Italian Disco Halloween: The Art of Stryx’s Gianna Sgarbossa
Plus, all of our past coverage of Stryx and the occult
The cast and talent might have consisted of international divas; the concept might have been a unique blend of erotica, disco, and Medieval lore; the Chroma Key sequences might still look experimental, 46 after its airing.
Yet, what really made the short-lived, yet genre defining (and defying) variety show Stryx as memorable as it was, ultimately, the work of costume designer Gianna Sgarbossa. Stryx remains a cult program thanks to the fashion-oriented advancement in the costume department, as Sgarbossa uniquely combined highbrow and lowbrow culture alongside a healthy dose of self-mockery. After graduating from the set-design program at Brera’s Art Academy, she worked for Giorgio Strehler’s production, RAI, and the movie industry.
Under Sgarbossa’s direction, fabrics were painted on, frayed, layered, and deconstructed. “Once, we went all the way to Turin to get enough latex for us to submerge a linen dress that we would then mould as if it were made of clay,” Diego Dalla Palma, who then worked in the costume department, relays on La Tv Alla Moda.
When it comes to Stryx, her references run the gamut, and she managed to create an eclectic, yet cohesive vision through statement pieces, such as a cape, a mask, a voluminous collar styled with non-intrusive, but brightly colored unitards or, in the case of the leading talent, flowy gowns or frocks that were easy to layer with other pieces and accessories.
We all remember Patty Pravo’s gowns, between sci-fi futurism and Pre-Raphaelitism; Angelo Branduardi’s impish and androgynous jumpsuits, Amanda Lear’s shimmering unitards, Grace Jones’s barely-there garments and curve-hugging drapery, and Asha Puthli’s blend of Sci-fi, pop-Orientalism and elegant sexiness. For her performance of Mr. Moonlight, Asha wears a corset that reminds us of the iconic Jean-Paul Gaultier cone-shaped one that Madonna wore for her performance of Like A Virgin during her Blonde Ambition Tour in 1990.
However, she also devoted a lot of attention to ensemble numbers. In fact, some costumes are full tributes of Hieronymus Bosch’s Nordic-Renaissance horror; others are examples of slightly (and willingly) off-kilter Louis-XIV-courtier fashion: the shoes worn by the devils that are part of the ensemble cast reference Rigaud’s portrait of Louis XIV; some of the masks and headpieces are reference to the austere art of Dutch painter Lucas van Leyden.
Critics mostly focused on the (allegedly) excessive nudity and was forced to close after six out of the seven planned episodes. Showrunner Enzo Trapani enlisted Sgarbossa as a costume designer for his follow up C’era due volte, which, the following year, sees Ilona Staller reinterpret fairy tales in a raunchy and surrealistic fashion.
Sgarbossa tragically died five years later in a car accident, after seeing a stage production she did not feel like seeing while driving a car she did not feel like driving. One could only imagine what she would have achieved had she survived.
In case you missed it
A lot of new subscribers arrived in the last month. Welcome! We’re not new to our coverage of disco as it intersects with the occult, so we will list all our past articles on the theme.
Disco Inferno: How Italian Disco Music Loved the Occult
In this feature about the undercurrent of occult themes in Italian disco productions, we mention how Stryx’s whole premise was —in its in-universe mythology— inspired by the devil. The showrunner Enzo Trapani did, in fact, maintain that, one night, he got a phone call where the speaker introduced themselves as the devil, and that interaction, allegedly prompted him to create a joyous, sexually-charged and liberated setting where witches, devils, and all sorts of creatures would cavort.
Grace Jones’s Love Affair with Italy
During Stryx, other than her hit “Fame,” she performed “Anema e Core” “Do or Die,” “Am I Ever Gonna Fall in Love in New York City” “All On A Summers Night”. The costuming choices played up the magnetic sensuality her character was meant to convey.
Asha Puthli’s Love Affair with Italian TV
On Stryx, Asha Puthli appeared in a somewhat anachronistic space-inspired outfit comprising a golden proto-Thierry-Mugler catsuit with an incorporated cone bra, very similar to the one Madonna would wear in her Blond Ambition tour. She was serenading one Mr. Moonlight. “Mr. Moonlight After midnight I'm yours, you should know Catch me, don’t let me go,” she crooned.
How Italian Media Shaped Amanda Lear’s Career
On Stryx, Amanda Lear played the role of Sexy Stryx, usually combining billowy capes with bodycon jumpsuits and dresses; while on Stryx, she heavily (but elegantly!) promoted the leading tracks of Sweet Revenge, such as the Faustian tale of “Follow Me,” the cheeky “Enigma”, “Gold,” and “Comics.”
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