Italian Fashion and Culture Final Post

We looked at a great number of Italian designers in class who have had a major impact on both the world market and on fashion history. The two that had the greatest reasonance with me were Salvatore Ferragamo and Guccio Gucci, founder of the House of Gucci. Both Gucci and Ferragamo have their roots in Florence, and both their museums are based here. They both have similar backgrounds and marketing techniques, but they are also very different in style and company history as well.

Salvatore Ferragamo, born in 1898, was a shoe designer who was based in Florence. He crafted his first pair of shoes for his sister at the age of nine. As a young man, he received training in both Italy and the United States to learn how to make shoes. Working out of California, he made valuable connections with many American celebrities and had a number of movie star clients, that stayed with him when he returned to Italy in 1927. His connection with Hollywood even allowed him to create the famous ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz in 1939. He had models of his clients' feet, including ones for Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, and Greta Garbo, to name a few, in order to craft multiple pairs of perfectly fitting shoes.

Ferragamo had a great interest in anatomy, which was key in his search to create the most comfortable shoes. He was an innovator, creating a metal arch support from a special German steel. He also won a design award for a shoe design that used clear nylon to make portions of the shoe invisible, which we saw in the Ferragamo Museum in Florence. He liked to experiment with different materials to make his shoes, including leather made from fish skin.
In Florence, Ferragamo's company grew rapidly despite some financial issues. During the 1950s, he expanded to employing around 700 people in his workshop, that were able to produce around 350 pairs of shoes each day. After Ferragamo's death in 1960, his children took over the company and continued to expand it considerably over the years. Today it is run by two of his sons, and the products have grown to include women's and men's apparel and accessories, in addition to the women's shoes that they have always been known for.

Guccio Gucci, like Ferragamo, chose to make Florence the home for his business. Gucci got his start in leather goods, particularly saddles and saddlebags. He was born in Florence in 1881 to an Italian merchant family. He traveled a lot as a young man and was able to work as a bellhop in various hotels, an experience that gave him an intimate knowledge of high end luggage, which was also something he soon began selling in his Florence store. He employed skilled craftsmen and artisans to work in his workshop, much like Ferragamo.

During his time at the head of Gucci, the company expanded its products greatly, from luggage and saddles to things like shoes, handbags, scarves and much more. One of the most famous Gucci products was the bamboo bag, which is one of the longest selling and most successful designs in any company. Gucci also has a shoe design for a loafer that is the only shoe to be displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He later expanded his stores to Rome, then after his death, when his son took over, stores expanded to London, Paris, and New York.

The company was run by the family for years, and they they nearly drove the company into the ground with in-fighting and poor decisions. The family continued to fight during the 1980s, until the final member of the Gucci family still involved lost control in the 1990s. Tom Ford was made creative director of the company and helped to create a new image for them. He brought back classic pieces but also created a new image for the company. Today, Gucci is headed by Frida Giannini, who was formerly Gucci's accessories designer.

There are a considerable number of parallels to be found between these two brands. Both Ferragamo and Gucci are Italian designers who chose Florence as the place to open their first stores. They were also quiet ahead of most other Italian designers at the time as far as selling in the worldwide market. This was probably a result of their backgrounds. Both traveled as young men, receiving training and experience abroad, which gave them intimate knowledge of markets outside Italy. This also undoubtably helped them after the end of WWII. Both started in the accessories end, but their companies grew substaintially. A significant amount of growth in Gucci occurred while Guccio Gucci was still in charge. He expanded the products that Gucci produced considerably, from leather goods to things like shoes and scarves, and the company continued to expand after his death. In Ferragamo's case, most of the expansion occurred after his death. This is probably because he was so successful as a footwear designer and kept himself busy with that portion of the market.

Both companies are family companies. However, Ferragamo seems to have had much greater success as a family company than Gucci has. Gucci was plagued with problems of fighting in the family and greed, which nearly drove the company to bankruptcy. Ferragamo was not free of its problems, either, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1933, but Ferragamo bounced back and became stronger than ever. His children also proved to be adept at running the company, much more so than in the Gucci family. While Ferragamo's sons still run the company, Gucci has long since been in other hands.

