Author: Victoria Bass

I’m absolutely heartbroken that my trip in Milan has come to an end, but it came to a close in the most perfect way. I was slightly disappointed that a big chunk of our last day was spent on a bus, but I understand that was because it was the only time we were able to visit Fabrica (which was delightful). We got back later than expected so I rushed home to try and get ready for our farewell dinner. My roommate, Kameron, and I were able to find a little bit of time to run and find our Italian CA, Giulia, a gift before leaving. I wanted to give Giulia a token of my appreciation. She did so much for us and it was hard for me to believe she was my age because she seemed so much older since we relied on her for so many things. We headed to our farewell dinner at La Tradizionale. It was so bittersweet to see everyone there. The head of IES said we had one of the most smooth running groups ever and that made me feel so happy. It’s amazing that I’ve been able to be a part of something so special. Dinner was incredible, filled with lots of wine and gelato. Towards the end we received gifts from IES: pencils that you can plant after you’re done with them. I got a lavender pencil that I can’t wait to plant eventually. There were various moments throughout the dinner where I started to tear up, but I was able to hold it together somehow. Halfway though dinner I remembered there was one thing I meant to do in Milan that I hadn’t done yet: spin on the bull tile in the Galleria. Legend has it that if you spin around on the tile multiple times it means you’ll come back to Milan/get good luck (I’ve heard different variations). I mentioned to my roommates that I wanted to do that before I left and they all agreed that was something we had to do. Once dinner ended and we said our goodbyes to the other girls and split up, we headed towards the Galleria. We took turns spinning on the tile and taking pictures with each other. After that we walked around the Duomo area. I’ve never been there at night and it was a beautiful sight to see. It was special to walk around with these girls that just a month ago had been complete strangers to me, and now were my close friends. I came to Italy thinking maybe I’d find a cute Italian boyfriend à la the Lizzie McGuire Movie, but I got something SO much better. I developed friendships with girls that I otherwise would have never met. I love them so much and I love Italy so much. I’m so glad I got to spend my last night in Italy with my peers and now close friends.

As soon I was i found out that Armani Silos, a four story museum that features Giorgio Armani’s work since the 1980s, I was determined to go. It was originally not part of the class agenda to visit Armani Silos, so I figured I would probably have to drag one of my roommates to go with me during the weekend. However, due to last minute changes in our schedule, I was able to visit Armani Silos with my entire class.
The morning of our visit to Armani Silos, I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. It was so nice that I was able to go with our Design in Context group because I didn’t have to work out any logistics on location, tickets, or getting a private tour.
Armani/Silos did not disappoint and I’ll admit I tried extremely hard to not cry. I was just so excited and overwhelmed with beauty! My favorite section of the museum was the accessory section. The room featured gray walls with three long tables lit in a way that they appeared to be glowing. On the three tables there were hundreds of dazzling accessories. It completely blew me away! If only my closet looked like that! My favorite garments from the museum included a black velvet dress that was at the front of the museum, a blood-orange sequined gown from Armani’s F/W 1993 collection, and a floral strapless gown with pale blue embroidery. Visiting Armani/Silos was such an incredible opportunity. I had to to just take a minute to remind myself that I was in MILAN viewing some of Giorgio Armani’s most beautiful work. I’m so grateful for this course and all the opportunities it has provided me!

Florence was a city I REALLY wanted to visit during my stay in Italy but it didn’t like it was in the cards for me. I knew a large group of girls were planning to go on Saturday, but I was unable to because my sister was flying in from New York. I had given up on the idea of going, when my roomates planned a last minute day trip there. We were able to book an express train to get us there in a short amount of time and I was able to persuade my hesitant sister to join us. Our trip was incredible! We were able to visit the Duomo and climbed over 400 steps to reach the top of the Campinile. My legs were burning by the time we reached the top but the view was worth it. My roomate Hailey really wanted to visit the Basilica of Santa Croce to see where Galileo and Michaeli Angelo were buried. On our way there we found ourselves in the midst of a jousting tournament. That was a fun surprise! We wrapped up the day by visiting the Gucci Museo, which was nothing short of incredible. I’m so thrilled that I was able to visit Florence for the first time and share that experience with my roomates and sister.

