A Deep Dive into Raffaella Carrà: Her Costumes

Raffaella Carrà’s costumes made costume-design history.

1983.

In second grade, I had two daily habits right after I came out of school. The first was to stop by the window of the local record shop called “L’Angolo Della Musica” to check the latest releases on display. The second was to rush home to catch the last part of “Pronto, Raffaella?”, the daily hybrid of game show, talk show and variety hosted by Raffaella Carrà. As I was sitting two feet away from the TV screen (which was something my mom always reproached me for), along came Raffaella and a group of male dancers singing “Caliente Caliente” in black leather and bondage outfit that were a clear reference to the gay leather/Tom Of Finland style universe. My mom behind me was also fascinated by the performance and was hypnotized by such a contrast of “dark” costumes and the joyful tune Raffaella was singing. It was the beginning of my fascination with the aesthetics/music combo that just in those years was making history in Italian culture. 

Disco Bambino

Raffaella dressed by Luca Sabatelli.

When people picture Raffaella Carrà in their mind’s eye, the first bars of a song usually go alongside a golden bob and a series of flashy, yet elegant jumpsuits, and gowns, encrusted in rhinestones or embellished with feathers. Her stage persona was never limited to her music: a consummate dancer with a full grasp on the importance of visual culture, she fashioned herself as a total work of art. Read our analysis of Raffaella Carrà's music in case you missed it.

Costumes are crucial in the definition of an image of a performer or a character, and this is especially true among Italian singers, performers and divas, as they harnessed TV as a way to reach the widest audience possible. Costumes made for variety shows–so where a performer is “playing themselves” and not a character in a fictional context–have to make the performer or the diva instantly recognizable: after more than 50 years, Carrà’s statement jumpsuits and her bobs are seared in the collective imagery as much as, say, Cinderella’s ball gown, Dorothy’s pinafore, and Lady Gaga’s earlier, more daring looks. 

In the case of Raffaella Carrà, Raffaella herself saw her as another version of herself, referring to it as “the Carrà character.” Her everyday self, Raffaella Pelloni, was a quiet, introverted, and private person. With that being said, Carrà’s performances, in particular, heavily relied on choreographies where she was surrounded by a host of muscular male dancers: the presence of sequins, rhinestones, and voluminous sleeves (or pants) would heighten the choreographic component of her performance within variety shows. Similarly, when a costume designer chose to emphasize her legs with semi-sheer tights or spandex leggings, her agility and flexibility would take the spotlight. 

On that note, Carrà often spoke about how she would feel fully at ease in full high-camp regalia but would feel self conscious if she were made to wear a traditional two-piece suit. “Luca, if you give me a pair of golden tights, I can leave my house,” she told costume designer and long-time creative collaborator  Luca Sabatelli. “But if you make me wear something that’s heavy on tailoring, I will look like a secretary.”

Ever since RAI’s inception, TV and fashion had been inextricably linked: coverage of fashion shows started as early as 1959, and some of the most reputable ateliers, such as Sorelle Fontana, would use the Sanremo music festival to showcase their latest creations on female performers. On January 9, 1959, the tv special titled “La moda dell’estate” showcased the latest fashions alongside music entertainment. The director was none other than Enzo Trapani, who would then become one of the most eminent visionaries in variety television. This relationship between national tv, fashion and stagecraft sets Italy apart from its neighboring countries, and the costuming of Italian disco divas is a testimony to that. 

Raffaella in some of her most iconic looks.

The Midriff That Started It All: Enrico Rufini’s Costumes

Early in her career, when she co-hosted the variety show Canzonissima in 1970, Raffaella Carrà made fashion and costume-design history by appearing on national tv with a bare midriff.  The outfit in question was a white, two-piece set consisting of flared pants, and a mock-neck crop top with sheer, tulle sleeves with satin ribbons tied along her arms. There is also a black version of this outfit, which replaces the pants with a miniskirt and has the ribbons also connecting said skirt with the matching crop top. 

These two outfits were trailblazers: Cher would only follow suit in 1971 in Sonny and Cher’s Comedy Hour, while encountering pushback from tv execs, and then on The Cher Show.

