Clothing the Child in Red: A Historical and Comparative Analysis of Italian Visual Retellings of the Grimms’ Little Red Riding Hood

Abstract

Many cultures have tales in which the main character wears a particular item of clothing or is invariably portrayed with a specific accessory. This character then embarks on an adventure-packed journey during which he or she must face a ferocious and sometimes deadly foe. Little Red Riding Hood is perhaps the fairytale that is the most deeply woven into the history of Western imagination, which is probably why it is still capable of inspiring continual and original rewritings and adaptations. Italy’s lively telling of this tale is epitomised in the visual re-writings of the classic version by the Brothers Grimm. This paper analyses the relationship between clothing and fashion in fairytales. A selection of the visual re-writings of the Grimms’ Little Red Riding Hood published in Italy over the last 20 years will be compared, focusing on the clothing and accessories created by illustrators to dress and distinguish the tale’s characters. Capes, hoods, earmuffs, cloaks, rucksacks, skirts, dresses, blouses, collars, shoes, boots, ribbons and yarns are just some of the items that comprise Little Red Riding Hood’s garb. By adopting this perspective, my essay posits answers to the following research questions: is there an established standard for dressing Little Red Riding Hood in Italian visual retellings of the Grimms’ tale? And what about the relationship between dressing the “little girl in red” and the developments of the tale?