Addressing Italian Americans: Fashion in <i>Attenzione</i> Magazine, 1979–1987

In 2023, I curated the exhibition Made in Italy, Sold in America: Fashion in Attenzione Magazine, 1979–1987 at the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at New York University.1 The exhibition analyzed Attenzione's engagement with an emerging Italian American sensibility by focusing on its coverage of Italian fashion. This focus allowed for a consideration of the ways Attenzione challenged the community's own preconceived notions of Italian ethnicity, in addition to those reflected within American society. The exhibition featured nine issues of Attenzione and eleven examples of Italian fashion items from the late twentieth century and aimed to highlight readers’ mixed feelings about the inclusion of fashion in the magazine—in particular, whether these stories added or detracted from the broader discussion of Italian American culture. The accompanying objects were paired according to the designer each represented: An Armani blouse was exhibited alongside Attenzione's December 1979 issue, which featured a story on Giorgio Armani; a profile of Elsa Peretti in the August 1980 issue was displayed alongside some of her designs for Tiffany & Co; and so on. In this way, the exhibition endeavored to bring the magazine to life through examples of each designers’ work, while simultaneously reflecting on the relationships between the American market, Italian Americans, and the Made in Italy label in the early 1980s.This article builds on the themes first presented in the Made in Italy, Sold in America exhibit and attempts to unravel the history and impact of Attenzione on the Italian American community by focusing on the representation and presentation of Italian fashion in the magazine. It is rooted in two areas of scholarship: one relating to post–1945 migration that led to the “rebooting of ethnicity” for Italian Americans, and the other exploring Italian Americans as consumers (Ruberto and Sciorra 2017, 3). During the last decades of the twentieth century, Italian Americans advanced both economically and socially, a rise that paralleled the growing cachet of Italian-made goods. Advertisements in Attenzione, from those for foodstuffs to luxury cars, reflected this rise. Particularly in the magazine's early years, its goal was to reflect—and ultimately influence—the interests and desires of a changing Italian American community. Articles in the magazine, some of which were published in both the Italian and English languages, covered topics as far ranging as politics and theater, recipes and travel. Every issue included a list of upcoming events throughout Italy, and the magazine's cover stories were just as often about prominent Italian Americans as they were about successful Italians or Italian enterprises.Although Attenzione was primarily a lifestyle magazine, it featured numerous editorials on and advertisements for Italian fashion. By September 1979, Saks Fifth Avenue began to regularly advertise various brands in the magazine with the headline “Moda dall'Italia,” and from then on, the magazine acted as a microcosm of Italian fashion for its readers and as a platform for Italian fashion houses. This was especially true of luxury brands that had already found considerable success among American consumers. As menswear merchandising expert Les Schwartzberg explained it, “Americans had a love affair with the Made in Italy label” (interview with the author, December 13, 2016).2 Through a series of events and promotions organized by the Italian Trade Commission (ITC) in New York City, the image of Italy was increasingly associated with the glamor of fashion, and this was reflected on the covers of Attenzione.3 Ultimately, the availability and desirability of Made in Italy fashion, as it came to be known, combined with a second wave of immigration and increased purchasing power, created an unprecedented opportunity for Italian Americans to experience their ethnicity as a community renewed.Writing in the December 1979 issue of Attenzione, journalist Pamela Altman declared: “Five years ago Italian-designed apparel for men was still a marginal phenomenon in America, a passing fancy. But with the fall season of 1979, it seems to be settling in for a long stay.”4 Altman's assessment—the opening lines of an article dedicated to “Milan's king of fashion” Giorgio Armani—reflected the mercurial rise of the Made in Italy marketing phenomenon during the late 1970s. Although Italian fashion had previously enjoyed some success in the United States, it was in the 1970s, with the growing influence of manufacturers like Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) and designers like Giorgio Armani, that the industry's transatlantic influence became undeniable.5 It was an influence that in many ways paralleled the changing American perception of Italian culture, on the one hand, and Italian Americans, on the other. For decades, these two stood at opposite poles: Italy was known as the land of the Italian masters of the Renaissance, while Italian Americans had represented the difficult realities (and derogatory stereotypes) of immigration. According to one of its editors, Attenzione was founded on the premise that this perception of Italian Americans was offensive and outdated and that by bringing Italian modernity to bear in the US, the image of Italian Americana could likewise be modernized (Sanford 2010, 64).Attenzione magazine was founded in 1979 by Jeno F. Paulucci for an Italian American and Italophile audience. Paulucci was a successful Italian American entrepreneur and a founder of the National Italian American Foundation (Slotnik 2011). As editor in chief, Paulucci selected the New York City–based editor and publisher Leda Sanford (née Giovannetti), who was born in Italy and immigrated to the United States as a child in 1939 (Sanford 2010, 15). For both founder and editor, Italian culture in the US deserved better understanding beyond the tropes and stereotypes portrayed in television, film, and other entertainments. Paulucci was in part motivated by the discrimination he had felt growing up as an Italian American in Duluth, Minnesota, but more importantly, he was determined to share his experience of Italy. Writing in her memoir, Sanford describes Paulucci as saying “that he had been overcome with pride and surprise at the legacy that was his [when he first visited Italy at forty years old] . . . criticizing a biased press, television stereotypes, and the advertising world for capitalizing on prejudice and