# Roberto Capucci

Roberto Capucci (born 2 December 1930) is an Italian fashion designer.

## Biography

Capucci attended art school at the Accademia di Belle Arti, where he studied with artists such as Mazzacurati, Avenali, and Libero De Libero.
In 1950, he opened his first atelier on Via Sistina in Rome. He first showed his creations at Giovanni Battista Giorgini’s Villa in Florence.
A young Oriana Fallaci, reporting for the weekly Epoca, covered the news. In 1952, he held a show at the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, with other designers such as Vincenzo Ferdinandi, Sartoria Antonelli, Atelier Carosa, Giovannelli-Sciarra, Polinober, Germana Marucelli, Sartoria Vanna, Jole Veneziani and 16 sportswear companies and boutiques.
In 1958, he created the “Linea a Scatola” (Box Line), for which he received the 'Boston Fashion Award' (Filene’s Young Talent Design Award) as the best creator of fashion along with Pierre Cardin and James Galanos.
In 1961, French critics received him positively at the Paris fashion shows, leading him to open his atelier at 4 Rue Cambon in Paris in 1962.
In 1968, he returned to Italy and began working at his studio in Via Gregoriana, Rome, where he presented his collections as part of the fashion calendar organized by the Camera Nazionale dell’Alta Moda. In the same year, he designed costumes for Silvana Mangano and Terence Stamp for Pier Paolo Pasolini’s film “Teorema”.
In July 1970, Capucci displayed his work for the first time at the Nymphaeum of the Museo do Arte Etrusca at Villa Giulia in Rome, showcasing looks with models without makeup or hairstyling and wearing low-heeled boots. He began experimenting with the inclusion of decorative, rigid, and structural elements and juxtaposing "rich" and "poor" materials, such as precious fabrics, stones, and straw.
In 1980, Capucci left the Camera Nazionale Della Moda and decided to keep his collections out of all calendars and institutions, only presenting them when he was ready. With the exhibition “Roberto Capucci l’Arte Nella Moda - Volume, Color e Meted” in 1990 at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, he received positive reviews from critics and audiences in museums, including Kunsthistorisches Museum (Wien), Nordiska Museet (Stockholm), Pushkin Museum (Moscow), Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Reggia do Venaria Reale (Turin).
In 1995, he was invited to show his creations at an Esposizione Internazionale di Arti Visive at La Biennale di Venezia held in 1985–1995.
In 2005, with the Associazione Civita, he founded Fondazione Roberto Capucci to preserve his archive of 439 historical dresses, 500 signed illustrations, 22,000 original drawings, a full press release, an extensive photo, and a media library.
In 2007, he opened the Roberto Capucci Foundation Museum with exhibitions and workshops in Florence at the Villa Bardini.
In 2010, he collaborated with artists Maurizio Martusciello and Mattia Casalegno in the audiovisual installation 'Il Gesto Sospeso', commissioned by FENDI and premiered at the Hadrian Temple for Rome Fashion Week.
In April 2013, he held the event “Roberto Capucci per i Giovanni designer. Outré (a)glib Abiti – l design preened una Nuova Piega” in Milan, with Awards at Royal Palace of Milan and the exhibition/event at Palazzo Morano.

## Exhibitions

| Year | Title |
| 2011 | Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion |
| 2009 | Fabric Sculpture Exhibit at Odescalchi Castle |
| 2009 | Roberto Capucci at Bracciano Castle |
| 2009 | Roberto Capucci fashion design at Palazzo Fortuny |
| 2008 | “Fantasie Guerriere” Warrior Fantasies |
| 2007 | Returning to Origins |