Fashion Frames: Where Style Becomes Cinema
Exhibition: March 11 – April 4, 2026, 9:30 AM -5:00 PM
For the first time Fashion Frames: Where Style Becomes Cinema — curated by Stefano Dominella, ambassador of Made in Italy in the world — flies to New York at the Italian Cultural Institute to celebrate the legendary encounter between cinema and fashion. This new edition transforms mannequins into stars and fabrics into visual storytelling, highlighting the great creative synergy between designer, costume designer and actress: a bond that shapes icons, builds myths and projects Made in Italy on the world stage.
In the 1950s, it was cinema itself that showed the world that a new Italian trend “couture” was emerging in Rome. The capital was transformed into the “Hollywood on the Tiber” and the Italian dream factory, where style met storytelling and together they defined an era.
Cinema and stardom immediately became a privileged vehicle and communication tool for Italian fashion, generating an intimate dialogue between fashion creators and costume designers, ateliers and sets, fabrics and scripts. Hollywood stars who arrived in the capital began dressing the creations of the then nascent Italian fashion houses, triggering a style revolution around the world.
Through 30 creations created by famous couturiers, designers and ateliers such as Fernanda Gattinoni, Annamode Costumes, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Guillermo Mariotto, Max Mara, Versace, just to name a few, the exhibition tells the visitor an extraordinary story, where the light of the camera transforms a dress into myth.
Coming from important historical archives and from the curator’s personal historical archive, on display is the couture that dialogues with the character, making the dress a protagonist, a journey through the silhouettes that have dictated and dictate new styles: the draperies that surround Lana Turner invent a new romantic prototype; Audrey Hepburn‘s empire style, in the film “War and Peace”, inaugurates a new “fashion” throughout the world; the mermaid dress that envelops Anita Ekberg in the famous scene of the Trevi fountain in Federico Fellini’s “La dolce vita” becomes an icon of style and sensuality; closer to us over time, Sabrina Ferilli, one of the protagonists of Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning film “La grande bellezza”, Monica Bellucci, a statuesque Mediterranean beauty, immortalized by Giuseppe Tornatore in the film “Malena”, Scarlett Johansson and Pop Star Beyoncé, icons of a contemporary aesthetic; and even other divas from different historical periods: Ornella Muti, Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida, Maria Callas, and Sofia Loren in her red dress, in the unforgettable scene of the Italian mambo in Dino Risi’s film “Pane, amore e…”.
“The new edition of the Fashion frames exhibition is not only a tribute to Italian fashion, but also an opportunity to celebrate our culture and heritage,” declares curator Stefano Dominella. “We are proud to present our excellence to the world, which continues to inspire and set trends. For the first time in many years, we are bringing to New York, at the Italian Cultural Institute, on display the value of know-how, beauty, and style that have made Made in Italy famous around the world. Visitors will be able to admire up close the iconic pieces of Italy’s greatest designers who still tell stories of creativity and high craftsmanship today.””
“With this exhibition,” says Claudio Pagliara, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, “we aim to promote two key sectors of the Italian economy: fashion and cinema. The exhibition highlights Italy’s continuing excellence in both fields.”
Bio
Stefano Dominella
Honorary President of Maison Gattinoni, Vice President of the Textile, Clothing, Fashion and Accessories Section of Unindustria; Member of the Scientific and Organizational Committee of the project “Archivi della Moda del ’900” promoted by ANAI and the Superintendency for Cultural Heritage and Activities; Scientific Director of the Modartech Institute of Pontedera; lecturer in communication and marketing strategies at the IED Institute in Rome; lecturer in Luxury Fashion Communication at Accademia del Lusso.
Since 2009 he has held courses and seminars at the University La Sapienza of Rome, Faculty of Letters, “Sciences of Fashion and Costume.” Stefano Dominella has been President of the Consorzio Moda Roma, Member of the Board of Directors of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, President of AltaRoma and creator—together with Franca Sozzani, historic editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia—of the international competition “Who’s on Next?” aimed at young designers.
He is the creator and curator of international exhibitions, among which, just to mention the most important: “L’Eleganza del Cibo. Tales about Food and Fashion” — created on the occasion of Expo 2015; “In Acqua, H2O Molecole di creatività,” 2016; “Giapponizzati. Racconti di un viaggio di Moda” in 2017 and inaugurated in 2019 in Tokyo at the Italian Cultural Institute under the aegis of ICE. In 2020 the exhibition “Robotizzati. Esperimenti di Moda” was inaugurated in Rome at Palazzo WeGil and subsequently in 2021 in Madrid; in 2022 the exhibition “The Sweet Sixties” opened at Castel Sant’Angelo; in 2023 “Fotogrammi di moda italiana” opened in Madrid and then also traveled to Prague and Copenhagen; in 2024 he inaugurated the exhibition “Briganti eleganti” at the MAXXI Museum in Rome, and also “L’Italia è di moda,” which represents the Made in Italy of the “Bel Paese” at EXPO 2025 in Osaka and has also stopped in Seoul, Manama, Tashkent and Riyadh.