The Blonde Salad's Fanclub

I can’t believe I am writing my final blog post as a student studying in Milan. This past month has gone by so fast and I wish I could start this month over again. I know that these experiences I have had, who I have met and what I have learned will stay with me forever. This last week in Milan has been the best week so far. I think the weeks get better as they go on.

This past week was Mens’s Fashion Week in Milan. The shows started off on Saturday, with designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Philipp Plein. I did not attend any shows on Saturday, but did manage to attend some presentations. I attended presentations for shoe designers Fratelli Rossetti and Alberto Guardiani. I enjoyed the presentation for Rossetti because I was able to talk to another student spending time in Italy for school. She was a student from Spain doing an internship for Rossetti. Guardiani was also a great visit. The shoes he had for women were beautiful and unique. Instead of having a stiletto on the shoes, Guardiani featured lipstick and butterflies as the unconventional heel.

The following day of Fashion Week, I attended three shows. The first show of the afternoon was Missoni. I have always loved this iconic company and their Italian roots. As I waited outside of the La Fabbrica del Vapore for the show to begin, I couldn’t think of how this week could get any better. I thought that attending Missoni would be the highlight of my week and that it could not possibly get any better than that.

 

Waiting for the Missoni men’s collection, I was instantly star stuck as I saw Anna dello Russo, Suzy Menkes and the Satorialist. There was only one thing missing from this Milan Fashion Week powerhouse group of people and it was The Blonde Salad blogger Chiara Ferragni. I have been a fan of Chiara for years and as soon as I was accepted into the Milan study abroad program, I set a very high and almost unattainable goal for myself… to meet The Blonde Salad. For the past month that I have been here I have been frustrated that when I was in Milan, Chiara was in Los Angeles, Florence or Sicily. When I went to Florence, Chiara was in Milan. The day that the Missoni men’s collection was showing was the first time in a month that Chiara and I were in the same city.

As guests were starting to take their seats for the Missoni show, other students on my study abroad were selected to interview different guests at the show. My name was called and I instantly panicked, as I can be shy and I was nervous about interviewing someone on camera. I was standing about mid-runway when my name was called by Fulvio, one of our hosts from Fashion Times. We walked to the end of the runway, near the press pit, and Fulvio started to give me details on the interview. Before I even heard the name of the person I would be interviewing, I saw Chiara Ferragni. As Fulvio and I walked closer he then told me I would be interviewing her. I don’t think I have ever been so nervous! The interview was the highlight of my trip and I could not be any more excited that I had this amazing opportunity.

 

 

I have a hard time recollecting anything else that happened on Sunday because meeting The Blonde Salad was so unexpected and was my absolute best moment on the trip. My day did continue to go fabulously as I later attended the DAKS London show from the second row and watched the Jiwembo dress rehearsal, went backstage and eventually watched the show.

I may sound like a Blonde Salad stalker, but another highlight of my week (and trip!) was my second interview with the Blonde Salad on Tuesday. The Blonde Salad was promoting her new collection with Superga, a sneaker company based in Italy. She had an event open to the public at a local department store in the mall. I was already planning to go to this event earlier in the trip and was very excited to receive an invitation to attend the show as press with Fulvio. Walking into the store, I was so thankful to be “press for the day” as the line to meet Chiara was wrapped around the entire store. As Chiara was getting ready to meet her fans, I was getting ready for my interview. My second interview went smoothly and I was less nervous than the last time. The first interview was a shock to me and with the second interview, I had two days to prepare.

This past week in Milan has been phenomenal. This trip is going out with a bang as we attended Men’s Fashion Week, visited Vogue Italia, White Sposa magazine and had a meeting with the Comune di Milano. This trip has been an experience of a lifetime and I will never forget it! During my free time I also explored Monte Napoleone and took in the beautiful visual merchandising at night (the photo below was taken in front of Bruno Magli), ate at the Armani Caffe and went to the top of the Duomo. I am so sad to be leaving Milan soon and I know I will be back in the future!