Getting to see both companies' museums here in Florence provided great insight into both the creative visions of these two designers as well as insight into the way their companies were run and their brands marketed. At the Ferragamo museum, we saw the innovation and creative genius of Ferragamo on display. His shoes were initially marketed on the idea of exclusivity and individualism, as evidenced by his celebrity clientel. At Gucci, the company was very much about the idea of creating a wide array of products for all aspects of their customer's lifestyles.

Of the two companies, I was definitely most influenced by Salvatore Ferragamo. Ferragamo was very much an inventive mind. The things that he created were immensely creative and had a timeless quality to them. One of my favorite pieces from the museum was the cage heel shoe, because it looked very modern despite being several decades old. There is a lot of experimentation with new materials today that does not even compare to what Ferragamo was doing 60 years ago. I thought it was interesting that he used fish skin to make shoes, and it was being shown at Premiere Vision like it was a new idea. Ferragamo's study of anatomy to make better shoes is also something to be admired and modeled after. Ferragamo is a company that is classically Italian and subtle.

That is not to say, however, that I was not also influenced by Gucci. Gucci definitely seems to subscribe to the "go big or go home" school of thought when it comes to design and to their business. They started big in the early days, quickly expanding their business to be much more than simply leather goods, and I think the fact that their name is so widely known today is a direct result of that early growth. Gucci is immensely focused on getting their name out there, and it has clearly benefitted them because their name is synonymous with so much more than simply high end leather goods today.

Both of these companies are fairly similar in their backgrounds. Gucci and Ferragamo are proudly Florentine, having traveled the world and decided that this was the best city for them to have their businesses in. I am definitely influenced by the home-town pride that these two display, as well as their designs. Both men were design innovators and creative geniuses. Ferragamo had several patents in his lifetime related to things he created for his shoes. They were also both talented businessmen, who entered the world market well before most other Italian designers did. Both serve as great examples of both classic Italian design.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 10

This week we had a lecture on the Italian Fashion industry in Milan. After WWII, Florence emerged as Italy's first fashion capital, holding the first fashion shows in the Pitti Palace, but Rome was quick to emerge as a competitor. While the two were vying for supremacy, it left the door open for another competitor, Milan, to emerge. Milan is a city known for business and industry, as well as its history of design.
There are many designers who are currently based out of Milan, including Versace, Armani, D&G, Valentino and Prada, and have been there for decades. There are also many houses that started in other cities and moved to Milan because it was such an ideal place to be. Each of these fashion houses has a rich and interesting history. I enjoyed learning about how Milan rose to become the fashion capital of the world, because it seems like an unlikely contender.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 9

For my second student choice visit, I was able to see the Duomo Museum in Florence. The museum is located directly behind the Duomo itself, on the sight where all the sculptures for the Duomo were carved, and it houses most of the original pieces from the Duomo. It holds many of the original sculptures, as well as the reliquaries from the church and designs for the facade. It is also possibly one of my favorite museums in Florence because you are able to take pictures there.
The museum has a room of facade designs proposed in the 1800s when it was decided that they would finally finish the facade. It also includes wooden models for the facade that were made in the 1600s. They had several sculptures that were originally on the outside of the Duomo and have since been replaced with copies because they are so damaged by the weather. They also have an unfinished Pieta by Michelangelo, carved when he was in his eighties, and a wood carving of Mary Magdalene by Donatello that is very expressive and seems years ahead of its time.

Drawing Project 2

With our first major project thankfully behind us, we're underway on our second drawing project in Italy. This project's focus is on Sustainability. Our focus is to create a business and design a 30 piece collection that reflects the concept of sustainability in the fashion industry. It's a concept that I'm interested in because I think it's a long term consumer trend. Very soon, consumers are not going to be happy with the "Wal-Mart" style of shopping. Rather than spending almost nothing on clothes that last almost no time, the trend will return to having a few quality pieces that last forever and styles will change less often, and the fashion industry should be prepared for this.
For my project, I am drawing inspiration from the Appalachia region in the US. It's by far one of the poorest areas in the county, despite being rich in natural resources like coal and timber. I wanted to use it as my inspiration because I liked the idea of living close to nature out of necessity rather than choice. Appalachian culture runs deep in the areas around the mountains, and there is a rich tradition of using natural dyes, weaving, knitting, and crafting.

I am very excited about this project and will hopefully have some pictures up before the end of the year!

