Paninaro
Encyclopedia
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
's Via Agnello during the early 1980s. The group's meeting place later moved to Piazza San Babila, where Burghy, a defunct Italian fast food chain, had just opened its first restaurant; it then became a full-fledged subculture, whose members were to be found associated to the many branches of the chain, which were spread all across Milan. The subculture was known for its apolitical nature and its twin obsessions with fashion and Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
, contrasting sharply with the politically-aware generations of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Paninaro scene developed in tandem with the vapid hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
of the 80s, fostered by Reaganomics
Reaganomics
Reaganomics refers to the economic policies promoted by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s, also known as supply-side economics and called trickle-down economics, particularly by critics...
, Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
, deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
and liberism
Liberism
Liberism is a term for the economic doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism first used in English by the Italian-American political scientist Giovanni Sartori....
and was eagerly embraced by the sons of well-to-do professionals who benefited from the widening gulf between high-income families and salaried workers.
It was also reinforced by the diffusion in Italy of Berlusconi's television channels, which transmitted messages of consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
and fostered a fetishistic urge of self-affirmation through the acquisition of status symbols. Among these one station, Italia 1
Italia 1
Italia 1 is an Italian commercial television channel on the Mediaset network. It is oriented especially at young people.Italia 1 was launched in January 1982 and, originally, was owned by Rusconi; after a few months, however, due to the aggressive dumping practices of Silvio Berlusconi's rival...
, was explicitly aimed at a younger target, broadcasting then-popular US series, movies, cartoons and comedy shows which had unparalleled popularity in the 10-25 age range.
The Paninaro look's cornerstones were: Timberland
The Timberland Company
The Timberland Company is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. Its three key locations are in Stratham, New Hampshire; Danville, Kentucky; and Ontario, California....
boots or Vans
Vans
Vans is an American based manufacturer of sneakers, skateboarding shoes, BMX shoes, snowboarding boots and other shoe types.- History :On March 16, 1966, at 704 E. Broadway, in Anaheim, California, brothers Paul Van Doren, James Van Doren, and three other partners opened up their first store...
deck shoes, Argyle socks, Armani jeans rolled up to ankle height, El Charro belts with Texan or western-style big buckles, Best Company sweatshirts, bulky Moncler jackets and brightly colored Invicta
Invicta
Invicta may refer to:*Invicta , a British make of car*Invicta , an Italian outdoor equipment manufacturer*Invicta , an early steam locomotive*Invicta , motto of the county of Kent, England...
rucksacks. Designer Olmes Carretti collaborated with the British sailing brand Henri Lloyd to further develop their iconic " Consort" sailing jacket so favoured by the Paninari.
Other popular items were Ray-Ban sunglasses, Naj-Oleari underwear, Fiorucci
Fiorucci
Fiorucci is an Italian fashion label founded by Elio Fiorucci in 1967. The first shop exposed Milan to the styles of Swinging London and American classics such as the T-shirt and jeans. By the late 1970s and early 1980s this would be reversed, and the New York store would become famous for the...
and Moschino
Moschino
Moschino is an Italian fashion design house and manufacturer of women's, men's and children's fashion.-History:The brand was originally created in 1983 by the late Franco Moschino...
accessories, Controvento and CP Company
Stone Island
Stone Island is an Italian Designer brand from Sportswear Company based in Bologna. The label was set up by Italian designer Massimo Osti in 1982 as a secondary line or diffusion collection of his main C.P Company label...
clothing.
In their heyday, Paninari were lampooned in the Italia 1
Italia 1
Italia 1 is an Italian commercial television channel on the Mediaset network. It is oriented especially at young people.Italia 1 was launched in January 1982 and, originally, was owned by Rusconi; after a few months, however, due to the aggressive dumping practices of Silvio Berlusconi's rival...
comedy show Drive-in by Enzo Braschi, who played a character depicting the shallowness of the subculture and its unending vulnerability to newer trends and fads of the 1980s (New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
, Dark-Goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
, Rambo
John Rambo
John Rambo is an iconic fictional character and the basis of the Rambo saga. He first appeared in the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, but later became more famous in the film series, played by Sylvester Stallone...
-like, and so on). Braschi later dropped the character after a season in which he appeared in military uniform relating his experiences in the then-compulsory service in the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
(then a rite of passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
signalling detachment from the teenage years).
The Paninaro movement was also diffused in some Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, and is immortalized in the 1986 cult song "Paninaro
Paninaro (song)
"Paninaro" is a song by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. Originally a B-side to the 1986 single "Suburbia", it was released as a limited-edition single in Italy during the same year; later, in 1995, a re-recording entitled "Paninaro '95" was released to a wider market, to promote the B-side...
" by the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
.