misbeliefs” (2010, 65). The goal of Attenzione would be to refute these stereotypes by catering to Italian Americans, who, with the leisure time afforded by their increasing affluence, could better understand their Italian heritage. Having Sanford at the helm ensured a familiarity with both the Italian and American cultures, as well as the knowledge and skill to produce a top-quality publication.The 1980s were a good time to invest in magazines. New perspectives across publishing signaled a departure from the staid editorials of the 1960s to a new model of magazine that would better suit the needs of its readership. Sanford was well versed in these changes, having previously worked at American Home, where she became the first woman publisher of a national magazine and helped expand conceptions of housekeeping and decorating to better align with views of modern womanhood (Sanford 2010, 28). It was also during this time that publications dedicated to contemporary culture, interiors, and fashion like Vogue and Elle grew their international presence, while expanding their American issues to lengthy proportions. W magazine, for example, was printed and bound in multiple sections all in full color. Vogue had an unprecedented circulation of 1.2 million copies by 1988, and advertising revenues were $79.5 million, far surpassing their closest competitors. This unrivaled success was due in large part to the efforts of Grace Mirabella, editor in chief of Vogue magazine between 1971 and 1988 and an Italian American, who expanded content over the course of the 1970s to meet the demands of their readership in the era of second-wave feminism. In her autobiography she writes of the magazine's content in the 1980s: “We showed her clothing that moved, that breathed, wonderful, handsome clothes. . . . We beefed up the magazine with text, with interviews and arts coverage and serious health pieces because we knew we were publishing for a new kind of woman, and we didn't want her to think that we couldn't keep up with her” (Mirabella 1995, 9). This all-encompassing model, or in other words lifestyle publication, was the market segment in which Attenzione positioned itself.Like other magazines in this period, Attenzione was a new audience. The magazine a more readership and like Made in Italy fashion, cars, and luxury that notions of Italian It was successful in the new of Italian Americans of more and and Italian Americans who had unprecedented purchasing in the According to a New York article on Attenzione's by found the an of men and years of who to be and in with an of reflected the that had to in the Italian American community the its 1979 issue Attenzione featured that a in the Italian American experience and the of an with and culture in contemporary Italy. This coverage included a which in the issue featured a story about Italians and As was the for this the article was printed in both the Italian and English and began by it to the is a label a of the of within the in by fashion Italian fashion was positioned at the of the Italian American experience and the history of Italy. success in the American market was reflected as a of pride for the Italian American community through the of Although just one of many topics in the its in the Made in Italy marketing to a of in fashion had in Italy as a that could at at the and Italian culture on a It was in this that the of Made in Italy as a national first The on between in and and these to the Italian fashion in of a and in to the who had enjoyed over the world of fashion the Italians their own history of successful and during the The of the was a that was on the of the first Italian fashion It was to where in was from the early modern to the century, and the and of the was to Italian fashion from its of the first events in the era to bring Italian to the United States was a exhibition Italy at in which between and and its to through with across the was a to the desirability of the that Italian designers presented to the American In the fall of on the in Italian in New York by an Italian The was by New second Italian American and was also by the Italian of who was as Italian to the they for to on the of American a to the known as the York to the Italy at exhibition of the was one The Italian featured Italian who had American fashion York the years between the first of Italian on the American market and the of the Made in Italy in Italian fashion unprecedented The 1970s had Italian fashion through numerous luxury that would international brands the of the twentieth Through events and fashion the a image of Italian fashion in the US while also Italian manufacturers on the of It is that the in grew of these advertising by the that to bring the success of various one national while an international Made in Italy the reflected of those while to the to and heritage. 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For example, Armani was often as the of Italian and represented by an from of the of Giorgio Armani his to bring a of . . . all of and of The Attenzione had featured an on that challenged of his designs that they the of the on the of The magazine designs as while of his work, the Italian designer that own Italian this was by the Italian while that on the the of Italian in the 1980s often the of century Italian and Italian American while Italy as a the of Attenzione share this magazine for Italian Americans, it was a Italian within the United States and the that had previously the community's This was by editorials and advertisements in where conceptions of national to from the Italian fashion was to the in a In Vogue featured a of more of in which the of the Italian is in the also in the sensibility that and with the of with an to by with This of from the American fashion press, which to the by editor Grace Mirabella, signaled the success of the Made in Italy marketing As in Made in Italy fashion had to the 1980s at and but also and Italian designers were to be at the of but more importantly, the had in a national with and As the of the century, other could so to a of by the of its his of the Italian American often to the of Italian designer and the impact of Made in Italy on the of in the part of the twentieth Writing in he the influence that Made in Italy were having on Italian Americans, for of the Italian among also to keep it in focus for the new a the of the Italian American he these the of items within the culture, Italian Americans a more In the of Italian fashion by the American ensured that it a for Italian Americans, who or been of the Italian but were with