Historical & Modern Influences on Kotur

The Galleria d’Arte Moderna is set in a beautiful villa by the Milan Public Gardens. Before this was a museum, it was home to Count Lodovico Barbiano Belgiojoso from Austria. Formerly named the Belgiojoso Villa, it was completed in 1796 after six years of construction. In 1804, the villa was purchased as a gift to Napoleon. In 1920, the State Municipal transformed the historial villa into the Galleria d’Arte Moderna.

 

Porta Nuova is a modern 1,096,681 square-foot space that has mixed-uses, such as offices, hotels, residential and retail. The name Porta Nuova is the name for the combined buildings. This area is the most modern areas in Milan and is a short distance away from Corso Como. One element of Porta Nuova is their concern for the environment. The new buildings are eco-friendly and LEED certified. Additionally, Porta Nuova is an up and coming luxury goods shopping area. Designers such as Versace are in talks to open up a store in the complex.

 

Modern and historial buildings come together in this Kotur clutch for Fall/Winter 2013-2014. The clutch has sleek metallic lines that are similar to the lines of the structure of Porta Nuova. The structure of the building is very modern and unconventional for Italy. The closure on the clutch is also very sleek, starting with cuts that are similar to gem stones and ending at a point. These modern touches on the Kotur clutch complement the historial elements of Galleria d’Arte Moderna. Before you enter the museum, you must first go through a set of gates. The gates bring you into a beautiful courtyard, with a rock walk way. The rocks are separated by a paved walk way, leading you to the various entrances to the museum. The rocks are of various shapes, colors, and sizes; similar to how the clutch has crystal elements. The crystals are separated into 3 sections, each of a different shape. The colors of the crystal are also varying, similar to the different colors of rocks broken up by grass. In between the three crystal sections are dividing lines, separating the sections of crystals. Ths is similar to how the rock walk way is separated by the paved walk way.

 

Sources Used:

http://www.gam-milano.com/

http://www.style.com/accessories/search/bags

http://www.porta-nuova.com



Florence - The Amazing Race of Museums



Below are all of the museums I visited in a short 2 day period.

 

Pitti Palace

Inside Pitti Palace, we visited the Silver Museum,

Palatina Gallery, Costume Museum and Boboli Gardens.

 

 

Porcelain Museum

 

Uffizi Museum

 

Galleria dell'Accademia

Inside the Accademia we saw David by Michelangelo.

 

Gucci Museum

 

 

 

 

Street Style of Brooches

Designers look everywhere for their inspiration. One form of inspiration can be found on the streets, such as doors, windows, and light posts. Visiting a Renaissance city this past week allowed me to walk around the beautiful streets and take in all of the beautiful buildings around me. One beautiful area of Florence I found was in a shopping district. In the area there was a Ferragamo shop and museum, Cartier, Celine, Burberry, and Prada. This photo was taken nearby at the Palazzo Strozzi, a museum located at Piazza di Santa Trinita. I found this lamp post interesting because of the medieval feeling it had to it.  The stone building it was attached to also made it feel as if it was an older post that was simply decorative. I took this picture during the day, but judging by the looks of the post, it does not seem to be a functional lamp post at night.

 

This lamp post on the side of  the Palazzo Strozzi has similar design to a ring by Alexis Bittar. The top of the post has shards of metal on each side of the top of the post. The shards are slimmer towards the end and end at a point. There are also small, spikey designs located in between the shards. The brooch by Alexis Bittar is similar to the top of the post. The brooch has longer shards with smaller, more decorative pieces in between embellished with rhinestones. The brooch also has a decorative stone in the shape of a rhombus in the middle. There are no points coming from the middle of the brooch, only at the sides. The top of the lamp post only has points at the perimeter of the top of the lamp post and not at the sides or the middle.

Sources Used:



Style.com
 

 

Balmain's Renaissance Mood

“Madonna of the Harpies” is an example of a piece from the Italian Renaissance. This oil on wood piece by Andrea del Sarto is currently located in Florence, Italy. Although it was originally painted for the Convent of San Francesco dei Macci in Florence, Prince Ferdinando de' Medici commissioned the painting from the nuns at the convent to be placed with his collection at Pitti Palace. It is now currently located in the Uffizi in Florence, Italy.

