The fallacious invention of the « Italian knit »

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, new polo shirt and knit shirt designs appeared in mail-order catalogs and on the shelves of American department stores. They competed with a riot of vibrant colours, bold patterns (horizontal stripes, contrasting piping or edges, panels, bands or colour blocks) and textured knits (ribbing, honeycomb, or cables)... A colourful extravaganza that gave rise to the myth of « talian knit », the culmination of a passion for knitwear that defined the modern man's wardrobe from the very beginning. 
Indeed, as early as the 1920s, stylish young men fell in love with sweaters and other knitted garments directly inspired by the styles worn by sportsmen. Alongside colourful Shetland sweaters, jacquard sweaters, Fair Isle sweaters (popularized by the young Prince of Wales in 1922) and argyle sweaters favoured by golfers, it was the polo shirt that became the iconic sports knitwear of the 1930s. While the French tennis player Jean René Lacoste originated its classic design (« petit piqué » fabric, soft collar, button placket, short sleeves, side vents, and back panel), it was the venerable English knitwear manufacturer John Smedley who created a more elegant version, which would serve as the basis for all subsequent dress polos and knit shirts. 
Founded in 1784 in Derbyshire, John Smedley began manufacturing fine knit underwear from Sea Island cotton in 1922, prized by many members of the British royal family, and in particular by the ever-present Duke of Windsor, an advocate of « dress soft ». Capitalizing on the growing popularity of sports and the rise of sportswear, John Smedley launched the Sea Island cotton Isis three-button polo shirt in 1932 (later followed by a long-sleeved version called Leander), featuring a generous, soft collar, a French-style button placket and a ribbed hem. 
At the same time, the chemical industry was also racing to develop artificial fibres. As early as 1935, DuPont invented nylon, a synthetic fibre that surpassed silk and rayon in terms of appearance, durability, and price, and which initially revolutionized nylon stockings. The company then acquired the American rights to Terylene, a polyester fibre renowned for its wrinkle resistance, created in England in 1941, and marketed it under the name Dacron. In 1950, DuPont also developed Orlon, an acrylic fibre designed as an alternative to wool. In 1954, Joseph Bancroft & Sons made a significant contribution by conceiving the Ban-Lon, a nylon fibre obtained through a crimping process that produced a more voluminous yarn. 
In the late 1950s, American sportswear brands (such as Campus Sweater Co. or Puritan Sportswear) and major clothing retailers (like Sears or J.C. Penney with its subsidiary brand Towncraft) began offering stylish and affordable knitted polo shirts made from synthetic fibres, such as Ban-Lon, in a wide range of colours. 
Furthermore, after World War II, the Marshall Plan was instrumental in reorganizing the Italian fashion industry. In the mid-1950s, Italian designers, notably Brioni, popularized the clean lines and bold colours of the Continental look, establishing the prestige of « Made in Italy », a label based on the quality of raw materials and exceptional craftsmanship. From then on, Italy became synonymous with quality and relaxed elegance. Thanks to a series of Brioni fashion shows in the USA in 1954 and the support of magazines like Esquire and Playboy, the Continental look invaded the American market. It was quickly adopted by Hollywood stars like the members of the Rat Pack and jazz musicians like Miles Davis. In England, through the menswear retailer Cecil Gee, teenagers calling themselves « modernists » embraced the Continental look. Suddenly, everything from Italy became incredibly desirable. It was in the wake of this craze for Italian fashion that « Italian knit » emerged. 
However, strangely enough, while there was indeed a genuine Italian luxury knitwear industry produced by numerous small Italian workshops like Maglificio Gran Sasso, founded in 1952, there was nothing quite like what was called « Italian knit ». 
In reality, « Italian knit » was born from an opportunity and a fantasy : on the one hand, American sportswear brands sought to capitalize on the craze for Italian fashion ; on the other, the designs were based on these same brands' idea of Italian style : bold, colourful and relaxed. And to give substance to this fantasy, American sportswear brands resorted to a series of marketing techniques. 
For polo shirts and knit-shirts, often made in the United States from synthetic fibres like Ban-Lon or Dacron, the advertisers did not hesitate to use Italian terms or phrases such as « Italian Styled » or « Italian Inspired ». For example, the sportswear brand McGregor, creator of the famous « drizzler », commissioned Italian fashion illustrator René Gruau to give a transalpine touch to the advertisements for its « TT shirt », a maraviglia « styled in Italy ». 
Some brands, for their part, chose Italian-sounding names : these include Brent Italia (a subsidiary brand from Montgomery Ward), Di Firenze, Fabriano and D'Italia (three subsidiary brands from Campus Sweater Co.), Da Vinci (a Californian brand founded in 1952 by the Berke family), as well as a whole series of Korean-made brands such as Dino Di Vino, Porto-Fino, Manfredo, Don Cassini, and Bertano Continental Styling. 
For higher-end ranges, « Made in Italy » (sometimes actually « Made in Spain ») was the ultimate selling point, allowing them to capitalize on the reputation of Italian craftsmanship and raw materials. Examples include often New York-based brands like Countess Mara (founded in 1935 by the Italian-born aristocrat Lucilla Mara de Vescovi and distributed in Hollywood by Sy Devore), Leonardo Strassi (a subsidiary brand of Colfax Industries), Damon Creations (founded in 1937 by David and Mannie Rappaport), Gino Paoli and Baron Dino. 
« Italian knit », as it is known in the United States and England, is primarily a cultural and commercial invention. Born from the convergence of Italian textile innovation, the American fascination with Mediterranean style and the marketing strategies of sportswear brands, it became a symbol of relaxed elegance in the 1960s. 
More than just an item of clothing, it represents a fantasized idea of Italy : that of a sunny, sophisticated yet accessible lifestyle, tailored to the aspirations of the American middle class seeking distinction. 
The difference between true Italian style and its American counterpart becomes clear when comparing the two adaptations of the novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. In René Clément's Purple Noon (1960), Alain Delon's wardrobe faithfully reflects the Continental look of the era : lightweight suits, slim loafers, spread collar shirts, a linen shirt and a terrycloth beach jacket. In contrast, Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) introduces knit shirts that perfectly embody the American vision of Italian style. These garments evoke the American dream of Latin elegance more than the sartorial reality of 1950s Italy. 
While « Italian knit » is ultimately a fantasy born of the American imagination, it remains nonetheless fascinating. As artificial as it is irresistibly seductive, like a Hollywood film in technicolor, it continues to feed the myth of an eternally elegant Italy, between artisanal know-how and dolce vita.