Bellezza

Italian fashion magazine. Founded in 1941, it was the official magazine of high fashion until the end of the 1950s. It witnessed the creative perseverance of Italian couture during the war. The architect Giò Ponti and Elsa Robiola, who directed it, were among its founders. All the great tailors and couturiers of the time were contributors, in order to make it a magazine comparable to Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. The graphic design was particularly painstaking, along with the use of different kinds of paper: designs, drawings, and fashion sketches took precedence over photography thanks to the collaboration of the most important artists of the time. The covers were often drawn by artists such as Giò Ponti, De Pisis, Prampolini, Dudovich, Pallavicini and Brunetta, whose contribution to the magazine was of long duration and very valuable. It was aimed at the high middle class. Contributions came from Leonor Fini, Riccardo Magni, René Gruau, Maria Pezzi and Irene Brin. In the 1950s the first photographs by Patellani and Cesano began to appear. The editor at that time was Aldo Palazzi, who published the weekly newspaper Tempo. In order to maintain its role as the official representative of Italian fashion, Bellezza devoted particular space to boutiques and prêt-à-porter, to accessories, jewellery, and fabrics. It celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 1961, only to close a few years later.