Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : The history of Italian design / Kjetil Fallan and Grace Lees-Maffei -- A historiography of Italian design / Maddalena Dalla Mura and Carlo Vinti -- Ettore Sottsass and critical design in Italy, 1965-1985 / Penny Sparke -- Domes to Domus (or how Roberto Mango brought the geodisic dome to the home of Italian design) / Jeffrey T. Schnapp -- Tomás Maldonado and the impact of the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm in Italy / Raimonda Riccini -- Craft, industry and art : ISIA (1922-1943) and the roots of Italian design education / Elena Dellapiana and Daniela N. Prina -- Manufactured identities : ceramics and the making of (Made in) Italy / Lisa Hockemeyer -- Crafting a design counterculture : the pastoral and the primitive in Italian radical design, 1972-1976 / Catharine Rossi -- Private exhibitions : galleries, art and interior design, 1920-1960 / Imma Forino -- Exhibiting exhibitions : designing and displaying fascism / Vanessa Rocco -- This way to the exit : the re-writing of the city through graphic design, 1964-1989 / Gabriele Oropallo -- Designing a new society : a social history of Italian car design / Federico Paolini -- Espresso by design : the creation of the Italian coffee machine / Jonathan Morris -- Italian fashion : the metamorphosis of a cultural industry / Simona Segre Reinach -- Annus mirabilis : 1954, Alberto Rosselli and the institutionalisation of design mediation / Kjetil Fallan -- A vehicle for 'good Italians' : user design and the Vespa clubs in Italy / Thomas Brandt -- 'Made' in England? The mediation of Alessi S.p.A. / Grace Lees-Maffei.

Goods made or designed in Italy enjoy a disproportionately high profile, even though, in terms of global manufacturing, Italy's output is relatively modest. Italy's glorious design heritage and reputation for innovation mean that goods 'Made in Italy', and/or designed in Italy, carry added value. Since 1945, Italian design has commanded an increasing amount of attention from design journalists, critics and consumers. But is Italian design a victim of its own celebrity? Made In Italy is the first critical study of Italian design to explore this question from the perspective of scholarly investigative chapters, analysing the significance of design from Italy and how its influence upon international design and consumerism has become so renowned and inflated by various media and design criticism. Using examples from a wide range of Italian design - from the designers themselves such as Gio Ponti and Andrea Branzi, to the urban landscape of the country itself, the book explores the historical, cultural and social influences that dictated design in Italy, and how these iconic designs have shaped and contributed to the modern canon of Italian inspired goods-- Provided by publisher.