THE GLOVE SCHOOL – PROMOTED by the SSIP (Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Pelli e delle Materie Concianti – Italian Leather Research Institute)

The Neapolitan glove-making industry is highly representative of its area, and a virtuous example of local excellence. The Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Pelli e delle Materie Concianti (SSIP – Italian Leather Research Institute), which has accompanied the glove-making industry since the start, and which hosted the post-World War II glove-making school for glove workers in the early years of its establishment and offered its scientific support to the sector, intends to renew its commitment on this front, due to the changing needs for technology, sustainability and circularity for the glove-making and the leather chain in general.

The main purpose of this exhibition is to highlight the tradition and history of glove-making companies, and to share with the audience the birth and manufacture of the leather glove, a cornerstone of Italian – and especially Neapolitan – craftsmanship, and its evolution over the years. The exhibition is an initiative that emerged from a desire to promote the sector, spearheaded by the Chiroteca business network, which brings together SSIP, LINEAPELLE and several artisan glove-making companies, such as Artigiano del Guanto, Andreano and Gala Gloves, and leather manufacturer Gargiulo Leather. Supported by the Industrial Union of Naples, the exhibit is the perfect way to share the material and immaterial culture of the Neapolitan glove-making industry.

The exhibition “Glove – Paths and Stories of the glove-making industry in Naples” is promoted by the SSIP (Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Pelli e delle Materie Concianti – Italian Leather Research Institute), with the support of the Campania Region. It is hosted by the Fondazione Banco di Napoli Archives, sponsored by LINEAPELLE, and features prestigious cultural partners such as: the Academy of Fine Arts, professors from the Department of Humanistic Studies and the Department of Chemical Sciences of the Federico II University, the Mondragone Fashion Museum Foundation and the ISMed Library of the National Research Council. The exhibition also intends to disseminate the Neapolitan glove-making culture, with the aim of raising awareness about its significance and the importance of preserving and passing it on, as well as to make known the still unexpressed potential of a sector encapsulating the history and identity of Naples, particularly to young designers. This is one of the leading sectors on the international scene, and a viable route to an innovative and sustainable industry with respect to the increasingly impacted fashion phenomena.

One part of the exhibition highlights the sustainable character of the leather and glove industry, which, outside the ever-fastening logics of fashion, brings forward a sartorial product oriented to be a must-have and a permanent element in the wardrobe.

Chiroteca business network collaboration

Glove-making companies: Gala Gloves / Andreano / Artigiano del Guanto

Tannery: Gargiulo Leather S.r.l. Lineapelle: UNIC Fashion Studio Milan Unione Industriali Napoli / Confindustria Napoli

Main Sponsor: Lineapelle S.r.l.

Coordination of exhibition activities, cultural-historical, artistic and scientific-technological aspects: Carmelina Grosso, Giulia Scalera

Partner: Accademia delle Belle Arti, Archivio Fondazione Banco di Napoli, Fondazione Mondragone Museo della Moda, Biblioteca ISMed del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and the partecipation of lecturers from Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici e di Scienze Chimiche dell’Università Federico II.

Patronage of Regione Campania

Steering Committee: Mariarosaria Aletta, Fulvia Bacchi, Elisabetta Bini, Nicola Campoli, Ciro Castaldo, Maria d’Elia, Roberto Delle Donne, Claudia di Somma, Gloria Guida, Edoardo Imperiale, Serena Iossa, Fabio Montagnaro, Alessandro Pellone, Giulia Scalera, Sandro Temin, Pierluigi Totaro