He went from Italy to America by scooter to join fashion house, squandering silver (8)
I believe the answer is:
vespucci
'he went from italy to america' is the definition.
(15th-century explorer Amerigo Vespucci)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
(Other definitions for vespucci that I've seen before include "Amerigo ___, navigator after whom America was named?" , "Amerigo - - , Florentine explorer" , "Amerigo -, fifteenth to sixteenth century explorer" , "America was named after this explorer" , "America is called after the Florentine navigator" .)