 

“Madonna of the Harpies”

Andrea del Sarto, 1517
Oil on wood
Uffizi, Florence

“Madonna of the Harpies” was painted in 1517. It shows St John the Evangelist and St Francis on either side of the Virgin Mary. At the corners of the pedestal are the Harpies and at the center are the opening words of a hymn to Our Lady of the Assumption. The harpies are monster like creatures and show triumph over evil. This is an unusual depiction of the Virgin Mary because of the intensity of the color and the visual of good versus evil.

Balmain

Fall/ Winter 2013

This look from Balmain’s Fall/Winter 2013 collection has the feeling that the painting depicts. “Madonna of the Harpies” is not a typical depiction of the Virgin Mary because of the contrast between being Christ’s mother and standing on a pedestal with mythical creatures. You can also feel the weight of the painting. The Virgin Mary is balancing on a pedestal carrying the baby Jesus with one arm. Likewise, this look from Balmain is very top heavy with black leather as the material and the quilted leather across her shoulders. You can also see the contrast between the Saints on either side of the Virgin Mary, with the harpies on the podium. The Saints can be seen as heavenly, whereas the harpies are mythical and can be seen as demons. This contrast can be related to the Balmain look. The extreme materials are contrasting with a stiff, black leather top and a draping red skirt. The draping of the skirt is also comparable to the free flowing, draping layers seen on the Virgin Mary and the two saints. The Virgin Mary has a draping veil and skirt. The layers used in the painting are more free flowing and airy, whereas the Balmain skirt’s layers are more structured and realistic. Lastly, the colors from Balmain are also contrasting. The pants and leather shirt are both black, so the red skirt is shocking and unexpected, much like the heavenly Virgin Mary with demons below her.

I thought Rhode Island was a small state, but Europe can be even smaller.

This past week I left Milan for both personal and school related travel. I started my week of travel on Saturday and headed to Switzerland for fun.  My friend Micah and I took a tour bus to Torino, a small Italian town on the Swiss border. In the town we shopped around and had a classic Torino lunch before boarding the Bernina Express for Switzerland. When we got on the train it was close to 90 degrees and when we reached our destination of St. Moritz, Switzerland it was 60 degrees and windy. The train ride on the Bernina Express and St. Moritz completely surpassed my expectations. It was incredibly beautiful and a nice break from Milan. We were able to go to the top peak on the mountains accessible by train, where we saw glaciers, lakes with glacier water, wild animals, and people hiking. On the train, Micah and I met a family from Texas. We enjoyed sitting next to them and they relayed some information on the mountains to us. Below are photos from the Bernina Express to Switzerland.

 

In St. Moritz, we visited a chocolate store right on the lake. I am a chocolate lover and I was definitely in my happy spot. I managed to spend 50 euros on chocolate, but it was well worth it. Below is a photo of the chocolate store I spent 50 euros on chocolate in. We also did a little bit of souvenir shopping. I purchased a German Vogue as the language spoken in Switzerland is German. I love collecting Vogue magazines from different countries and seeing the cultural differences between that country and the United States. It is amazing to see how different the magazine content and advertisements are. It is important to not only understand what is happening in the fashion industry in the US, but industries around the world.

 

On Monday, everyone on my study abroad program boarded a bus to Florence. The ride was long, but it was well worth it. The ride was picturesque and had amazing views of central Italy. Fortunately for us, the bus was a massive tour bus built for 40 plus people so we were able to spread out and enjoy the ride. We also had a stop at G2 Textiles in Prato. G2 Textiles produces textiles for designers, such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander Wang and Theory. I loved seeing how textiles are produced and finished for the designer level. As someone who wants to be a potential buyer, I think it is important to know the quality of a garment from start to finish. G2 Textiles was the start of many designer garments. Below is a photo of the textile manufacturing.

