Sophistication in style and architecture manifests itself throughout the country, with its beautifully designed monuments, fountains, gardens and piazzas that enhance both small villages and large cities. Although many most people still claim that Milan remains the epicenter of Italian fashion, with Via Montenapoleone renowned as the most fashionable shopping street in the world, there is a rising current moving towards the eternal city.

Rome has for centuries been the pillar of western culture and has shaped people’s sense of beauty throughout the different eras. Today this propensity for the aesthetic and elegant is reflected in the way people dress making the ‘alta moda’ or high fashion design the moving force of the city.

Rome is home to some of the top fashion powerhouses that originate from the city, such as Fendi and Valentino to name a few. Where Milan is the capital of ready-to-wear fashion, Rome is the heart of the haute couture or high fashion wear. Other influential fashion designers including Gattinoni, Sorelle Fontana and Balestra have boosted the Roman name forward and are challenging Paris for the first place as the fashion capital of Europe. Clothes carrying the made in Italy label have always been known for innovative and stylish fashion, exuding creativity and artistic flair unequalled by others.

The Alta Roma Association has been the leader in Roman fashion show organization for the last decade through its annual exhibitions of high fashion collections, both by new rising fashion designers and rising star couturiers. These shows take on a new trend for they have abandoned the traditional catwalk event and have paved the way to a new way of presenting fashion, merging culture, cinema, television and fashion all in one show. Another innovation is that these fashion shows are no longer closed to the average consumer but are now open to the general public.

The Roman summer fashion shows are often held in the open air, such as the “Donna Sotto le Stelle”, or Woman Under the Stars, which takes place in the magnificent setting of the Spanish Steps, in Piazza di Spagna. For a close-up view of what goes on behind the fashion scene in Rome, a visit at the capital’s top fashion school will illustrate how the designers work to achieve their masterpieces. The Accademia di Costume e di Moda, situated in Via della Rondinella n°2 also hosts regular fashion exhibitions and actively participates in many fashion events within the city.