes were written, and also the most used materials by Leonardo, such as wood, the starched linen and cotton.

The colours used are the ones which remember the paper, starting with yellow up to the off-white, made using natural dyes, such the black tea and curcuma.

The high-waisted pants end at mid-calf, have pockets on the knees and on the sides.

The bodice, inspired by a skecth of a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci that portrays Isabella d’Este includes a special closure composed of laces so that it can support the wings on which the notes on flight will be reproduced.

The wings, composed of a wooden structure, have the particularity of being able to open and close…”

 

 

                                                                        Marina Bilotta Membretti / Cernusco sul Naviglio - February 1, 2020

 

 

[1] “Leonardo prigioniero del volo” is the collective Fashion exhibition just ended in Milan, in which stylists, designers, model makers and painters participated in the creation of thirty original evening dresses inspired by the Leonardo Da Vinci inventions.

[2] “Teatro della Moda – Italian Fashion Institute & Lab”, Advanced tailoring School based in Milan, immediately offered a generous collaboration  to the project, with also a specific training into the prison of Milano Bollate.

[3] “Raccolte storiche Palazzo Morando – Costume, moda, immagine”,  is in Milan, Via Sant’Andrea n°6.

[4] Ratti Spa, a prestigious Italian textile industry based at Guanzate (Como), provided the fabrics and materials for all the dresses produced by the young prisoners of ‘Milano Bollate’.

[5] V.I.D.A.S.is an Association of already 37 years of activity, operating in Milan, Monza and 112 Municipalities in the two Cities and offering free and continuous assistance to incurable patients : the proceeds of the auction sale of the evening dresses made for the exhibition will be donated to the charity of the ‘Casa Sollievo Bimbi’ at V.I.D.A.S., first children’s hospice in Lombardia, opened in May 2019.