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 to be held at the Museo della Moda di Napoli from December 11 to May 31. The exhibition unfolds as a journey through the Neapolitan sartorial tradition, guided by the savoir-faire of Fausto Sarli, one of the masters of Italian post-war haute couture and an interpreter of a rigorous, measured elegance that helped define the identity of Neapolitan couture: 22 garments, selected from the 50 donated in 2003 by the Neapolitan couturier to the museum of the Fondazione Mondragone.

The exhibition

Conceived and commissioned by lawyer Maria d’Elia, President of the Museum, and curated by Paola Maddaluno, the exhibition is articulated into five sections, developed around the concepts of movement, color, sound, concept, and waiting, offering a multifaceted reading of Sarli’s creative vision.

The exhibition is part of an ongoing dialogue involving the Campania Region, under the patronage of the National Chamber for Italian Fashion, in which the reactivation of the Sarli Archive becomes a direct expression of a savoir-faire unique within the Italian sartorial landscape. The Museo della Moda di Napoli restores a powerful fragment that belongs not only to Campanian sartorial tradition, but more broadly to the history of fashion.

The retrospective begins with garments rooted in the Italian haute couture tradition, which for the museum mark a new beginning in redefining the presence and influence of Naples within the contemporary landscape as well. These are treasures from the heritage of a couturier who believed in the Neapolitan institution from its very inception. Today, the museum’s galleries are transformed into 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 permeates 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 design 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 pieces from 1969 worn by Liz Taylor: a sleeveless ankle-length outer garment entirely made of pearls forming a geometric pattern of solid and hollow squares, and a short sleeveless dress with a deep V-neckline, a reinterpretation of the charleston model, also crafted entirely from pearls.

The exhibition traces Sarli’s production from the mid-1950s to the early 2000s, offering not only a new perspective on his stylistic output, but also highlighting his contribution to establishing Naples as an active and recognizable city within the national sartorial landscape.