Made in Italy as a of As designer they became increasingly to Italian Americans as an of their of Italian in the on in the and early Italian Americans could the of this which was through an of Italian to American culture, but in a Italian American those for this were Italian Americans and those of who were in the New York and who a experience of and for example, both Italian Americans and of various Italian American an in their Italian that in their Italian on a to their and while and the American and that these were to with the author, For those who in the 1960s and 1970s, the American was so a as a an entrepreneur and who immigrated at years of in an in the goal was to the and in I so so that I that I was also I didn't like the it felt to be an the was it or (interview with the author, September For these Italian Americans, the of Made in Italy signaled a new kind of that it to and their Italian other the of Made in Italy throughout American culture Italian experience of an of ethnicity that on the of Made in Italy and the of Italian fashion, created a new of pride within the Italian American community that a Italian heritage. while Italian American of Italian fashion in a that would to the that these were in Italy with their who had felt to as a had a experience as an the Made in Italy became in the it helped to and up (interview with the author, September with a about the pride he felt as an Italian American for an Italian luxury is I want to the in a but . . . one of the for this Italian of where of I love Italy. This more to Italy I would It is in Italy, and because of this in and of all the to with the author, This experience of Italian ethnicity fashion was in the of Attenzione, through editorials and Italian Americans Paulucci had they of of their heritage. the experience of about Italy through Italian fashion reflected the experience of many Italian Americans in the late twentieth of Italian Americans by in analyzed the of this the American in the in and were to be the of an among Italian Americans due to the they felt from their as grew among Italian Americans, its to between and their also became more In his on in the and of that is just by the of but in the of had the to bring Italian its in a of in with Italian new in the through for the of the Made in Italy goods. the to experience Italian ethnicity through or to Italy that to the experience of and who had a for their in the 1970s and to this to their as by the or Italian ethnicity for a the part of the twentieth century, Italian Americans their with an that had been as or for the of Made in Italy became a for their engagement with Italian American culture and its associated As the Italian Americans as a had that well the national and many among the were who felt that their ethnicity was with a successful and but their and to the magazine Attenzione, national brands their and so in the magazine Attenzione . . . with to its Italian American readers Attenzione was because it combined the of America with Italian of Attenzione familiarity with Italian luxury and felt that the broader of these reflected on their Italian American The magazine's success the of a new of ethnicity on to Italy as the or the and more on an engagement with Italian years, Italian had on Italian Americans from a by the of the National Italian American a the of Italian culture was This new on was by the in New York and its who that Italian advanced a of and that would about Italians and Italian Paulucci in Attenzione magazine the of changing the that Italian Americans had of modern Italy and its culture. The magazine to fashion in this of Italian it was to the and of its that Italian fashion was in the US market and had been for some The Armani suit was a the fashion community was already familiarity with the it the American through the 1980 American in which was by Armani for the film, but the was also displayed in a a of Armani and the and of Italian fashion to an Italian American in the of Attenzione a in which a of the of a second Italian with the Italian experience in the New exhibited The Italian it was the inclusion of fashion that the in the The exhibition the of Italy at and created a for the that in 1960s Italy, while among those that Italian The exhibit to the on the Armani the from the National Italian American Foundation in of his to Italian fashion in the events the of Italian fashion in the of the American and would the of Attenzione had it still been in The magazine, had in Paulucci the magazine in to Attenzione to its and readership. by Sanford her as publisher and and on to magazine fashion to be a in Attenzione, the coverage on the the brands and more on the new of Fashion a part of its with the Italian American Attenzione with its was an of Italian culture and fashion that on the broader American in Italy during those Through its and it endeavored to the that Italian ethnicity represented an within the broader American society. For Italian culture was part of an American that Made in Italy goods. This was a of the of the which ensured that Italian fashion US consumers through and and it was also a of the of Italian immigration in the 1960s and 1970s. This last wave of about while the for a new Italian American the impact of this we came with a in and we had already a good life in Italy. It was a new in the had cars, and they were well We helped to the Americans Italians because we were (interview with the author, December The Italian American community in with many Italian fashion to their Italian Americans in the part of the twentieth century a new with Italy, often as or on and a of pride on and that included Made in the magazine was it a in the history of the Italian American and it that the Italian that had so in the US were a of the Italian and an that had already the of Italian in the This article to the various that Italian Americans to their ethnicity through Made in Italy fashion in the late twentieth In particular, it that the and availability of Made in Italy across the American market were to reflecting an within the community. This that from their the of Made in Italy and luxury fashion both success and Fashion allowed the Italian American to on their ethnicity, previously notions of ethnicity as or rise with changing of the Italian American a that was of for the founder and editor of Attenzione in its early magazines like Attenzione were to cover a of topics and with readers in The magazine to both a community and the of Italian culture that was already It a for the of Italian American culture and many for of the community's and