Sketch For Facis Fashion Advertising Poster – Italy’s Premier Pret-a-porter Brand

Sketch for FACIS Fashion Advertising Poster – Italy’s Premier Pret-a-Porter Brand

Technique: Watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper
Dimensions:

With black cardboard support: 53 cm x 45 cm

Drawing only: 26 cm x 18 cm

Condition: Good. Drawing mounted on thick black paper.
Context:
This project was created during the collaboration between Marco Silombria and Armando Testa, the leading advertising graphic designer for FACIS since the 1950s.
Creation: Marco Silombria (Savona, 1936 - Albissola, 2014)
The Facis brand emerged in the 1930s in Turin, following the merger of Donato Levi's company and the Rivetti wool mills, giving rise to GFT (Gruppo Finanziario Tessile) and the Facis brand (Fabbrica Abiti Confezionati in Serie). The expansion of Marus and Facis branded stores accelerated in Turin. After World War II, Facis revolutionized the Italian men's fashion market by focusing entirely on ready-to-wear tailored clothing, inspired by the American model. In the 1950s, GFT took the measurements of over 25,000 Italians, allowing Facis to clothe the entire nation for the first time in ready-to-wear garments.
Communication became essential for the brand, to the point that the company’s first advertising poster was designed by Armando Testa in 1954. By the 1960s and 1970s, Facis had become the largest Italian men’s clothing house.
About the Artist:
Marco Silombria, a student of Emilio Scannavino and collaborator with Armando Testa in Turin, made a significant impact on Italian advertising in the 1970s and 1980s with a strong Pop Art influence. He designed advertising campaigns for Fiat, Facis, Superga, Defonseca, and other major Italian companies. Later, he co-founded the CGSS agency with prominent advertisers like Silvio Saffirio, Gagliardi, and Giorgio Caponetti. Silombria created successful campaigns, including those for Gallo rice, Fiat 127, and posters for Gruppo Finanziario Tessile.
In the 1980s, he turned to painting, developing a distinctively homoerotic art style that blended neo-Dadaism and pop art. As a committed gay activist, Silombria was a creative force behind Italy’s first homosexual association, Fuori!, and introduced male nudes to Italy in a pop-Dada style.