Fortunati Leopoldina - Mediating the human body: technology, communication, and fashion

The editors thank the Department of External Relations of Omnitel-Vodafone, Anna Maria Grossi of the Fashion and Events Department of Milan City Council, the Aventis Foundation (Italy), and Diego Mocellini of Bli.io for their generous support of the international conference Il corpo umano tra tecnologie, comunicazione e moda / The Human Body Between Technologies, Communication and Fashion, and this publication.

Alessandra Vecchio of Franco Angeli Editore was most understanding and constructive, whereas Jo Falinski has given significant assistance with many of the translations. Liz Patons skillful copyediting has helped us avoid some pitfalls and everywhere contributed to the manuscripts lucidity.

Professors William Dutton, Kenneth J. Gergen, Irving Louis Horowitz, Toms Maldonado, Robert K. Merton, and Josh Meyrowitz helped by pointing us to some unexamined issues concerning the body, technology, and communication. Professors Arturo DellAcqua Bellavitis, Ronald Day, Claire McInerney, and Ronald E. Rice have been true colleagues, selflessly contributing ideas and assistance throughout this intellectual voyage.

Linda Bathgate of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, a highly talented Renaissance woman, has been a delight to work with, and her thoughtful guidance is much appreciated. Karin Wittig Bates helped us expeditiously surmount production hurdles. Also, we gratefully acknowledge our Production Editor, Marianna Vertullo.

To all these kind and supportive individuals, we offer our heartfelt gratitude.

L. F.
J. E. K.
R. R.
May 2002

Pierfrancesco Gamba

Alderman, Fashion and Events Department, Milan City Council

The chapters of this book are based on the international conference Il corpo umano tra tecnologie, comunicazione e moda / The Human Body between Technologies, Communication and Fashion, January 11-12, 2001. The conference was held at one of Italys most renowned cultural institutions, the Triennale di Milano, which as a center of art and culture, and both a museum and a center of creativity, was an ideal location. The Fashion and Events Department of Milans City Council was a major sponsor of this conference, although many other important institutions also joined in sponsorship. The Department undertook sponsorship to help foster progress in an area of concern for the Department, and indeed for the leadership of the city of Milan, namely advancing analysis of trends in fashion, design, and art, as well as fostering dialogue and interaction among the communities of experts concerned with these issues. As Alderman for this Department, I am pleased to have this opportunity to offer a perspective on the importance of the conference.

The conference had a noble goal: to explore the effects of the new technologies on human beings. The specific focus was the intersection of new communication technologies and the body. Conference sponsorship is an important part of the Fashion and Events Departments continuing promotion of meaningful interaction between those concerned with arranging fashion events in Milan, the companies involved with technological operations that produce material for the fashion industry, and scholars working in the new languages of communication. The Fashion and Events Department believes that occasions such as this allow the leaders of these systems to meet and discuss issues of fundamental and mutual importance. These include the cultural and economic future of the Milan region and the advancement of the quality of life throughout the industrial world. The conference offered the opportunity to learn from each others experience and to create a novel, powerful synthesis between the cultural and operational spheres.

It is significant that it was the city of Milan that hosted a conference embodying the state of the art in these matters. The conference offered an authoritative and privileged observation point from which to study lifestyles and new trends. This conference also reflected the importance of culture in Milan. The Fashion and Events Department has often given space and encouragement to similar occasions in the past, and believes the entire city benefits from the accompanying intellectual ferment and creativity. As a result, investments and resources are attracted to Milan within the framework of global competition.

In the Age of the Information Economy, the style of garments is changing. Different kinds of communication technology are emerging from the cybernetic present, and new horizons are opening up before firms that once clothed the denizens of the Old Economy.

Our commitment has been to advance lifestyle and intellectual initiatives that have confirmed Milan as a leader in the field of fashion and design. The Department has become a point of reference for those seeking to enhance the creative richness of the human experience. In turn, these activities encourage and support specific competitive activities that, in the long run, benefit all. Milan is a melting pot of ideas, unstinting in its encouragement of new projects and initiatives, and untiring in its pursuit of putting the best of them into practice. It is this balanced commitment to the intellectual and material well-being of its citizenry that makes Milan an exciting and desirable place to live, work, and visit.