Embroidery is cultural heritage, and we should recognise it as such.

 

The word embroidery originates from the Arabic ‘raqm’, and it is in Egypt that the first traces of it can be found, as early as the third millennium BC. It spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, but it was during the Renaissance that it reached its peak, thanks to religious institutions and patrons who invited artists from all over the country to their courts. During this period, embroidery entered people's homes and regional patterns began to spread. In Italy alone, there are dozens of types linked to the territory, with techniques handed down from mother to daughter.

 

In Italy, the history of embroidery is intertwined with that of women: girls learned to embroider before they could read and write (at the end of the 19th century, the Coppino law formalised the teaching of embroidery as part of school education, and it remained so until the end of the 1960s), future brides began embroidering their trousseau at a very young age, and the complexity of the work corresponded to a certain family status. In short, embroidery was part of women's lives in all social classes: for the humbler classes, it was a duty; for the upper classes, it was a pastime, a skill to be developed on a par with piano or dance.

 

The nineteenth century marked an epoch-making change: the industrial revolution entered the world of embroidery with the advent of the first machines, including the Cornely, which spread rapidly from England to the rest of the world. Today, the use of automation and software for electronic embroidery is on the rise, with machines capable of combining various types of embroidery and automating otherwise lengthy and complex processes. However, the artisanal dimension has certainly not been lost.

 

Brands are asking for techniques that refer to traditional embroidery and ancient techniques, such as cross-stitch or à jour embroidery, which involves removing threads from the fabric and using stitches to create transparencies and decorative patterns, because they want to give buyers the impression of handmade items. But handmade is in fact part of the process: from the creative stage to the finishing stage. And the companies involved also take on the task of passing on cultural knowledge that would otherwise be lost: «Schools are not enough to pass on practical knowledge», says Stefano Pucci, president of Assoricamatori. «Young people don't realise the cultural value behind this sector. It is essential to visit companies and see what an embroidery factory does, because those involved in fashion must necessarily have a vision that derives from technical knowledge, not just theoretical knowledge».