The history of Italian fashion is a chronological record of the events and people that impacted and evolved Italian fashion into what it is today. From the Middle Ages, Italian fashion has been popular internationally, with cities in Italy producing textiles like velvet, silk, and wool. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Italian fashion for both men and women was extravagant and expensive, but the fashion industry declined during the industrialization of Italy. Many modern Italian fashion brands were founded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and in the 1950s and 1960s, Italian fashion regained popularity worldwide. While many clients of Italian fashion designers are celebrities, Italian fashion brands also focus on ready-to-wear clothes.

Italian fashion, art, music, and philosophy flourished during the Renaissance in Italy. The cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, Palermo, Naples, and Rome produced textiles such as velvet, silk, and wool. Italian fashion grew in popularity and influence across Europe, and was preferred by one of the most powerful families in Italy, the Medicis of Florence. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Italian fashion was influenced by the art of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael. Italian fashion was extravagant and expensive, crafted from velvet, brocade, ribbons, and jewels.

In the 1400s, women's fashion shifted from high-necked gowns and braided hair wrapped around the head to layered V-shaped necklines and longer braids. Gathered and pleated skirts were popular. Women's fashion at the time could be defined by one word: fullness. While men worked to accentuate the top portion of their bodies, women did the opposite. The top and bust area was always fitted and the waist was to be accentuated as the tiniest part of the body. Then the bottom half of the body would be made to look as full as possible, with extravagant and over the top skirts. Wide and puffed sleeves were the popular styles and wealthy women often had fur lined sleeves. Clothing was not about comfort or convenience, as women would typically wear about 5 layers on an everyday basis. Women's dresses consisted of fitted garments worn underneath a belted dress, also called giornea. Unlike the men's, the women's giornea covered their feet, and originally evolved from the houppelande (a long, full-skirted gown with a high collar). The skirts were fitted around the waist and often pleated. Earlier dresses had a slit in the front that revealed the garment underneath, and later dresses had a slit on the side. Underneath the giornea, women wore a gamurra, a long dress that had a high waistline. Some had detachable sleeves. The undergarment was a plain linen dress, called a camicia. Women wore high heels called Pianelle. Heels were worn less for fashion at the time and more for functionality. Women wore heeled shoes to keep their dresses from dragging on the damp and dirty streets.

Hairstyles at the time were dependent on a woman's marital status. If a woman was single, she would wear her hair down, usually in loose curls. Once women were wed, they would begin wearing their hair up, in tight braids. Popular accessories for the hair:

During the Italian Renaissance, men wore large, fitted waistcoats underneath pleated overcoats called giornea, which had wide, puffy mutton sleeves and were often made from brocade. Men wore hats like caps and berets. Men typically wore an overcoat called a cioppa, which had lining of a different color than the main fabric, a defining feature of fashion during the Italian Renaissance. Men typically wore hose or tights that emphasized their lower bodies. Men and women wore outer clothes with detachable and often slashed sleeves of varied designs. Wealthy people owned many different pairs of sleeves to match their overcoats and dresses. The Renaissance changed societal attitudes toward clothing and appearance. Men in particular wanted to wear more fitted clothes to emphasize their body shape. Merchants expanded the market for apparel, and created complementary accessories such as hats, hairnets, bags, and gloves. The widespread use of mirrors, popular in Renaissance interior design and architecture, increased interest in self-image and fashion.

The bonnet was worn by Venetians. The bonnet is a small, round or squared, brimless cap that was usually red or black and made of felt or velvet. It is unadorned and sometimes pinched in at the four corners. Slight variations in the bonnet's style were visible among the different social classes and professions. For church officials and university professors, the cap had four corners or the sign of the cross. For a doctor of divinity, the cap had three corners. The cornered cap evolved into today's square trencher or mortarboard university hat.

It was often worn over a velvet coif or gold cord net and sometimes attached to a wig. Caps for daily use were made out of cloth, while fancier bonnets were made out of luxurious materials like felt, velvet, satin, taffeta, scarceness (a thin silk) and straw in the summer. The decorations used for the beret were usually white, in untrimmed ostrich, peacock, marabou and wool imitation, and plumes. Feathers held with jeweled sockets with spangles and jewels would often be sewn onto the spine. Brooches with sacred motifs were also used for decoration. Small gold ornaments in bowknots, rings, and buttons were sewn to the underside of the brim.

It was common for men in the 16th century to have a clean-shaven face along with a straight or crimped bob. Long bangs of natural hair or silk wigs were fashionable, as well. Francois I started the trend of short hair and beards in the Italians and the Swiss, after accidentally cutting his hair. In the 1560s, starch was invented and men started to starch their beards. From the 1570s to 1590s, men brushed the front of their hair up off their foreheads. For elegant events or occasions, men wore wigs to conceal their baldness. They would wear tilted berets attached to a wig instead of a coif. Wigs were made out of real hair.