SARLI, the exhibition celebrating Neapolitan tailoring A journey through the creations of Fausto Sarli, between craftsmanship, tradition, and glamour
“SARLI” is the title of the exhibition that will take place at the Museo della Moda di Napoli from December 11 to May 31. The exhibition unfolds as a journey through the Neapolitan tailoring tradition, expressed through the savoir-faire of Fausto Sarli, one of the masters of postwar Italian haute couture and an interpreter of a rigorous, measured elegance that helped define the identity of Neapolitan couture: 22 garments, part of the 50 donated in 2003 by the Neapolitan couturier to the museum of the Fondazione Mondragone.
The exhibition
Commissioned and conceived by lawyer Maria d’Elia, President of the Museum, and curated by Paola Maddaluno, the exhibition is structured into five sections developed around the concepts of movement, color, sound, concept, and waiting, restoring Sarli’s creative vision.
The exhibition is part of the editorial and visual project “Napoli Infinita”, conceived by Sabato De Sarno in collaboration with nss edicola and Cratera Edizioni. The reactivation of the Sarli Archive becomes a direct expression of the concept articulated by De Sarno: «Naples is root and contradiction, invention and memory. It is a place that holds on and, at the same time, lets go».
The retrospective begins with garments belonging to the tailoring tradition of Italian haute couture, which for the museum mark a new beginning in redefining the presence and influence of Naples within the contemporary landscape as well. Treasures from the heritage of a couturier who believed in the Neapolitan space since its very opening. Today, the museum’s rooms become a landscape of light and shadow through the use of gold and black—echoing the colors of the Sarli label—thanks to the installation designed by Michele Iodice.
Between memory and tradition
Through geometries, sculpted volumes, sharp lines, and a sense of intoxicating vertigo that dominates the fabrics, Fausto Sarli contributed to shaping the aesthetic of timeless divas such as Lucia Bosè, Carla Fracci, Ornella Vanoni, Carla Bruni, and Mina, for whom he created an iconic black silk cady sheath dress with a holy-water font neckline. The same model worn by the artist in 1961 when she performed Il cielo in una stanza on the television program Giardini d’Inverno.
Also on display are two haute couture garments from 1969 worn by Liz Taylor: a sleeveless outer garment, ankle-length and entirely crafted from pearls forming a geometric pattern of solid and empty squares, and a short sleeveless dress with a deep V-neck, a reinterpretation of the Charleston model, also made entirely of pearls.
The exhibition is a journey through Sarli’s body of work, spanning from the mid-1950s to the early 2000s, offering not only a new perspective on his stylistic production, but also highlighting his contribution to making Naples an active and recognizable city within the national tailoring landscape.