 

We arrived in Florence later on Monday afternoon. My friends and I dropped off our bags in our hotel room and ran out to explore the city. The hotel we stayed in was right on the Arno River a few bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio. From that first afternoon I could tell I would love everything about Florence. On our first afternoon, Alyssa, Alexis and I looked at gold jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio, had the best gelato I have had so far and then got ready for a group dinner. Below is a photo from the Ponte Vecchio.

 

Our first full day of Florence was filled with a site visit to Angela Caputi, followed by many museum visits thanks to the Firenze Card. Once the card was activated, we had 72 hours to visit as many museums as we could fit. We started off at Pitti Palace and visited the Silver Museums, Palatina Gallery and Costume Museum. I then ventured with my friends Alyssa, Alexis, Chelsea and Briea to the Boboli Gardens. The Boboli Gardens were absolutely stunning, but it was 96 degrees and the walk through the gardens was all uphill. By the time we reached the top of the gardens to go to the Porcelain Museum, we were all exhausted. The museum and views from the top were stunning, but all five of us were about to have heart failure. Luckily, we all survived and we have the photos to show we made it to the top. Below is the view from the Porcelain Museum which is at the top of the Boboli Gardens.

 

Some other museums we visited are the Uffizi and Galleria dell'Accademia. In the Uffizi, I ran into the family I met in Switzerland on the train. I always thought that I came from a small state, but apparently Europe is a small continent! The Uffizi was beautiful. It was hard just to look at the art in the museum, because in my opinion, the whole building was art. The ceilings and windows that lined the museum were beautiful. Outside of the windows, the views were also incredible. The Uffizi is located on the Arno River with stunning views of the Ponte Vecchio. You can also see the Medici family’s secret passages across Florence from the museum. In the Galleria dell’Accademia, I saw Michelangelo’s David. David was one of the most beautiful sculptures I have seen. I saw Michelangelo’s Pieta in the Vatican, but this was more impressive to me because of the stature of David and the fine details you could see, such as veins and ribs. Below is an illegal photo (no pictures allowed) I took with David in the Galleria dell'Accademia.

During Florence, we also went to Pitti. We had appointments with Al e Ro and Leghila. We also had the opportunity to walk around the trade show, network and collect many free tote bags. My favorite part of Pitti was looking at the men’s fashion. I love women’s fashion, but currently I love men’s fashion more. All of the men whether they were working at a booth in the trade show, a buyer visiting the trade show, or a fashion blogger looking a new trends; they all looked impeccable. This was my first experience at a trade show and I loved watching the interactions from buyers and vendors. Later in the evening, I also stepped out to some of the post-Pitti parties to see how everyone was dressed. Below is a photo of some of the men at Pitti dressed to impress.

 

Overall, Switzerland and Florence were both amazing. Switzerland was a nice day to relax and get ready for a busy week in Florence. Florence has been my best experience so far. The city and its culture are absolutely beautiful. Walking around the city and visiting museums makes you feel as if you were in the Renaissance.

Should I apply for citizenship now or later?

My second week in Milan has been even better than the first. I love how Milan is slowly feeling like home. I love knowing my way to the grocery store, how to maneuver the metro, and where the best gelato is located. This past week has been full of exploring, getting lost, finding the best places to eat in, stumbling across major fashion houses offices, eating gelato and learning.

This past weekend, we ventured into the Brera district to see the Brera museum. The building the museum was located in was almost as impressive as the artwork inside of it. Before stepping inside the museum entrance, the first entrance takes you inside of a beautiful courtyard with a statue of Napoleon. We got to the museum early on Saturday morning. We navigated the museum and took notes on different articles of clothing from different time periods in paintings. In the future, I will be doing an assignment based on the art work inside of the Brera museum. Below is a photo of my roommate and I modeling our new Leghila bags at the Brera museum.

The following day, Sunday, was my first day off in Milan. This was certainly my most memorable day of the week. I went with two of my friends to go to an open market in Milan. We did our research in advance to figure out what line for the metro to take, what stop to get off and where to walk once we got off of the metro. As prepared as we were to find the market, we never did. We got our exercise in and walked in circles for over an hour before giving up. We did ask someone how to get to the “open market” and the man told us to follow him because he was headed in that direction. We did end up at an open market, but not the kind we were searching for. The man took us to a supermarket. In his defense, it was an open market.  It wasn’t a waste of a trip because we stumbled across one of LVMH’s offices, found an IKEA, and took the metro to Montenapoleone to explore.

