"Vincenzo Vicari. Lugano e la moda" An exhibition and project to promote the legacy of the photographer from Lugano
Institutional Communication Service
3 September 2025
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Lions Club Lugano, an event titled "Vincenzo Vicari, Lugano e la moda" has been organised. This initiative is a collaboration between the City of Lugano, the Lions Club Lugano, and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). It features a photographic exhibition and an afternoon of public talks at Villa Ciani, scheduled for Sunday, 7 September. The goal of this event is to showcase the rich photographic collection of Vincenzo Vicari (1911-2007), which is owned by the City of Lugano and preserved in its historical archive.
After the presentation at Villa Ciani, the exhibition will land at Università della Svizzera italiana (Red Building, West Campus Lugano, Via G. Buffi), where it will be open from 15 September to 3 October 2025, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm.
The project marks the start of a collaborative effort aimed at promoting Lugano's visual heritage in a lasting way. It starts with over 200,000 images captured by Vicari, which uniquely document the social, cultural, and economic development of our region throughout the 20th century.
The "Lions Club Lugano – Vincenzo Vicari Scholarship" is launched
A key component of the project is the establishment of the "Lions Club Lugano – Vincenzo Vicari Scholarship." This scholarship is aimed at students in the Faculty of Communication, Culture, and Society at USI. It will enable them to conduct an in-depth study of the work and historical context of the Vicari Collection. Funding for the scholarship will also come from the sale of selected photographic prints.
"This collaboration represents a further step forward for the City of Lugano in promoting its visual heritage, and in particular the important photographic collection of Vincenzo Vicari," said Roberto Badaracco, Deputy Mayor and Head of the Department of Culture, Sport and Events. "With initiatives such as this, we are not only promoting the historical memory of our city, but also supporting the education of young people and dialogue between cultural institutions, civil society, academia and citizens."
Furthermore, according to Alessandro Simoneschi, President of the Lugano Lions Club, "Understanding and appreciating our city in all its diverse aspects will enable us to reflect on the past with awareness, analyse the present with critical thinking, and envision the future with responsibility and courage. For the Lions Year 2025-2026, the specific motto is "Think Global – Act Local." This motto emphasises the importance of combining local actions with global responsibility to tackle the challenges we face today."
The photographic exhibition "Vincenzo Vicari. Lugano and fashion"
The photographic exhibition traces the relationship between fashion and Lugano throughout the 20th century, from the textile industries to women's tailoring, to the historic boutiques of Lugano. In the heart of the city, shops such as Fumagalli, Pellicceria Andina, and Riva-Pinchetti were spaces of elegance and refinement, serving as meeting points between local production and international fashion. Ticino fashion draws inspiration from the prestigious Parisian fashion houses, skillfully reinterpreting trends with both sobriety and style. It showcases a sophisticated and authentic vision of womanhood. Renowned designers such as Edmondo Patuzzo and Elsa Barberis have created garments of exceptional elegance and quality that have garnered appreciation beyond our borders.
This exhibition, organised through a collaboration between the City of Lugano, Lions Club Lugano, and Università della Svizzera italiana, highlights a visual heritage that tells a captivating chapter in Lugano's history. During this period, fashion was distinguished by its quality, creativity, and vision.
The selection and processing of the content was curated by Laura Marchiori, a student on the Master's programme in Digital Fashion Communication, in collaboration with historians from the City of Lugano's Culture Division.
According to Prof. Lorenzo Cantoni, Director of the Master's programme in Digital Fashion Communication – a double degree offered in collaboration between USI and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne – "Fashion has gone from being the Cinderella of academic studies to being recognised as a privileged gateway to culture. Vincenzo Vicari's photos help us understand Lugano, fashion and visual communication in a unique and fascinating way: I am very pleased with the collaboration that has developed with the City's Culture Division and the Lions Club Lugano, which – thanks to the scholarship – will continue in the coming years."
The initiative was made possible thanks to support from Banca Raiffeisen di Lugano and the Lugano General Agency of Mobiliare, which contributed to the realisation of the first edition of Activity Foto Vicari.