Elegance on Como Lake

The exhibition The Silk Gardens of Como: Textiles, Fashion and Botany, organized by the Fondazione Antonio Ratti (FAR) and the Comune di Cernobbio, celebrates the beauty of nature and of textile creations.
The display curated by Margherita Rosina and Francina Chiara held at Villa Sucota and Villa Bernasconi in Cernobbio from 11th July to 11th October explores the relationship textile-botany from the eighteenth century to the present day through the various aspects of the floral decoration.
For the first time, a selection of tables from the Fabani herbarium, lent by the Fondazione Centro Studi Nicolò Rusca in Como, will be shown to the public: an extraordinary collection of 3,000 plates of herbs and plants collected at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century by Giuseppe Fabani, the municipal doctor of Cernobbio.
The natural beauties of the Como area, the parks and the gardens overlooking the lake have always been a subject much loved by artists and creative people. They have provided suggestions and inspirations for centuries and the silk industry established in Como in the late nineteenth century was not exempt from this fascination.
The exhibition path, divided in thematic rooms, will feature floral textiles from the collections of the Fondazione Antonio Ratti, from important private collections and from historical archives of the Como silk industry. The first part of the exhibition presents: Baroque silks from Lyon where flowers and architectural elements are woven together, light taffetas decorated with sprays of roses or berries, cottons for upholstery with realistic floral triumphs of the late nineteenth century.
The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to textiles from the twentieth century, which marks the development of the Como silk factories, suppliers of Italian and French haute couture and ready to wear. These sections will focus on fabrics inspired by vegetable gardens or decorated with herbs, while a whole room will include clothes and fabrics inspired by roses, loved and employed by textile decorators of every historical era. In each section, textiles will be matched with garments: Italian high fashion is represented by Biki, Capucci, Ferré and Valentino; Dior and Yves Saint Laurent stand as eminent examples of Parisian Haute Couture; and the International prêt-à-porter is featured with Ken Scott and Leonard. (www.fondazioneratti.org)