A trend I am finding in Milan is getting lost. The next day in Milan we headed towards the Wall Street of Milan to visit Veneto Banca to work on our final project. In route to Veneto Banca we got slightly lost, but we managed to get there early. At Veneto Banca, we were able to ask the group questions relating to their interest in investing in either independent retail or luxury. My group is recommending to invest in independent retail and the meeting with them gave us some useful information for our project. Below is a photo of our visit.

 

Later in the day, I managed to get lost again. After being in Italy for over a week, my friends and I decided to venture to Chinatown to eat something different. Again, we checked the metro and mapped out our stops, but we got of the metro in an area that looked nothing like Chinatown. We did have a map with us, but we tried to avoid using the map at risk of looking like a tourist. Instead, we probably looked even more like tourists because we kept walking in squares. Eventually, we did make it to Chinatown and we had a fun time trying to translate all of the different restaurants menus because they were all in Chinese and Italian. We had a great meal in Chinatown and we headed back to our metro stop to go home. Once arriving at the metro, my friend Alexis realized she did not have her metro card with her. We will never get lost in Chinatown again because we left the metro and walked all around Chinatown to see if we could find it.

On Wednesday morning we went to the fashion library. We also got slightly lost headed there as well, but we again managed to make it there on time. The fashion library is a gem located in Milan. I could live in the fashion library for the rest of my life and be very, very happy. Do not be surprised if I come home in July looking for book donations so I can start the first fashion library in Rhode Island. The library was wall-to-wall-to-wall fashion books and magazines dating back to the 1850s . The library had Vogue magazines from every country that Vogue publishes in. This library is utilized by industry professionals to see the history of fashion and to predict future trends. Being in the library was such a great experience because it truly shows how important the history of fashion is and how different cultures can influence each other. It also shows the evolution of fashion from the first magazine and first trend book to today. Below is a photo of inside the fashion library.

Later in the evening, I surprisingly did not get lost. We headed to the Glamour Italia magazine party. I can barely tell you what happened at the event because I was too busy looking at what everyone was wearing. Seeing everyone’s outfits makes me want to be Bill Cunningham and take pictures of everyone’s outfit. Not only was it their outfits that stood out, but it was the way they carried themselves. Walking towards the party, my roommate Alyssa and I were able to pick out people that we should probably follow because it looked like they were headed to a magazine party. We were right and most of the people we were following were VIP’s for the event. Glamour that evening had various fashion shows and a Solange Knowles concert. Below is a photo of my friends and I headed to the Glamour party.

I am so fortunate for all of the amazing experiences I have had so far in Milan. On Thursday, I went to my favorite site visit so far. We went to the Sangalli showroom. This site visit was different than others because we were able to touch and try on haute couture. I tried on a beaded jacket that took two months to create by hand. The jacket probably weighed 15 pounds and was so heavy I could barely move my arms. It was great to have the opportunity to experience haute couture like this. We even met some of the seamstresses who produced the garments, as well as the designer. Later in the day we met Vladimiro Gioia who is a fur designer. He has had collaborations in the past with Burberry, Versace, Dior, and Valentino. His furs are so unique and detailed. He mixes furs with luxury leathers, such as python from Indonesia and crocodile from Mississippi. As someone who wants to be a future buyer, these site visits are so important because we are able to speak one on one with the designers and see where they gain their inspiration from. We are also able to learn about how the garments are made. The photo below is of the beaded jacket in the showroom.

This has been a great second week in Italy and I am so excited to see what next week has in store. Tomorrow I will be going to Switzerland with my friend Micah and on Monday I am headed to Florence. This upcoming week I am looking forward to Swiss chocolate, leather from Florence, the Angela Caputi showroom, museums and a Missoni fashion show. Yes, that is right! Missoni!