At Thursday’s opening of the Italian Academy’s new exhibition, photographs told the story of how an Italian entrepreneur bridged the gap between the Italian and American fashion markets. The exhibition, titled “Full of Enthusiasm: American Buyers Captured by Italian Fashion in the 1950s,” was curated by Barbara Faedda, the executive director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia.

A panel discussion featuring international professors, scholars, and authors preceded the exhibition’s opening. The panelists discussed the intersection of cultural heritage with critical fashion theory and engaged in a Q&A session with the audience.