Polimoda's fashion archive ''Centro di documentazione Matteo Lanzoni'' was recently opened to the public.
It is a unique collection of fashion magazines made up of 400 publications from the mid-19th century to the present.
Polimoda's assistant director, Tiziana Marchi, highlighted the uniqueness of this collection, which is the most complete in Italy and one of the richest in Europe.
The project took almost five years to complete and was made possible by a contribution from the Ente Cassa di Risparmio.
Students, fashion history, design and brand marketing experts collaborated on the project, in addition to designers themselves, who are constantly looking to the past to find inspiration for the future.
The archive includes rare and valuable copies of La Donna, Bazar (called Bazaar from 1930 on), and Femina. The latter, for example, consists of bound pages filled with real artwork like paintings made from silver and gold.
Perusing the covers and flipping through the pages it is easy to come across international artists like De Chirico and Dali published in Vogue Paris and American Vogue. The magazines help reconstruct the history of fashion photography.
In some shots by Helmut Newton, for example, one can easily see traces of the latest Dolce and Gabbana ad campaign.
Curiosities include ads with the ''Marca Oro'' a mandatory seal for all Made in Italy products during the Fascist period.
Cosmetics began to take off at the beginning of the 20th century the archives show the evolution of the most important brands like Chanel, Dior and Helena Rubinstein.
The archive's inauguration comes at the beginning of Polimoda's three-day ''Open Day Open Mind'' initiative that will run until April 5.
Dedicated to Italian and foreign fashion houses but also to prospective students wishing to visit the institute's various buildings (from Villa Strozzi to Villa Favard), attend classes and speak with graduates in the fashion business.
Open Day will also be on Second Life for the first time.
Polimoda will be there on April 3 and 4 from 3pm to 6pm with an information point on the Tuscany island created and managed by Fondazione Sistema Toscana.
An avatar will welcome you and will be available to provide information on the most famous fashion school in Europe.
