Visions of a Bride at White Sposa

White Sposa 29 - Photographer, Mauri Balleti - Exotic Issue
(My favorite editorial by far - Creates such an exotic message of "naturalistic shock" with all the tropical colors, while the dress is still the center of attention and looking white and vibrant as ever)

White Sposa Magazine starts with a theme in mind, thought up by one person, in which the magazine gradually evolves into special pages, full of editorials that reads like a story-book.  Editor, Simone Polli and fashion editor, Elena Todros of White Sposa, shared their thought process and growth along the way since the issuing of the first White Sposa bridal magazine. They have a very different perspective of how the bridal industry should be reaching out to there clients: the bride and people who follow new fashion trends for the bridal industry. There is a sense of direction and a substantial amount of quality that White Sposa applies to every little thing that they do with their magazine and it is safe to say that there are no other issues that is more suitable for the eyes of a bride. The attention to detail that they possess sets them apart from any other bridal magazine that is made available to readers who have interest in this market.

 White Sposa 28 Photographer, Marco Sanges - British Issue
(This issue is reminiscent of the old Hollywood times in plain old black and white that portrays a cinema theme where the camera captures a "still film" - The daring and bold side the bride comes out in this editorial.)

Who could have imagined that someone who had no desires for the framework of marriage would be such a trendsetter in this field: This is what makes the creative mind have the freedom to rise above it all. Elena Todros, the fashion editor, takes on many roles within the production of the magazine and she works a great deal with photographers that fits the part of her well thought out vision for on-coming editions. She has the responsibility of styling, booking models, and figuring out hair and make-up in order to bring her envisioned pictures to life. Her fashion editorials seeks the bride beyond the white dress; there is an emotion, vibe in which deeper feelings can be derived from the photographs that jumps out of the pages and captures the essence of how a bride can be viewed as in a different light.

Before coming to the headquarters of White Sposa Magazine, and aside from the research that I had done, I told myself that I had no interest in the bridal industry due to the fact that I am not a true believer of marriage. I was then faced by two women, Simone and Elena, who both were in the same mind-set as me, because they too do not think too much of marriage. At this point, I was able to see myself working alongside someone like Elena because I was able to relate to the way that she put together the fashion editorials. Being a fashion editor gives you the chance to take something as simple as a story-line and stretching it out to become something so much more. It takes such a strong-minded individual to come up with ideas that becomes recoginized as a form of art that reaches out far beyond the white dress: This is the type of person that I would want to learn more from and the footstep that I would like to follow.

Pitti Market: Cultural Group Assignment

When we arrived at Pitti Market at Fortezza di Basso our first impression was overwhelming but with a rush of excitement. Immediately we observed buyers with suitcases, photographers taking pictures, and an overall well dressed group of people. While inside we noticed that there were more men than woman and they were dressed more sophisticated. To our surprise the overall age group of vendors and buyers was a lot younger than we expected. Another observation we came across was that it was a family oriented atmosphere. The vendors invited the buyers into the booths as if it was their house, which allowed a very relaxed and personal feel. With knowledge of the Italian culture, with time being valued not spent we noticed that buyers and vendors spent a lot of time building a relationship. Going back to Retail Lab and Seminar we were able to recognize the process they were going through. In addition we were able to identify purchases being placed, buyers handling the clothing before making the purchase, and buyers negotiating the purchase.

Throughout the show we came across many trends in clothing, accessories, watches, and shoes. The colors that we saw the most were navy, pinks, greens, red, and oranges in various hues. Going along with colors we also saw textures such as lace, crinkle, and distressed. Some of the patterns that we saw were plaid, floral, stripes, and checkers. Overall the style of the clothing was very tailored which represented the Italian culture of always returning to their roots. 

