At the beginning of 20th century, Italy, and in particular the Northern area (where the biggest textile industries were located), felt the need to define its own national fashion style. Turin 1911, and specifically the Pavilion of Fashion, was the space where Italy developed its own narrative about "moda", or fashion. The arrangement of the exhibition was curated by
Giorgio Ceragioli, Giovanni Giani, and Oreste Pizzo who displayed, in lavish settings, hundreds of mannequins dressed by the most important Italian Fashion Houses.
The main hall featured Ceragioli's dioramas, huge painted canvasses illuminated by changing displays of light and shadow. The dioramas entitled "Paper-hunt," "Patinoire" and "Sulla spiaggia" reproduced the "toilettes" that young men and women wore in these leisure activities.
Architecturally speaking, the Palace of Fashion was one of the most charming pavilions, even in the planned modesty of its proportions. It was situated on the left bank of the river Po, at the very beginning of the Fair's itinerary, thus highlighting the importance that the fashion industry was beginning to have in Italy at that time.
The pavilion combined Art Nouveau elements with the echoes of the Turinese Baroque. The exterior featured large windows and columns, and was enriched by Art Deco motifs, such as flowers and leaves. The two foreparts, that were on the corners of the Palace and that ended with golden domes, were well balanced with the central structure that displayed large circular windows.
The major exhibits in the Pavilion were featured in a
free guide that was distribuited to all fairgoers.
Hungary is so modern in aesthetic expression and so jealous of its national traditions. The pavilion is the most striking in the International exhibition: austere in its exterior, beautiful and bizarre inside, this building of noble proportions and harmonious coloring ... is reminiscent of India and Persia ... and inspired by antique Hungarian motifs. (Melani, 289)
Named “King’s Attila Tent-Palace,” the Hungarian Pavilion was unanimously considered the “Pearl of the Exposition” and praised for its ability to evoke a sense of motion in a perfectly geometric structure. The designers’ aim was to give visual expression to the power of the Hungarian military tradition, underscore its relevance to the present, and celebrate the strong and determinate nature of the Hungarian nation and its people. Made of wood, the Pavilion of Hungary combined the Romantic vision of the Tent-Palace of ancient king Attila with the Modernist inspiration of its stern cubic blocks. Harmoniously fused in the pavilion, Romantic echoes and Modernist traits are the defining elements of Hungarian functionalism. The building is a mirror of the lively social and cultural situation of the Hungarian nation, and particularly Budapest, during the first decade of the twentieth century.
The Pavilion of Hungary was located on the left bank of the river Po, next to the Main entrance on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the
Orto Botanico (botanical gardens). It was designed by Hungarian architects
Emil Tőry,
Móric (Maurice) Pogány, and
Dénes Györgyi. An eclectic building, combining Art Nouveau elements with the features of National Romanticism, it covered 6000 square meters, and was considered "the pearl of the exposition."
Le Eposizioni di Roma e di Torino nel 1911 descritte ed illustrate (volume 4, January 1911, 31) described the building under construction as "una costruzione eminentemente caratteristica, con decorazioni cromatiche in maiolica" (a remarkably characteristic building with colorful maiolica decorations").
The
Mostra Forestale Ungherese was located next to the Pavilion.
Interpretive Essays
Palace of Fashion
