The
volume will be published online on the occasion of “Milano Moda
Donna” (19th/24th February 2014) and it
contains a preface by Mario Boselli - President
of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion – and some illustrations
made by the young fashion designers Mauro Gasperi, Francesca
Liberatore and Lucia Russo.
It is
available (Italian and English version) at the price of € 1,50, but
it can be downloaded at the special price of € 0,99 during
the
whole fashion week (online on www.bookrepublic.it )
Content
of the book
The starting point of the
text is the clothing of an ideal woman of the Bible, who is wearing
veil, cloak, robe, belt and sandals. Each chapter contains some
excerpts taken from the Bible where these garments are mentioned.
After the short quote of
verses, a caption gives the opportunity to get to know the characters
and the themes involved, which are topical themes linked to current
events.
So you will discover,
among others, the characters of Sulammita, the beloved one, and of
Susanna, the blackmailed woman; Ruth, faithful to her mother-in-law
and Tabitha the tailor; Judith, the seductive heroine and Tamar, the
raped sister; Eve the progenitor and Jerusalem, faithful and
unfaithful woman.
At the
end of each chapter there’s a comment. The enclosure contains the
interview to the young fashion designer Francesca Liberatore. The
text closes with an imaginative prayer written by Mgr Tonino Bello:
Mary, elegant woman.
Intentions of the
author
Massimo
Pavanello says: “This book is connected to the Bible like a photo
book to a fashion show or like a business card to the history of its
owner. They are not much in comparison to what they represent. What’s
missing is more than what’s presented. However, the exchange of
information, though meager, seems to be a good starting point. And it
can be useful to establish a first contact or to reconnect. Yes, to
reconnect. Because, for instance, fashion and preaching have already
met publicly in Milan, the capital of fashion, at least once. It was
1957. Then, archbishop Giovanni Battista
Montini, who then became Paul VI, announced a “city mission”,
which involved different social categories besides parishes:
magistrates, taxi drivers, doctors, housewives, teachers, motormen…
and models.”
This
missionary objective is not so different from the one proposed this
year by cardinal Angelo Scola in the pastoral plan
“Il campo è il mondo. Vie da percorrere
incontro all’umano”.
Pavanello continues: “
I think the fashion industry can offer a precious service to society
if it preserves its native roots, which refer back to the “adequate
limits” of living (in Italian the word “fashion” is translated
“moda”, which comes from the Latin word “modus”); in this
sense, the biblical in-depth analysis can be very useful. And I
think the fashion industry is deservedly involved in the project of
Expo 2015, as the nourishment and the energy for life, besides
curious and remarkable examples of fashion food, can also derive from
the ordinary combination of the needful and the beauty”.
Some comments
“In
the history of fashion some liturgical vestments have been considered
a source of inspiration by several fashion designers, who have
revisited and presented them in their collections, and I think that
even in the future fashion, in its stylistic and artistic expression,
will continue to draw inspiration from the religious world, which is
full of symbols, evocations and suggestions”.
Mario
Boselli - President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion
“The
garments proposed at fashion shows are not accessible to everybody.
But I think that fashion should allow people to dream. On the one
hand there’s “ready to wear” (what we put on everyday), on the
other hand there’s the magical atmosphere created on the runway.
Which clearly distances itself from unscrupulous marketing and
anorexic models”.
Francesca
Liberatore, fashion designer
“I
appreciated the involvement of our young generation of designers in
this editorial project. I found this experience interesting, as it
disclosed some points of contact between faith and women dress code I
couldn’t imagine. In connection to the world of art and in relation
to the works of Caravaggio and Botticelli, I expressed my creativity
working on the verse dedicated to Judith the fighter and veiled
Susanna.”
Lucia
Russo, fashion designer
Notes
about the author
Massimo
Pavanello is the regional officer for tourism and free time of
Bishops’ Conference of Lombardy and Archdiocese of Milan. Ph.D. in
theology, he has always supported the pastoral ministry of
journalistic commitment, supervising also some publications in the
local area of Milan. He has attended different courses of cooperation
and international development at ISPI in Milan.
He has also published:
ABC del pellegrinaggio, San Paolo 2011 (with Paolo Sartor);
Formaggio e caffè, l’ospitalità missionaria a Belo Horizonte,
Marna 2011; San Carlo. Percorsi di acqua, di preghiera, di arte,
Centro Ambrosiano 2011 (in collaboration); ABC dell’Expo,
San Paolo 2011 (with Cristina Patelli); Post-it sul frigorifero,
meditazioni a radio Marconi, manuscript 2009; Rileggere la
città, Marna 2008; 15 battisteri della diocesi di Milano,
Centro Ambrosiano 2008 (in collaboration); Il mondo sulla curva
del lago, giovani cronisti a Ginevra, Editrice Resegone 2007;
Dove il postino non suona mai. Reportage da Nairobi, Centro
Ambrosiano 2005; I media per l’azione pastorale, Centro
Ambrosiano 2002 (university degree thesis).
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