Funny enough, Enrico Rufini, the costume designer responsible for these midriff-baring costumes, was someone steeped in tradition, especially in the tropes of the Commedia dell’Arte. His aesthetic preferences revolved around voluminous textures, beads, and ruffles that would emphasize the gestures of a diva or a soubrette—once, Mina famously had to tell him to tone things down and streamline a costume. 

Raffaella in Enrico Rufini's creations.

It’s a Nun! It’s a Circus RingMistress! It’s a Siren! The Work of Luca Sabatelli.

In the opening sequence of “Ma Che Sera,” Raffaella Carrà famously wears a rhinestone-encrusted sweater with bat wings paired with black tights as she traipses around a miniature version of Italy while singing about how good sex staves off war and hatred. As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, this is one of Luca Sabatelli’s signature, yet most demure looks. The impact of her songs notwithstanding, Sabatelli fully cemented Carrà’s status as an icon by creating impactful looks. 

For example, the Florentine-born costume designer  famously dressed her like a circus ringmaster with cabaret flair and in a skimpy nun’s habit, while her backup dancers once wore elephant-shaped pants, complete with a full-length trunk right on the crotch. Moving into the 1980s, he fully embraced the aesthetic and the fashion of the decade: he famously created a black, Swarovski-crystal-encrusted gown for her show Mille Millioni, where the crystals were individually hot glued onto the fabric.  Another notable creation for Mille Millioni was a two-piece suit consisting of pants and a long-sleeved crop top, completely covered in sequins. The sequins on the fabric were iridescent orange, the sequins on the trimming were a darker shade of rust. He made wide use of spandex in flashy, bright colors: a good example is a Blue-Angel-like getup, complete with a top hat. 

Their artistic collaboration would last decades, and whenever they met, she would refer to Carrà in the third person. “What would Carrà do,” she would ask Sabatelli when brainstorming some costumes, the costume-design-history book La Tv Alla Moda relays. Also, Carrà often spoke about how she would feel fully at ease in full high-camp Sabatelli-made regalia but would feel self conscious if she were made to wear a traditional two-piece suit.

Luca Sabatelli brings Raffaella into style stardom.

Sabatelli did not limit his skill to the making of Carrà’s image: he crafted looks whose impact resonated worldwide. For instance was the one who created Loredana Berté’s stunt featuring a leather minidress and a fake baby bump in 1986, allegedly echoed in Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” live performances. 

When he was interviewed for La Tv alla Moda in 2014,  Sabatelli, who died last November, also expressed skepticism at being able to replicate the formula in the current era. “There’s no point in creating an icon now: people replaced it with the most powerful myth, namely self mythology,” he said. His work lives on on lucasabatelli.it 

Elegance and Formalism: Corrado Colabucci

While Corrado Colabucci is more famous for the work he did with Mina, Milva, Patty Pravo, and Milly Carlucci, he also created some looks for Raffaella Carrà, and he deserves a mention due to the leading role he played in the history of variety shows in Italy. A fashion-history lover with a law degree, Colabucci is inextricably linked to the history of Italian variety shows: his aesthetic and fashion sense emerged in seminal shows such as Canzonissima, Milleluci, Fantastico, and the Ziegfeld-Follies-inspired Al Paradise.  He is the one who “built” Raffaella Carrà’s early image, and would also be responsible for the visual presentation of later divas such as Loretta Goggi and Milly Carlucci. He is notable for his sense of measured elegance and his knowledge of fashion history: for Carrà, he would have her shoes match the color of her pants to lengthen her figure. He liked pearls, sequins, metallics, and feathers, a nod to 1920s and 30s fashion. For Canzonissima, for example, he dressed Carrà in a crop top made with chainmail fringes coupled with crepe pants, and once had her wear a chainmail wig. For her “Tuca Tuca” song and dance number, he devised a series of outfits: some were in line with the typical early 1970s fashion others were the then-revolutionary midriff-baring sets. An avid vintage collector, he also designed a private collection for Audrey Hepburn and created costumes for the Moulin Rouge. 

Carrà in Corrado Colabucci.

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