Federico Emilio Schuberth. Moda, cinema, televisione: pratiche di intermedialità

This thesis aims to investigate Federico Emilio Schuberth and his work. A Neapolitan fashion designer who opened his atelier in Rome in 1938, from the late 1940s Schuberth made a name for himself both in Italy and internationally thanks primarily to his contributions to cinema. Schuberth was an unconventional voice in the Italian fashion scene. Today the designer features less prominently in popular culture and academic circles as compared to others in post-war Italian fashion. However, Schuberth’s atelier was a must for film stars, showgirls and the most elegant women of the international jet set. His innate sense of showmanship and his ability to communicate through various media to forge his image and mythical status were fundamental to his notoriety. Schuberth became a protagonist of the social scene in the 1950s: not only did he play himself in films, but he also made appearances on television, participating in popular programmes such as Carosello, Il Musichiere and La via del successo. These shows also featured film stars and actresses who in those years were drawn to Rome (thanks also to “Hollywood on the Tiber”), such as Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Martine Carol, Valentina Cortese, Alida Valli, Anna Magnani, Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson. Fom 1940 to 1960, Schuberth succeeded in constructing within his own atelier an intermedial narrative, where each element was nourished by leaning on the other and where the boundaries of one and the other tended to become increasingly blurred: fashion, cinema, photography, television, radio and the press evolved into a narrative system that was both economic and cultural.