Reframing history: Federico Fellini’s Rome, fashion and costume

Costume and fashion have been an integral component of Fellini’s artistic arsenal and have contributed greatly towards the layering and historical montage of his films. In this article, I will explore the historical implications of Fellini’s use of fashion and costume and the profound impact that they have had on the aesthetics and texture of his films. Through a close examination of fashion and costume, the chapter highlights Fellini’s contribution towards a new historiography and archaeology of both Rome/Italy and cinematic form. In the article, Fellini’s cinema, especially La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) in 1960 and Roma (Fellini’s Roma) in 1971, is approached from both the standpoint of fashion and from that of the cyclical temporality contained in Benjamin’s theory of fashion, so as to understand not only Fellini but also the contemporaneity of his approach.