Title: “Sfilate RAI 1954-1965 – La nascita della moda in TV”
Release date: July 12, 2019
Platform: Rai Cultura (raicultura.it) – free access
Number of items: 47 videos (total 5h 12min)
Key contents:
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (for educational and research use; no commercial remixing)
Technical format: Restored 4K scans from original films, streamable in 1080p. rai first open boobs uncut naari magazine0348 min
Fashion houses (Gucci, Prada, Valentino) reused clips from RAI’s open archive in their own anniversary campaigns, crediting RAI under the NC-ND license. This created a new model of public–private heritage collaboration.
Unlike standard fashion auctions, the RAI First Open focuses on three key pillars: Title: “Sfilate RAI 1954-1965 – La nascita della
“Fashion is the most immediate art form. With RAI First Open, we’re treating the zipper, the seam, and the silhouette with the same reverence as a canvas—while keeping the energy of a sample sale.”
— RAI Fashion Lead
Access to archival style allows designers to practice "upcycling" ideas. By watching how Roman housewives draped scarves in the 1960s or how Carabinieri officers wore their uniforms, a modern designer can create historically-informed, relevant pieces without copyright infringement, as the inspiration is drawn from public/open-source history. License: CC BY-NC-ND 4
Why is this specific content so valuable? RAI began broadcasting in 1954, coinciding with Italy’s post-war economic boom—the very era that birthed high-end Italian fashion. While French couture dominated the pre-war narrative, RAI’s cameras captured the rise of Italian prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear).
This paper examines the first openly accessible fashion and style content released by RAI (Radiotelevisione italiana), Italy’s public service broadcaster. Focusing on RAI’s Teche (historical archives) digitization initiatives, we identify the earliest open-access fashion-related broadcasts (1954–1965), including La passerella di moda italiana (The Italian Fashion Runway) and early Alta Moda coverage from Florence and Rome. We analyze how RAI’s transition from proprietary tape to open online streaming (via RaiPlay and Rai Cultura) democratized access to Italy’s postwar fashion identity. Findings indicate that RAI’s first open fashion content not only preserved sartorial history but also reshaped contemporary style narratives by making archival material freely available for research, education, and public engagement.