diff --git a/lib/subsetFonts.js b/lib/subsetFonts.js
index 485c6a49..64aad70d 100644
--- a/lib/subsetFonts.js
+++ b/lib/subsetFonts.js
@@ -194,6 +194,11 @@ function groupTextsByFontFamilyProps(
         const { relations, ...props } = activeFontFaceDeclaration;
         const fontUrl = getPreferredFontUrl(relations);
 
+        const fontStyle = normalizeFontPropertyValue(
+          'font-style',
+          textAndProps.props['font-style']
+        );
+
         let fontWeight = normalizeFontPropertyValue(
           'font-weight',
           textAndProps.props['font-weight']
@@ -206,6 +211,7 @@ function groupTextsByFontFamilyProps(
           htmlOrSvgAsset: textAndProps.htmlOrSvgAsset,
           text: textAndProps.text,
           fontVariationSettings: textAndProps.props['font-variation-settings'],
+          fontStyle,
           fontWeight,
           animationTimingFunction:
             textAndProps.props['animation-timing-function'],
@@ -226,6 +232,7 @@ function groupTextsByFontFamilyProps(
     const fontFamilies = new Set(
       textsPropsArray.map((obj) => obj.props['font-family'])
     );
+    const fontStyles = new Set(textsPropsArray.map((obj) => obj.fontStyle));
     const fontWeights = new Set(textsPropsArray.map((obj) => obj.fontWeight));
     const fontVariationSettings = new Set(
       textsPropsArray
@@ -266,6 +273,7 @@ function groupTextsByFontFamilyProps(
       props: { ...textsPropsArray[0].props },
       fontUrl,
       fontFamilies,
+      fontStyles,
       fontWeights,
       fontVariationSettings,
       hasOutOfBoundsAnimationTimingFunction,
@@ -735,8 +743,9 @@ These glyphs are used on your site, but they don't exist in the font you applied
   }
 }
 
+const standardVariationAxes = new Set(['wght', 'ital', 'slnt', 'opsz']);
 // Tracing the ranges of these standard axes require a bit more work, so just skip them for now:
-const ignoredVariationAxes = new Set(['ital', 'slnt', 'opsz']);
+const ignoredVariationAxes = new Set(['slnt', 'opsz']);
 
 function renderNumberRange(min, max) {
   if (min === max) {
@@ -757,6 +766,7 @@ function warnAboutUnusedVariationAxes(
     for (const {
       fontUrl,
       fontVariationSettings,
+      fontStyles,
       fontWeights,
       hasOutOfBoundsAnimationTimingFunction,
       props,
@@ -766,6 +776,23 @@ function warnAboutUnusedVariationAxes(
         seenAxes = new Map();
         seenAxisValuesByFontUrlAndAxisName.set(fontUrl, seenAxes);
       }
+      const seenItalValues = [];
+      if (fontStyles.has('italic')) {
+        seenItalValues.push(1);
+      }
+      // If any font-style value except italic is seen (including normal or oblique)
+      // we're also utilizing value 0:
+      if (fontStyles.size > fontStyles.has('italic') ? 1 : 0) {
+        seenItalValues.push(0);
+      }
+      if (seenItalValues.length > 0) {
+        if (seenAxes.has('ital')) {
+          seenAxes.get('ital').push(...seenItalValues);
+        } else {
+          seenAxes.set('ital', seenItalValues);
+        }
+      }
+
       const minMaxFontWeight = parseFontWeightRange(props['font-weight']);
       const seenFontWeightValues = [];
       for (const fontWeight of fontWeights) {
@@ -824,10 +851,10 @@ function warnAboutUnusedVariationAxes(
         continue;
       }
       if (seenAxisValuesByAxisName.has(name) && !outOfBoundsAxes.has(name)) {
-        const usedValues = [
-          defaultValue,
-          ...seenAxisValuesByAxisName.get(name),
-        ];
+        const usedValues = [...seenAxisValuesByAxisName.get(name)];
+        if (!standardVariationAxes.has(name)) {
+          usedValues.push(defaultValue);
+        }
         const minUsed = Math.min(...usedValues);
         const maxUsed = Math.max(...usedValues);
         if (minUsed > min || maxUsed < max) {
diff --git a/test/subsetFonts.js b/test/subsetFonts.js
index 3b861638..7a681ca8 100644
--- a/test/subsetFonts.js
+++ b/test/subsetFonts.js
@@ -286,6 +286,7 @@ describe('subsetFonts', function () {
                 'https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/opensans/'
               ),
               fontFamilies: expect.it('to be a', Set),
+              fontStyles: expect.it('to be a', Set),
               fontWeights: expect.it('to be a', Set),
               fontVariationSettings: expect.it('to be a', Set),
               hasOutOfBoundsAnimationTimingFunction: false,
@@ -2926,6 +2927,79 @@ describe('subsetFonts', function () {
       });
     });
 
