Ticino is not the epicentre of fashion, but between the 1930s and the 1960s, it had a fashion designer who achieved national and international success. The Luganese Elsa Barberis dressed the modern woman taking shape in those years, anticipating and inspiring the fashion of the decades to follow. But all this was not enough. Elsa has been completely forgotten by our memory. How is it possible that a talented figure like hers fell into oblivion so quickly?
Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, better known as Pippa Bacca, was a 34 years old Italian artist. She crossed 11 countries involved in wars, hitchhiking with another Milanese artist, Silvia Moro, both wearing a wedding dress. This was a performance for peace, trust and hoping to prove that if you rely on others, you’ll receive good things only. After travelling many roads, the two artists decided to split for a while in Istanbul, planning to meet again in Byblos. Pippa left then, alone, and nobody heard from her again.
A promising Italian cartoonist lands in Buenos Aires in 1950, with the dream of reaching the United States, to discover that, for him, America will be Argentina. The country immediately overwhelms him with its massive economic boom and a cultural scene among the most vibrant in the world. We are at the dawn of Argentina's most delirious decade, and the young immigrant feels that the vast promise of this country is within his grasp. His name will indeed make itself known: Hugo Pratt.
