The professional biography of Giovanni Battista Giorgini (1898–1971) was almost mythicized until about 2005 (Fadigati 2018, 13) when his rich and complex personal archive became accessible to scholars. This made it possible to expand the current scholarship beyond the narrative that confined Giorgini in the framework of the first Italian High Fashion Shows in Florence, which he started in 1951 and became the foundation of the current Pitti Immagine trade-fair circuit. In this article, as part of this wave of studies, I discuss the earliest developments of Giorgini's network of acquaintances in the United States and his business vision before establishing his career as a full-fledged fashion intermediary from 1951 onward.
Giorgini was greatly aided by his connections within the United States, many of which were established before World War II, in identifying a promising moment for introducing Italian luxury products overseas. Combining a critical analysis of correspondence pertaining...