  

Even though we all have a different bias on style, fit, and color. As a group, one of our self-inflicted prejudices is bright color on men. In our culture, men do not typically wear color; In the Italian culture, we see men wearing colors such as pink, purple, and green.  We have seen a lot of shorter hemlines on men. This style is not socially acceptable in the United States but is very common in Europe. Another one of our self-inflicted prejudices that made us uncomfortable is men carrying more feminine bags. Growing up in America we are not used to seeing men carry any another sort of bag besides a briefcase. Overall we have noticed that these trends will not make it to the United States, but if we were to become buyers or vendors we would not let our self inflicted prejudices get in the way. 

Orietta: Her Life as a Trendforecaster and Beyond

As a trend forecaster, one has the responsibility of taking on many different roles and spending ample time catering to compiling observations as to the direction that fashion is leaning towards from time to time. Orietta looks into design and reading people's thoughts and making sure that she is well immersed in old art and films as well as watching how people dress and buy in order to showcase Italian creativity and fashion design to the fullest. Milan, Italy is represented by international style and craves to be the trendsetter of the world. As of right now, Milan has embodied the "relaxed elegance" trend that strays away from the stereotypical tailored look that Italians wear so well.

 The Side Swept Tee is a versatile piece that can be worn during the day straight into the night. It can be dressed up or down and it is definitely a relaxed fit with effortless elegance.

In order to prepare for the field of forecasting trends and styles, a person needs to have a personality that exceeds the customers point-of-view. It is essentially in a trend forecaster's character to care about creativity, moods, attitudes, and to be fully aware of social aspects as well as being knowledgeable about the business side to everything. Fashion is said to be a form of self-expression, but in this case, it is better to become the person who does not follow trends or designers. Staying true to yourself as a person and being a clean slate with a simple mind yet still being very open to what the world has to offer: This is a trend forecaster.


"The place where people live, connects to the styles in which are worn."
[Practicality Combined with Atmospherics - Strongest latest trend]

All of the traveling, pictures to take, people to meet and places to stay. This is dream job to most but it takes a lot of time and dedication as well as some alone time away from home. When I was younger I always had a thing for predicting the weather and sometimes even telling myself that I can tell what the future brings: Why not forecast trends and styles! I am a religious observer of all my surroundings so what is better than to continue documenting what I see each day and turning it into a career that I know I will enjoy everyday.

Vladimiro Gioia's Cocktail Event

 It was a night to remember as well as a night to get up close and personal with the fashion industry itself. Maria Chiara Arona of Pink & Chic Communications along with her client Vladimiro Gioia and Fulvio Aniello and Elyse Lefort of Fashion Times - Magazine di Moda, have contributed so much with presenting valuable insight towards the multi-faceted fashion empire which overflows with so many existing career choices. There is a plethora of opportunities made available everywhere and it is only in the hands of yourself to reach out even further to the career path of choice as well as making the right connections and networking. This mind-opening and attention-grabbing European journey is the start of a new perspective on life and it is crucial to take everything that was absorbed in Milan and applying it to future endeavors that seemed so far of a reach before setting foot on the grounds of Italy.

 During Vladimiro Gioia's event, I got the chance to speak with people who were in the industry since they were little. Many were lucky enough to be brought up in a family that was active in the production of clothing. I also met a sales representative who came from Russia, who had to learn the Italian language in order to work in sales and promoting designer clothing. It was  incredible to speak with someone who was able to adapt to the language and culture because I got to learn from their experiences of how they broke into the fashion industry; It is in my best interest to educate myself vicariously through other professionals. My observations in life have only taken me so far and I know that I need to vocally express my desires for this industry because I know what I want to do and it is only a matter of making it known. Slowly but surely, I am learning things about myself that I never knew existed before and I want to keep molding myself to the person that I want to resemble, in order to get to where I want to be in the years to come.

In this photo: Designer, Vladimiro Gioia & Anne Rusteika
 Congratulations to Anne Rusteika, the Winner of the Web Reality Contest

3 Rows Back and Starry-Eyed

Runway Highlights for:

Iceberg 

Spring/Summer 2012
Milano Moda Uomo 

From eccentric blues, greens, reds to deep plums and rich whites and grays; this collection was strikingly inventive in a classical way with the use of settle details. There were appearances of extra strips of fabric down the center of collared shirts and on the inner flaps of jackets and blazers. 

