Embroidery has been used to inscribe individuality and significance in clothing for centuries. Ornament is embroidered onto fabric for the purposes of decoration, attracting attention, individualisation, and conveying messages. This becomes apparent in the more than one hundred objects shown in the present volume - 1,500 years of fashion. Historical pieces from the collection of the GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts are contrasted with works by contemporary artists, fashion designers, and young talents. This enables us to take a new view of the age-old art. The techniques and significance of embroidery are explained and texts address many current themes, including the transience of fashion and technological developments, gender issues, globalisation, and sustainability. Numerous historical examples illuminate epochs and themes of cultural history, and the history of the collection and the city as well. Fascinating close-ups of techniques and materials also inform a new understanding of embroidery, which ultimately is much more than decoration.