When I first started my sketchbook, I felt like I was limited to exclusively drawing boutique displays. After receiving feedback on my sketchbook I decided to also start sketching anything that caught my eye at the different museums we visited. I sketched multiple lamps from the Alessi museum as well as a watch and a lemon squeezer that almost looks like a spider. I’ve fixated on sketching lamps from museums such as Kartell and Rotaliana’s because I find them the easiest to draw.
Although branching out in my sketches, I’ve continued sketching boutique windows, not only from
Milan but from other cities I’ve visited in Italy. There were three absolutely beautiful wedding gowns I saw in Rome that I sketched. One of them had a v-neck with a skirt that widened out at the bottom. The gown also sported a silver bejeweled belt and a white flower on the left shoulder.
I felt inspired to sketch some of the exquisite gowns we saw at Amani Silos. I feel like that goes along well with my theme of boutiques. My favorite gown was red-orange colored with sequins from Armani’s F/W 1993 collection.
While I am definitely still uneasy about my drawing skills, I’ve seen an improvement with my sketches. I’m grateful for my sketchbook for helping me improve but also because it’s helped me document my trip.

This weekend I was lucky enough to have the chance to travel to Rome with my classmates! I felt apprehensive about travelling to Rome because I knew the city is notorious for pickpockets. Thankfully, my trip was nothing but pleasant. The first stop on our agenda was the Coliseum. We were granted entrance fairly quickly and spent a couple hours walking around the inside as well as making a stop by the columns right next to us. We briefly ran home to freshen up before heading back out for dinner. On the way to dinner we ran into the Trevi Fountain, which was one of the biggest attractions in Rome that I wanted to visit. The girls and I took turns taking pictures and throwing coins in the fountain and then went to dinner. The next morning we had a late start because we were up fairly late watching the Lizzie Mcguire movie together. Our next conqest was Vatican City! I cried a bit inside St. Peter’s Basilica. It was a beaitiful and spiritual experience that I will never forget, I only wish my parents had been with me. After the Vatican we walked around the shops and went to the Pantheon. Rome was absolutely magical and I’m so happy that I was able to spend a weekend there.

Outside the Kering Factory [/caption]As a textiles and apparel major, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve studied the product development process for a garment. In fact, I even took a course entirely dedicated to the product development process. While I’ve been able to enjoy all the beautiful museums and and workshops we’ve visited thus far,the Kering Factory was one of the main attractions I most anticipated. I was aware that Kering developed runway samples for luxury lines such as Gucci and Stella McCartney, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get that up close andintimate with the garments.
As soon as I walked in the door of Kering Factory and saw giant “Gucci” signage, I immediately felt at home. Our group first sat down in a conference room where a representative gave us a presentation about Kering and its background.
Kering specifically makes runway samples for Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Altuzarra, and Stella McCartney, but they also create PR sample garments as well as red carpet gowns. After receiving an overview of the factory the tour began. I made sure to be in the front of the line closest to the representative. I was so excited that I started to feel the tingle in your nose that you feel when you’re about to cry. Thankfully, I was able to collect my emotions and maintain a calm composure.
The first stop on our tour was the CAD center. CAD stands for computer aided design, where you design the technical flats of the garments. UT offers a CAD class which I have yet to take, but I hope to enroll in it in the future. After visiting the CAD center, we made our way to the position of the factory that cut patterns and fabric. The majority of fabric is cut by intricate machines, however some fabrics must be hand cut due to their delicacy.
My favorite part of the tour had to be the next part of the tour, where we saw seamstresses attaching zippers, buttons, and any other adornments to the garments. I have never seen so many beautiful items in my life. I’ve always been sure that I’ve wanted to have a career in the fashion industry, but my visit to the Kering Factory just reaffirmed everything. It would be my dream to work as a representative for Kering. In fact, I told our guide that I would see her in a few years!

The first time I had heard of futurism was two weeks ago. Umberto Boccioni is one of the most well known futurists, so it wasn’t too difficult to make connections from his work in the Palazzo Real to the futuristic style. His piece “Twilight” really stuck out to me and exhibits different characteristics of futurism. The factories in the painting portrays the beauty of speed and machine of the futuristic era. Space does not exist in the painting. Due to the dark hues you can’t tell where the landscape begins and where it ends.

Another piece of artwork that stood out to me was the beautiful bronze sculpture “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” also by Umberto Boccioni. The sculpture appears to be of a man running. The movement of the sculpture corresponds to the speed of the fast paced factories in Boccioni’s other painting “Twilight”. The sculpture is definitely unique, following the rule in the Futurist Manifesto that states that all forms of originality will be glorified. The sculpture also portrays movement where you can’t fully tell where the man begins. Another piece of artwork by Umberto Boccioni I enjoyed that was at the Palazzo Real was “Tre Donne”.

