Caring for a “difficult heritage”. Addressing the canon of Italian Fashion by decolonizing art museum practices

This chapter examines the colonial collections preserved at the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome, which has embarked on a critical review of its history and the ideologies underlying the foundation of its ethnographic and commercial collections. These collections consist of materials and artifacts, including clothing, footwear, and accessories, that were displayed at trade fairs and expositions to justify colonial expansion during the years of the Fascist regime. Through its analysis of the artistic research project “Decolonizing the Gaze (2022-23),” this chapter aims to contribute to the critical reflection on materials that have typically been excluded from the Made in Italy narratives. It also seeks to shed light on the practice of caring for a “difficult heritage” from the perspective of fashion history. In doing so, this text aims to demonstrate that colonial materials and artifacts constitute an invaluable resource for addressing and discussing the canon of Italian fashion in the twenty-first century.