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ABSTRACT
Costume and fashion have been an integral component of Fellini's artistic arsenal and have contributed greatly towards the layering and historical montage of his films. In this article, I will explore the historical implications of Fellini's use of fashion and costume and the profound impact that they have had on the aesthetics and texture of his films. Through a close examination of fashion and costume, the chapter highlights Fellini's contribution towards a new historiography and archaeology of both Rome/Italy and cinematic form. In the article, Fellini's cinema, especially La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) in 1960 and Roma (Fellini's Roma) in 1971, is approached from both the standpoint of fashion and from that of the cyclical temporality contained in Benjamin's theory of fashion, so as to understand not only Fellini but also the contemporaneity of his approach.
KEYWORDS
Fellini
Rome
La Dolce Vita
history
costume
fashion and Italian identity
memory
ecclesiastical catwalk
In Federico Fellini's film Roma (Fellini's Roma) (1971), among the actors there are people who play themselves, such as the writer Gore Vidal and actress Anna Magnani. Towards the end of the film, we hear Fellini's voice while the camera follows Anna Magnani as she is going back home. The voice says:
We see this lady who is going back home, a Roman actress who can be seen as the symbol of the city. Rome, can be described as she-wolf and a virgin; aristocratic and raggedy, gloomy and clownish, and so much more. I could go on until tomorrow morning [...].
(Fellini 1971)
Anna Magnani turns, looks at the camera and says in her Roman accent: 'Chi so' io?' (Who am I?) and Fellini asks: 'Posso farti una domanda?' (Can I ask you a question?), to which Anna Magnani replies: 'No, non mi fido. Buonanotte' (No, I don't trust you. Goodnight). She then closes the main door of the building that she lives in behind her as the camera pans on the empty city, walls covered with electoral propaganda manifestos. The pairs of opposite adjectives used to describe Rome also seem to fit Anna Magnani, an embodiment of Rome's greatness and the city's contradictions, the lived and the imaginary city, as Fellini saw it and represented in his films. In my...