It’s officially back to school in Rome.
I know, I know. By the Anglo-Franco scholastic calendar, we are about two weeks over due. But this is Lazio and rules are that schools can start as late September 15th. So, of course, our younger daughter’s school waited until the very last possible day and off she went Tuesday morning, sporting the requisite North Face backpack - all black, no frills and non-negotiable. And just like that, I was mentally transported back to the 1980s.
At some point in the late 80s, we were in Rome visiting family and all I wanted was one thing. Nope, not a Vespa Special 50, a plate of carbonara, or an all-nighter at the discoteca. I wanted an Invicta Jolly zaino- that chunky, bright colored backpack with the thick straps that every Italian kid was double strapping like it was the coolest thing in the world. (For those who missed the 80s and early 90s East Coast, double strapping was social suicide). I coveted that backpack.
The Invicta Jolly was going to be my gateway to high school cool, but its price was upward of 60,000 lire, in other words, a hard pass for my mom. So I returned home and entered the rigid hierarchy of high school with no Jolly and no joy. That didn’t stop me from dreaming that I was Italian cool, and, in my head, I was hanging out with the paninari, a youth subculture born in Milan and supposedly named for a sandwich bar. They wore Moncler puffers, Timberland boots, Burlington socks, El Charro belt buckles, Stone Island sweatshirts, Levi’s 501s rolled at the ankle, and of course, the Invicta Jolly. They had cool hair, hung out in front of bars, and just looked damn great.
What I loved about the paninari was not just the style, I loved how happy they were and how they were bucking style traditions, and even better, throwing out their own reinterpretation of the American dream through pop culture and puffer jackets. Like every subculture, they had their own slang, which lead to articles and magazines dedicated to the paninari way of life.
Was this Milan’s answer to preppy? Or had they inspired it? To me, they were way better dressed than American preppies, and way more rad than Valley Girls (whose dictionary I memorized). The look was as if director John Hughes stumbled into Milan. Yes, I loved them, and in a weird way, so did Italy, kind of. In 1983, the paninari mountain vibe was the costuming for Vacanze di Natale, a comedy set in the Dolomites, where the whole subculture plays out in real time on the ski slopes and après-ski chaos. (Yes, the same Dolomites I just fell in love with this summer.)
Fast forward to the late 2010s when I started to notice that 1980s paninari were brands were sneaking back on to the streets. Moncler, Timberland and Levi’s, obviously, had never really left. But Stone Island? Avirex? El Charro? Sebago? Yes, Sebago, the deck shoes that you wore with rolled jeans only in the 80s were back on the streets. That’s when I jumped down another Paninari rabbit hole and ended up watching my dream life flash by in a Pet Shop Boys’ video.
In 1986, the Pet Shop Boys visited Milan, spotted some paninari on the streets, and released Paninaro as the B-side of Suburbia- a video shot at Porta Venezia and the Duomo, immortalizing them on MTV.
What about the Invicta backpack? I never bought one but there’s been a special vintage edition lingering around, and it’s about time I do.
Looking for authentic paninari style? Check out Gina Paganella, thifter queen and vintage buyer.
Oh my goodness, the Invicta backpack! Even when I was there in the summer of '93 (I think), everyone had one. I was obsessed!