Description
Book SynopsisThe coveted Made in Italy label calls to mind visions of nimble-fingered Italian tailors lovingly sewing elegant, high-end clothing. The phrase evokes a sense of authenticity, heritage, and rustic charm. Yet, as ElizabethL. Krause uncovers in Tight Knit, Chinese migrants are the ones sewing Made in Italy labels into low-cost items for a thriving fast-fashion industryall the while adding new patterns to the social fabric of Italy's iconic industry. Krause offers a revelatory look into how families involved in the fashion industry are coping with globalization based on longterm research in Prato, the historic hub of textile productionin the heart of metropolitan Tuscany. She brings to the fore the tensionsover value, money, beauty, family, care, and belongingthat are reaching a boiling point as the country struggles to deal with the same migration pressures that are triggering backlash all over Europe and North America. Tight Knit tells a fascinating story about the heterogeneity of