+    describe('for the ital axis', function () {
+      describe('when only font-style: normal is used', function () {
+        it('should emit an info event', async function () {
+          const assetGraph = new AssetGraph({
+            root: pathModule.resolve(
+              __dirname,
+              '../testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/'
+            ),
+          });
+          await assetGraph.loadAssets('normal.html');
+          await assetGraph.populate();
+          const infoSpy = sinon.spy().named('info');
+          assetGraph.on('info', infoSpy);
+
+          await subsetFonts(assetGraph);
+
+          expect(infoSpy, 'to have calls satisfying', function () {
+            infoSpy({
+              message: expect.it(
+                'to contain',
+                'Underutilized axes:\n    ital: 0 used (0-1 available)'
+              ),
+            });
+          });
+        });
+      });
+
+      describe('when only font-style: italic is used', function () {
+        it('should emit an info event', async function () {
+          const assetGraph = new AssetGraph({
+            root: pathModule.resolve(
+              __dirname,
+              '../testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/'
+            ),
+          });
+          await assetGraph.loadAssets('italic.html');
+          await assetGraph.populate();
+          const infoSpy = sinon.spy().named('info');
+          assetGraph.on('info', infoSpy);
+
+          await subsetFonts(assetGraph);
+
+          expect(infoSpy, 'to have calls satisfying', function () {
+            infoSpy({
+              message: expect.it(
+                'to contain',
+                'Underutilized axes:\n    ital: 1 used (0-1 available)'
+              ),
+            });
+          });
+        });
+      });
+
+      describe('when both font-style: normal and font-style: italic are used', function () {
+        it('should not emit an info event', async function () {
+          const assetGraph = new AssetGraph({
+            root: pathModule.resolve(
+              __dirname,
+              '../testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/'
+            ),
+          });
+          await assetGraph.loadAssets('normal_and_italic.html');
+          await assetGraph.populate();
+          const infoSpy = sinon.spy().named('info');
+          assetGraph.on('info', infoSpy);
+
+          await subsetFonts(assetGraph);
+
+          expect(infoSpy, 'was not called');
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
     describe('being animated with a cubic-bezier timing function', function () {
       describe('that stays within bounds', function () {
         it('should inform about the axis being underutilized', async function () {
diff --git a/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/FontStyleTest-ital-VF.woff2 b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/FontStyleTest-ital-VF.woff2
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1c038913
Binary files /dev/null and b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/FontStyleTest-ital-VF.woff2 differ
diff --git a/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/italic.html b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/italic.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..da1eba7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/italic.html
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<html>
+  <head>
+    <meta charset=utf-8>
+    <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
+    <style>
+      p {
+        font-size: 100px;
+        font-family: MyFontFamily, sans-serif;
+        font-style: italic;
+      }
+    </style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+    <p>Hello, world!</p>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/normal.html b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/normal.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fb5dc62f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/normal.html
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<html>
+  <head>
+    <meta charset=utf-8>
+    <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
+    <style>
+      p {
+        font-size: 100px;
+        font-family: MyFontFamily, sans-serif;
+        font-style: normal;
+      }
+    </style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+    <p>Hello, world!</p>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/normal_and_italic.html b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/normal_and_italic.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..627f7794
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/normal_and_italic.html
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+<html>
+  <head>
+    <meta charset=utf-8>
+    <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
+    <style>
+      p {
+        font-size: 100px;
+        font-family: MyFontFamily, sans-serif;
+        font-style: normal;
+      }
+
+      .italic {
+        font-style: italic;
+      }
+    </style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+    <p>Hello, world!</p>
+    <p class="italic"">Hello, world!</p>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/styles.css b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/styles.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fd58edef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/subsetFonts/variable-font-unused-ital-axis/styles.css
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+@font-face {
+  font-family: MyFontFamily;
+  src: url('FontStyleTest-ital-VF.woff2') format('woff2-variations');
+}