"Memorable. Hypermoda', the contemporary meaning of fashion is investigated at the Maxxi in Rome
Until 23 March 2025, the exhibition curated by Maria Luisa Frisa tells the story of contemporary fashion's relationship with the past and the future through some 50 creations. In the Bulgari and Cnmi project, which aims to take the industry's story all over Italy
2' min read
2' min read
Ten years after "Bellissima. L'Italia dell'alta moda 1945 - 1968", which recounted the golden years of Italian couture, the spaces of the Maxxi museum in Rome are back to tell the story of fashion with "Memorable. Hypermoda', curated (as it was in 2014) by Maria Luisa Frisa. However, the vision is different, along with the objectives, because with about 50 creations including clothes, accessories and archive objects, contemporary and international fashion and its role in experience and imagination are investigated.
"Clothes speak about how we are in the world, but they also shape our tastes. And fashion is aware of this responsibility,' commented Maria Luisa Frisa as she opened the exhibition. Already its title reveals how fashion is understood as a generator of elements to be remembered for the future (albeit in the incessant, sometimes overflowing, flow of its system), but also as a sphere capable of extending, occupying and influencing others, characteristics of "hyperobjects" according to philosopher Timothy Morton.
In gallery 5 of the museum, therefore, in a sequence evoking tableaux vivants the clothes (mostly one-off pieces) seem to emerge from a shiny base with a texture as soft as that of magma (the set-up is by the Supervoid studio): there is a dress from Viktor &Rolf's 'Late Stage Capitalism Waltz' collection, which is also the symbolic image of the exhibition, Dior according to Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri (who will bring the maison's next Cruise collection to Rome on 27 May), the organic forms of Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli, then Armani, Prada, Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Valentino, to be observed by listening to the special playlist created by Spotify with songs by Ornella Vanoni and David Bowie and some that have accompanied memorable fashion shows, such as that of Lucky Love for Maison Margiela and the "Passacaglia della vita", soundtrack of the debut of Alessandro Michele da Valentino.
The theme of the relationship between the ordinary and the extraordinary is particularly well interpreted by the Ikea bag signed by Virgil Abloh placed close to the extremely precious sculpture "Tortue de Soirée" by Francesco Vezzoli for Bulgari. This is a significant presence for the Roman maison, since the exhibition is the first to be sponsored by the Bulgari Foundation, launched last March, and is also a channel for establishing even deeper relations with the museum where the finalist works of the fourth edition of the Maxxi Bulgari Prize are being exhibited in these very months.
The museum has also signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, aimed at promoting events that tell the story of fashion, from the point of view of creativity but also of manufacturing: 'This is a wide-ranging collaboration, which begins with this exhibition and will continue with a narrative event always at the Maxxi,' says Carlo Capasa, president of CNMI. Beyond the symbolic cities such as Milan and Rome, however, we would like to take the tale of fashion to other parts of the country as well. Italy is multi-centric, as demonstrated by the capillarity of our artisans and our multi-brand network, the largest and richest in the world. We need to connect and tell these stories better'.