I’ll be honest, until I started taking this course I had never heard of Giovanni Alessi or his company. After doing some research I was under the impression that Alessi was similar to an Italian Ikea. I was completely wrong. When we walked into the Alessi Museum I felt like I was in an inventor’s laboratory. I saw objects I would have never been able to imagine in my wildest dreams. Impressed would not begin to describe the way I felt. A few different items that caught my eye included the giant yellow arch in the front of the museum with the words “NOT NEXT” written on the top of it, a heart shaped paper weight, and a lemon squeezer.  As silly as it sounds, I LOVED the lemon squeezer. It looked like a spider and I wasn’t entirely sure what it was until the guide explained its function to us. I really like the idea that Alessi features the work of over 200 different designers. Not only does that supply a plethora of ideas for new objects , but it gives a large amount of emerging designers an opportunity for work. I’m grateful for this course, because I’m not entirely sure If I would come across the Alessi company if it wasn’t for this class!

When I heard one of our main projects for this course was going to involve sketching I immediately felt uneasy. Drawing has never been my forte and I tried figuring out what subject I wanted to focus on before arriving in Milan; however, I did not have any luck. The first day we arrived in Milan we were walking around the Galleria when suddenly a store window display caught my eye. The display featured a normal sized female mannequin, but with extremely long pinstripe flared pants. The woman sported fiery red hair, a top hat, a blazer, and was in the process of juggling bowling pins, creating a circus-esque themed window display. This was not the typical window display I’m used to seeing, so I couldn’t help but feel excited and inspired. It was then that I decided I wanted the focus of my sketchbook to be on boutique window displays.

 

I believe it was last Wednesday that we went on a walking tour around the Duomo and the Galleria. This was the perfect opportunity for me to walk around and sketch and find inspiration. We encountered various stores including Stella McCartney, Prada, Chanel, Ermanno Scervino and Salvatore Ferragamo. My personal favorite window display was the of Ermanno Scervino’s. The display had an aquatic theme with two mannequins sporting white swimsuits sitting on a golden anchor.

 

 

I had a difficult time sketching the mannequins because they were sitting down. I think that’s my biggest frustration. The ideas I have in my mind do not translate well onto paper. I’ve seen the illustrations of other girls in our class and I feel like they are leaps and bounds ahead of me skill-wise. One of the biggest reasons I chose to major in textiles & apparel merchandising rather than textiles & apparel design was because I did not feel I was creative or talented enough for design. Sometimes I do feel discouraged, but I believe that my sketching skills are starting to progress with each sketch I do. I recently sketched the window display from an Alexander McQueen store and I don’t think it looked half bad! I think I was able to really capture the pattern of the dress and the ruffles at the bottom of the garment.

I originally felt like I was limited to sketching window boutiques, but as of yesterday I received the confidence to sketch other objects too, such as some of the appliances from the Alessi museum. My sketchbook may not be as professional as some of the other students, but I believe it’s a work in progress and that practice really does lead to perfection. I’m excited that I’m going to be able to take something back and show my family and friends what I’ve been up to!

This weekend was quite the adventure! My roommates and I decided to to take an overnight trip to Venice. We had absolutely no idea that Venice was so huge, so when we booked our air b&b we tried to just book a place in an area that looked central to everything. Well, when we got off the train in Santa Lucia, we discovered the place we were staying was on a completely different island called Cavalino Treporti. It took two fares to get to Cavallino. I was freaking out because I had no idea where we were going and I had wanted to experience the touristy parts of Venice, such as taking a ride taking a ride in a gondola or walking around St. Mark’s plaza. That did not happen. After around two hours of sitting in a fare we finally made it to Cavallino, but we were still nowhere close to our air b&b. We thought we would try and walk towards the general area of where we were staying. After 30 minutes of walking and still not being where we needed to be, we broke down and asked for help from someone who worked at a convenience store nearby. She had never even heard of the street of where we were staying. Thankfully, we got in contact with the owner of the house were were staying in and she gave us explicit instructions and were finally able to find her. I would say the entire trek to get to where we were staying probably took around five hours. I was exhausted and it was the first time I wished I was back home in Texas. I just wanted my parents to tell me what to do and where to go. We rested for a little while and then decided to try and salvage the rest of the night by going out to eat at a really nice restaurant called Trattoria Laguna. Trattoria Laguna was incredible! I ordered a pizza with salmon on it, and I tried mussels for the first time, so that was interesting! The entire time we were looking out at the water and it was incredible. The chef asked us where we were from and when we said “Texas” he laughed so hard and asked us how on earth did we find Cavallino. Cavallino is not a tourist town and is very low key. It may not have been the exact part of Venice I wanted to see, but it was very unique to see how Italian life really is. My attitude quickly changed back to being thrilled to be in Italy. I absolutely love it here and I am glad that we were able to experience something different this weekend!