Leotard Project- Body Contour

I have not posted in a while because my internet has been acting up and going incredibly slow.  Anyways, a couple of weeks ago we completed our first draping assignment, the leotard.  Our draping class this semester is called body contour and focuses on working with cut and sew jersey knits.  All of the fabric is provided to us by the Politecnico, but it is not always the greatest colors.  For this project we were given pink and purple bi-stretch jersey.  I did not personally love the colors so I took it as an opportunity to experiment with dye!  Here are the results....

A group of our classes Leotards- we had no restrictions on this project and thus were able to be entirely creative!

Everyone's turned out so unique and creative

This is mine.  With the dye I was able to get a beautiful deep purple.

I used corset style detailing to add shape to the leotard.  I used the Zig-Zag stitch to add feminine details.

I also played with ruffles and used a pearl finishing to add extra volume to the ruffles.

This is Yoshi's Leotard.  It was my favorite out of the class! So adorable how she placed the hearts in contrasting colors.

Happy Halloween!

Sunday night Sydney and I threw a Halloween party! Halloween is not celebrated all that much in Italy so we decided to have a party and make sure that everyone had the chance to dress up!  Sydney and I dressed up as Wolf Dress Forms.  It was such a blast. We hope to have a lot more parties in the future:)

Wolf Mannequins

Group Shot

Nerds

Black Eyed Pea and Sweet Tart

  

Viaggio a Firenze

This past week we took a 4 day long class trip to Tuscany.  It was such a beautiful and memorable trip jam packed with tons of museum trips and factory tours! It is nearly impossible to fill you all in on all of the amazing experiences, but i will try:)

The first day we arrived, we spent the day traveling around Florence.  After we dropped our bags at the hotel which was situated only a block away from the beautiful Duomo of Florence, we set off to view what seemed to be a pop up of all of the famous works of art in my art history book in the Piazza della Signoria.  From there we trekked up a large hill and went to the Bobili Gardens and the Museum of Roberto Capucci, a historic Italian Designer.  The next day we left early on a bus to go to the small town of Pronto about an hour outside of Florence.  Pronto is known for their woolen factories and we were able to tour the most prestigious yarn spinning factorys as well as a famous wool recycling factory.  We finished off the day off with a trend researching presentation in a well known fashion bookstore right outside of Pronto.  The next day we took the train to Pisa where we got to walk around the museums, churches, and utterly famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.  After a relaxing morning we went to Emilio Cavallini factory, the most famous Fashion Designer for Hosiery & Bodywear.  This was one of my favorite visits by far! The trip was also filled with visits to the Uffitzi Gallery Museum, Gucci Museum, and Stefano Ferragamo Museum with private tours in English! It was such an inrpiring educational experience that I will never forget.
(I apologize that the pictures are out of order.  I am still trying to figure out how to work this blog.  Just read the captions.)

Ponte Vecchio Florence at Night

Dyed wool ready to be spun into yarn

Finished result of spun wool yarn

Yarn spinning machinery

Famous wool recycling company in Pronto

Part of the long process of preparing old wool garments to be re spun into new yarns

Leg chandelier at Emilio Cavallini

Extra tight mannequins at Emilio Cavallini

The leaning tower of Pisa!

Church of Santa Maria Novella In Florence

David Sculpture in the Piazza della Signoria

View of Florence from the top of the Bobili Gardens

Me, Kourtney, and Yoshi at the top of the Bobili Gardens

...I almost forgot the best part of the DAY!

...the best part of the day today is that I officially have an apartment! and where is it you ask? well you are looking at it. It is just a step away from the canal in the beautiful yellow building to the left on Via Paoli.  It is the most incredible location and I could not be happier! I will update with more pictures as soon as I move in:) 

Market on the Canal (aka my new home)

Ciao!  Today, September 25th is the last Sunday in the month of September.  This may not mean much to you, but to the Milanese it means the amazing Mercatone dell' Antiquariato sul Naviglio Grande (also know as the Best Flea Market Ever).  This market is set up along the beautiful Canal in the Porta Genova area and takes place the last Sunday of every month. I was incredibly inspired by everything I saw at the market.  It  had such a different feel from all of the flea markets that I have been to back in New York.  Milan is filled with so much history and I honestly believe that all of it can be discovered   at this incredible market.  Aside form the breathtaking display of vintage Prada, Valentino, Missoni and Gucci clothes, bags and shoes, the market was full of cultural trinkets and gadgets that I never would have expected... 

Hand-crafted and pained kitchenware

Antique buttons

Hand-woven Afghan textiles

Vintage telephones

A view of the market from a bridge

Antique instruments

Beautiful vintage chandeliers

Skulls, Renascence paintings, Vintage quill and ink 

Cinque Terre

Yesterday we went to the beautiful towns of Cinque Terre.  It was about a 3 hour drive south by bus.  Cinque terre literally means five lands and stands for five little towns hidden in hills overlooking the Mediterranean sea connected by hiking paths.  We took a bus to the first town of Monterosso, where we walked around and snapped some beautiful photos.  We then got on a ferry boat that took us to the second town of Vernazza.  This little town was home to Italy's most famous Focaccia bread and I have to say I agree; it practically melted in my mouth! Next, we took an hour and a half treacherous hike that i was not in any way prepared for.  We weaved up and down rocky mountain paths in 95 degree weather until we reached the town of Corniglia where we devoured a much needed gelato.  Seeing as we were a group of 13 fashion design students and not Olympic trainees we opted to hop on the train to the next town of Manarola.  Lastly we walked along the much shorter and more stable "love path" to the town of Riomaggiore.  The love path is breathtakingly scenic and filled with stories.  Couples take the walk along the love path which is lined with metal fencing.  They bring a lock with them and attach it to the fencing where they etch their names into the rock.  They then throw the key into the Sea sealing their love there forever.  Once we reached the final town we took a quick dip in the Mediterranean.  This was by far the most rewarding part of the experience.  It was a perfect day in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  

 

FIRST DAY EXPLORING MILANO

I am utterly exhausted form the nearly 20 hours of travel, 5 hours of sleep, 6 hours of orientation meetings, and the 6 hours of walking around the beautiful city of Milan that made up what I feel safe to call the beginning to one of the best experiences of my life!  So, before I go and grab a much needed pizza with the group, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from various parts of the city.  The last picture is of my small class of 13 in front of the breathtakingly magnificent Duomo in the center of Milan.  Did I mention that my residence is only 3 block from here! How lucky am I?