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 8

This week we were able to venture to Prato nearby Florence and visit their textile museum. Prato is a center for textile production in Italy, particularly wool and in recent years, recycled textiles. They have been producing textiles since the 12th century in Italy. The museum was opened in 1975, housing exhibits about the history and the future of textiles.
The exhibit we saw related to the future of fabric and textiles. The first fabrics we saw were from natural materials. Some were expected, like soy, bamboo, and corn, but some were pretty unexpected, such as the spider silk and the milk protein fabrics. We also saw some very innovative textiles, such as ones from the Beijing Olympics that lit up, and some advanced garments made from these innovative textiles, such as a garment made of fabric that became rigid when it encountered an impact. It gave me some really great ideas for my upcoming drawing project.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 7

For my first student choice visit, I chose to go to the Bargello Museum. The Bargello is a museum around the corner from my apartment that houses mostly sculptures, but also has some metalworks, wood carvings and ceramics. It is housed in the oldest civic building in Florence, with some sculptures in the building's inside courtyard. I enjoyed the fact that the museum was both inside and outside. It is a museum that sees fewer visitors than other museums despite having some very well known pieces.
The museum had sculptures from throughout the Renaissance. There is an entire room, called the Donatello Room, that houses works by Donatello or his students. A majority of the sculptures outside around Florence are copies, and the Bargello has many of the originals, including the lions outside Palazzo Vecchio, Donatello's St. George from outside Orsanmichele and two of Donatello's David sculptures. They also have the original competition panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi for the doors of the Florence Baptistry. It was interesting to see these pieces in person, and because the museum is not overcrowded like others, you are able to get very close to the pieces.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 6

On Thursday, our group was able to visit the Gucci Museum. The Museum is brand new and in close proximity to the school, in Piazza della Signoria. The museum is not arranged by date, but rather by the themes and uses of the pieces displayed. It showed the extensive things that the Gucci company was involved with, everything from clothing to saddles to picnic baskets to scuba equipment. The company seemed very focused on providing its customers with everything they might need for whatever their lifestyle required.
I enjoyed getting to see the Gucci red carpet gowns in person, being able to get very close to see the details. They of course photograph beautifully, but it is nothing to seeing them in person. I can't even imagine wearing one. The museum was very well laid out and allowed you to get very close to the pieces, which was great because most of them are very detailed, including their floral print scarves. It was great to see the evolution of Gucci as a company, because it is a very intriguing brand.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 5

This week we were able to visit the Costume Museum in Pitti Palace, which has been one of my favorite site visits so far. The museum is part of the extensive Pitti Palace museums and is where the first fashion shows in Italy were held, in the Sala Bianca. They have an extensive collection of garments that cycles in and out frequently. They have historic garments juxtaposed with modern garments in order to see the progress of fashion as well as its influences and roots in the past.
I greatly enjoyed getting to see different garments on display, including the outfits from the tombs of Cosimo and Eleanora de Medici. The way they displayed the modern garments with their historic inspirations was also very interesting to me as a designer. I always like using historic inspirations for my designs, so it was great to see how others interpret them.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 4

This week we got to visit the Capucci Foundation Museum. Located on the other side of the Arno and tucked away along a narrow road leading up a hill, the Roberto Capucci Foundation Museum is part of the Villa Bardini, which includes several other small museums. Capucci, whose work spans from the 50s to the present, is an immensely talented Italian designer whose garments have a very detailed and sculptural appearance.
In the museum, we were able to see a variety of Capucci garments. He uses a variety of techniques including pleating, tucks, and cut-outs in order to achieve his desired look. His focus was from the perspective of an artist and a sculptor rather than a dressmaker. We were also able to see many of Capucci's sketches, which were quite detailed and beautiful.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 3

For this week's visit, we went to the Uffizi Gallery, which is located surprisingly close to our school in the Piazza della Signoria. The Uffizi houses the most works of art of any museum in Florence and is considered to be a must see for tourists to the city. It was constructed in the 16th century as offices and also included part of the passageway that went from Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace.
Our tour of the Uffizi was specifically geared toward fashion students, so we were given an insight as to the meaning of Renaissance clothing and how it is used in paintings. We got to see paintings from Botticelli, Michelangelo and even some from da Vinci. The Uffizi also has a great view overlooking the Arno, but it is very busy. I am planning a trip of my own early in the morning very soon.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 2

This week we were able to visit the Santa Croce Leather School. I was particularly interested in this visit because it is so close to our apartment, and I had also just visited the church the day prior. The Leather School occupies the former dormitories for the Franciscan friars who occupied Santa Croce in the Renaissance. It became a leather school after World War II as a way to give orphans a way to make a living and has since become an international school.
Our tour of the school was lead by one of the founder's daughters, who also was a designer of some of the bags we saw. We were able to see how leather was gilded with gold by hand, how the artisans handcrafted each bag from the school and the different kinds of leather that they use, including goatskin, alligator, ostrich, and python. It was very interesting to see the amount of time and effort that goes into crafting these beautiful things.

