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. After all this time, Sicily has decided to really give it a go at cracking down on its mafia image, and new governor Rita Barbera is really sticking it to those mobsters by outlawing the designer suits that they are apparently allowed to saunter around in. The rules at Ucciardone prison in Palermo, Sicily, seem pretty lax to begin with, since it's referred to as "The Grand Hotel" and mobster-inmate Michele Catalano threw a birthday party in the prison's gym, complete with lobster and Champagne. Another inmate was allowed to host a formal wedding for his daughter in the chapel, presumably while decked out head-to-toe in the finest Italian silk Versace has to offer.
But not anymore. Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Valentino, and Versace have all been outlawed. And then randomly, Adidas and Nike, because you can't wear your Gucci loafers in the yard (scuffs are no buono). There's also an "et cetera" clause, which means that the guards can decide which flashy designer wears are contraband (Trussardi jeans didn't make the cut) and which aren't.
So it seems like it was an awesome prison to spend the rest of your life, but now that the big-named silky brands have been banned, panic has set in. From one of the prisoner's wives (via Google-translate, so bear with): "My husband will be naked as a worm: it is only clothes, not for show off but because they last longer, are better quality."
Or maybe this is kind of like that thing where Catholic schools argue that uniforms are better for their students so the ones without the cool clothes don't get picked on, since some of the inmates have been wearing fake designer suits to keep up the godfather image. But really, it's about the jail's image, as Barbera noted that up until now, the prison is "linked to the collective imagination of the godfathers of silk robes."
· Ucciardone "no logo" boss in cella senza griffe [La Stampa]
· Sicilian Mobsters Are No Longer Allowed to Wear Designer Suits in Jail [The Cut]