‘Size revolution’: the industrial foundations of the Italian clothing business

From the beginning of the 1950s, how to size clothing became an issue debated within national and international organizations which were committed to the standardization of the technical specifications of industrial products, clothing included. At the time the Gruppo Finanziario Tessile, which would later act as the industrial springboard for the Italian fashion, introduced a new system of sizes in Italy. Drawing on the extensive company's historical records, the paper deals with the technical, organizational, and cultural nature of the process of standardization of the sizing of clothing. The research provides new evidences about the emergence of a new competitor within a mature industry