Italian Fashion and Culture Post 1

On Thursday we were able to visit the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum here in Florence. Ferragamo was an immensely talented footwear designer from Italy from the 1920s to the 1960s and many of his clients were Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. The front room of the museum has a case containing the wooden foot models that Ferragamo used to create his famous clients shoes. Ferragamo's shoes were both beautiful and innovative.
I liked the fact that he sought to make shoes that were not simply beautiful, but also comfortable for the wearer. He created an invention to distribute the wearer's weight over the arch of the foot rather than it all being in the ball or heel of the foot. There were also a number of hats from a British milliner that were chosen or created to complement different shoes. It was interesting to see different aspects of design drawing inspiration from one another and complementing each other so well.

Gelato Every Day Forever...

Did not take long after arriving in Florence to make the life-changing discovery that is Italian Gelato. It is possibly my new favorite food, to the point that we've only been here about five days and I already get cravings for it. Goodbye, euros...

Day 2: Cooking

Had our first cooking experiment in the apartment, which involved making spaghetti, basil tomato sauce and garlic bread. It came out pretty good, considering it was my first time using a gas stove. Also, the trips to the Italian supermarkets (we have been to four now) have been interesting to say the least and required our italian dictionaries. Hoping to visit a market sometime soon.

Sunny and 105

My only real complaint about Italy is the unbearable heat. It has been in the upper 90s since we arrived, topping 100 yesterday. A local guy from one of Italy's many leather stands told us he heard it was supposed to be 105 on Tuesday. He also said this summer was unseasonably warm even for them. Our apartment is not air-conditioned, so there is not much sleeping going on at night. We're expecting it to cool down soon, but the rest of the week will be near 100.

Day 2-3: Walking the city

Florence is a surprisingly easy city to walk around in. When we got here on Friday night, we had no trouble finding a place to eat right in our neighborhood. Saturday, we went on a walking tour of the city, visiting Plazzo Della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, the Medici Chapels, the central market and the train station. The tour only took about an hour or so. Walking around and navigating is unbelievably easy. And Italy's male populace is quite charming and more than willing to help point you in the right direction with a charming smile.
So far we've gone on two shopping trips to Italian supermarkets, cooked in our Italian kitchen, had wine with three locals on the steps of Santa Croce, had our first bit of orientation, and walked from end to end of the city.

Day 1: Apartment

To say our Florence apartment is cool would be an understatement. It's pretty much the greatest apartment I've ever seen. Our street ends with Santa Croce Church, a building that was started in the 13th century and is about a five minute walk to the school. The first you see of our apartment is a set of tall, thick wooden doors that look like something from an ancient castle. We are on the top floor of our building, which is very old but has been brought up to date very well. It is very large and easily houses the four of us. Our ceiling is an old wood beam ceiling. We also ended up with a lot of things that they told us not to expect, so for that we are pretty thrilled.

  

 

Arriving in Italy

So after our 24 hours + of epic travel...we got to Italy last night!
We started out taking the bus from Kent to Detroit, then flew from Detroit to Paris, which is roughly 8 hours. Landing in Paris at Charles de Gaulle airport was a pretty neat experience, even though we were too far away to see the city, because the airport is sprawling and just getting to the right terminal is an adventure in itself. I also got to test out my vast knowledge of the French language on actual living breathing French people, which amounted to me saying "bonjour," "merci," "s'il vous plait," and "six," which is, you guessed it, six en francais. From Paris we took a small plane to Florence, flying over the Alps and the pretty much breathtakingly beautiful Italian countryside.
After a pretty intense cab ride through the narrow streets and a stroll to the very top floor of our building, we arrived at our apartment, which makes me think I will probably just stay in Italy forever and not come home. Sorry guys. Been nice knowing you all.