Runway Highlights for:

Gazzarrini
Spring/Summer 2012

Runway Highlights for:

Enrico Coveri
Spring/Summer 2012

Signing up for fashion promotions class was when I realized what my niche was in the fashion industry. This  class not only prepared me for my first viewing of a real live runway show but also made me appreciate it even more. In class, I took on the role of being the lead stylist and runway choreographer. I was able to take what I learned and apply my knowledge to the art of producing a fashion show. While in class, I became aware of all the work, time, and all of the people and the kind of team work it takes to successful gap together parts and pieces in order to satisfy the designer's vision and what the collection entails. The work that is done before the runway production fascinates me and it is something that I can see myself being a part of. Runway shows to me, are like bodies of walking art, tying in theatrical effects with music choices that embodies the mood of each and every show. Nothing is more rewarding than to see all of your hard work unravel successfully. 

In this case, the Iceberg Spring/Summer 2012 collection brought chills down my spine, and at that moment, I knew that this was something that I would dedicate my life to. In the near future, I want to eventually put together a runway show of my own, displaying my clothing line. This has been an on-going ambition of mine since I was a little girl.

Art vs. Fashion: A Stroll in the Public Garden

ART

Directly behind Duomo is a designated garden area that is public for everyone to stroll through and view with children and family, dogs, significant others, getting a pony ride or hopping on the carousel.

Gardens and green scenery takes over much of Italy and are conveniently located at most homes and overflows over many rooftops. It is such an important aspect in the Italian culture because it shows that they enjoy the beauty of nature and all the offerings of relaxation and spending time with friends and family.

VS.

FASHION

House of Holland

Fall/Winter 2011

London

Designer, Henry Holland, looked back to his childhood and remembered his grandmother's quilted blanket. That is how his Fall/Winter collection came about and his creativity jump started with multicolored quilted dresses. He then took his idea and added in other memories that he had of his grandmother such as bingo nights and decided to tie in printed bingo balls on dresses and stockings. Everything that seemed to be stored away in his memory vault became new and fresh again with this simple yet very adventurous and daring, which holds true for House of Holland.
 

The pattern on the inner top part of the carousel along with it's colors; orange, yellow, white, red, with a hint of blue and green scenery, shows an imaginative kind of collaboration. Both the art and the fashion side both reveals a keen sense of recollection of the spirit of childhood and having that strong hold with the past. 

Art vs. Fashion: Head Over Heals at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum

Salvatore Ferragamo was the "shoemaker for the stars" and he has set his mark in the shoe industry with his genius idea of linking fashion along with culture and deriving his shoe creations from that.

ART

Salvatore Ferragamo

Brass Pyramidal Heel

 1930

This sandal, as you can see, was inspired by the Egyptian's pyramidal structures and their sky-scraping architecture and when stacked, it is said that one can reach the moon. The resemblance of the heel in the form of a pyramid, along with its gold coloring, truly reflects the importance of gold in Egypt. 

I feel that the heel symbolizes great height and the ability for one to reach outer experiences and Salvatore Ferragamo was able to grasp this and turn it into a culturally defined shoe.

VS.

FASHION

Tufi Duek

Spring/Summer 2012

Sao Paulo

Tufi Duek's Spring/Summer 2012 collection was emersed in the tribal theme with the reoccurence of strapped arms, legs and feet.

The pyramidal heel in Ferragamo's shoe and the design detail in the top designed by Tufi Duek are comparably alike. The pattern in the top reveals an inverted pyramid which coincides with idea of the heel.

Egyptian inspired creation of my own...

Here is a pocket book that I designed in my textiles class where I really got to show my design capabilites. I took my thought process from looking at the "Eye of Horus," along with having curiosity of the Egyptian culture, architecture, and how pyramids were made, I was able to come up with this gold chain pocket book. The fabric swatches included is what I thought would realistically take this sketch from paper to actually constructing and producing it.