# 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 and initially showcased 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 presented his work at the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, alongside 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 introduced the Linea a Scatola (Box Line), which earned him the Boston Fashion Award (Filene’s Young Talent Design Award) as one of the best fashion designers, alongside Pierre Cardin and James Galanos.
In 1961, he received positive reviews from French critics 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 in his studio on Via Gregoriana in Rome, where he presented his collections as part of the fashion official calendar organized by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. In the same year, he designed costumes for Silvana Mangano and Terence Stamp for Pier Paolo Pasolini’s film “Teorema”.
In July 1970, Roberto Capucci presented his creations for the first time at the Nymphaeum of the National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia in Rome. The fashion show featured models without makeup or hairstyling, wearing low-heeled boots. During this period, he began experimenting with rigid and structural decorative elements, as well as the combination of "luxurious" and "humble" materials, such as precious fabrics, stones, and straw.
His career took a new direction in 1982, two years after he decided to leave the Camera Nazionale dell’Alta Moda and decided to keep his collections outside of official fashion calendars and institutions, showcasing them only when he deemed them ready.
The major turning point came in 1990 with the exhibition "Roberto Capucci, l’Arte nella Moda – Volume, Colore, Metodo", held at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. This marked the beginning of a journey that brought his work to some of the world’s most prestigious museums, including Kunsthistorisches Museum (Wien, 1991), Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, 1991), Schauspielhaus theatre (Berlin, 1992), Nordiska Museet (Stockholm, 2001) and the Venaria Reale (Turin, 2007, 2016).
In 1995, he was invited to show his creations, such as Allanite, Antimonite or Cinabro at the Esposizione Internazionale di Arti Visive at La Biennale di Venezia.
In 2005, with the Associazione Civita, he founded the Roberto Capucci Foundation 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 inaugurated the Roberto Capucci Foundation Museum at Villa Bardini in Florence, hosting exhibitions and workshops.
In 2010, he collaborated with the artists Maurizio Martusciello and Mattia Casalegno on the audiovisual installation Il Gesto Sospeso, commissioned by FENDI and premiered at the Hadrian Temple during Rome Fashion Week.
In April 2013, he held the event “Roberto Capucci per i giovani designer. Oltre agli abiti – Il design prende una nuova piega” with the awards ceremony at the 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 |