Help with the packing...

Just finished packing the last of my bags before I leave for Italy tomorrow. Had a considerable amount of unwanted help, too :)

My flight leaves Detroit at 9:40 tomorrow night, I should hopefully land in Paris by 11 am and be in Florence by 6 pm.

Ciao!

Katie

I Have an Apartment!

Finally got our apartment assignments this afternoon! I don't know why I keep shouting in these posts! I can't stop now!
Anyway, rooming with three of the most awesome girls I know. I am crazy-excited to be going to Italy now. Our apartment is only about a quarter of a mile from the school and a little north of the Arno River, between Piazza di Santa Croce and Palazzo Vecchio. I might throw up.
Probably going to update the look of the Owl Girl pretty soon as I get ready to leave.
One week to Italy!

Back!

After a pretty lengthy break, I am hopefully back posting for a little while. Between finishing school, working, and getting ready to study abroad in Italy this fall, I haven't had any time to think. I leave for Italy in 2 weeks!

Human Planet

The BBC has a series called Human Planet, which documents the many interactions between humans and nature. It's a look at how people around the world live on the edge of nature, which can sometimes be beautiful and sometimes be tragic. In the same vein as Planet Earth from last year, I'm hoping that it will eventually make its way over the pond via the Discovery Channel, but in the meantime, here's a few pictures and a link to an audio slideshow from photographer Timothy Allen. Definitely worth a look.

Audio Slideshow : Human Planet

Timothy Allen

TV Obsession: Parks and Recreation

I am in love with the NBC show Parks and Recreation. I started watching it when it premiered two seasons ago, watched the first season and then missed the entire second season because (and I am now ashamed to say it) I sort of lost interest in it. It just wasn't really living up to its humor potential. Then I caught the season 2 finale, which ended on a bittersweet note and kind of left you wondering if the show would be coming back. Well, it's back for its third season and I gotta say... I think it's found its place in the world. It's probably one of the funniest shows on TV and definitely the bright point of my week. Everything about it is completely sweet and adorable. 

Amy Poehler is completely awesome as the idealistic Leslie Knope, who works in the Parks department of Pawnee, Indiana. Her boss, (Captain Mustache) Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman, is a libertarian whose entire reason for working in the Parks department is to ensure that no parks get built, so that the taxpayers money will not be spent. The show also has Aziz Ansari, Aubrey Plaza, Rashida Jones, and recent additions Adam Scott and Rob Lowe. I love everything about this 

show. 

My Favorite Parks and Rec quotes from this season:

“Just give me all the bacon and eggs you have.”

“Sky writing isn’t always positive.”

“I’m going to type every word I know! Rectangle! America! Megaphone! Monday! Butthole!”

“Pawnee: First in friendliness, fourth in obesity.”

“Now, I know I’m not going to find somebody that’s both aggressively mean and apathetic. April really is the whole package.”

“Leslie, I typed your symptoms up here, and it says you have network connectivity problems.”

“Cool kids make the rules, they don’t break the rules. And if those kids want you to break the rules, they’re not really your friends.”

And any show that has the perfect rant below is therefore a perfect show.

Little Black Dress Show

The LBD fashion show was tonight at KSU, and it completely rocked. It showcased some of the dresses that the sophomore fashion students made for our Flat Pattern classes. Each student got the same amount of the exact same fabric and was free to design whatever they wanted. Everyone's dresses looked amazing, the models did a great job and the jewelry designed specially for the show was beautiful. Congrats to everyone!

Back of JJ's dress, Claire's dress and Joslyn's dress

Andrea's dress, and Mine!

Last looks

Isn't it cute?!

London Fashion Week: Topshop Unique

I love everything the British company Topshop does. I completely fell in love with them when they started Topshop Unique, which is their high end version of their mass-market in store collection. Last fall's collection had the coolest styling I've ever seen, with models looking like creatures that just walked out of the woods, so I've been holding my breath waiting for their show this year. I was not disappointed.
Drawing inspiration from Disney's 101 Dalmations, the looks, hair and makeup and accessories were all adorable and fun. Who didn't love the hair styled to look like Minnie Mouse ears and the tiny dog noses? There was a lot of American inspiration in the Art Deco and old Hollywood details, but all with a classically English eye. Here's some of my favorites. I would literally wear anything they make.