Ciao a tutti! Last week as many of you know I was in Florence for five days, from Monday to Friday. So let's recap what I did...
Day 1:
Early Monday morning we left by bus to Florence. After about 3 hours of driving and a quick lunch, we stopped at G2 Textiles in Prato. At G2 we saw first hand how the company manufactured fabrics. We started the visit in the sample room where we were allowed to explore, through the sample pieces that were mostly a part of the winter collection for 2013. The samples were mostly made of wools and other heavy fabrics for winter that were wovens or jacquards. And of course, since it was for winter, almost everything was black. During the visit I asked if from year to year the patterns stay the same or change? And I was told that each year things are usually the same and there will always be the repeated classics but jacquards sometimes change each year but are similar to years past. This years trend, well for 2013, is fibers and yarns that reflect light with open weaves. On average the company produces 3000 different types of fabrics and patterns.
After we learned about the company and the process of making the fabrics, we were shown how an image is made on a CAD (computer aid design), transfered to the weaving machine and made as a final product. It was a really great experience because I had never before seen the process first hand, I had only been taught about it in class.
Day 1:
Early Monday morning we left by bus to Florence. After about 3 hours of driving and a quick lunch, we stopped at G2 Textiles in Prato. At G2 we saw first hand how the company manufactured fabrics. We started the visit in the sample room where we were allowed to explore, through the sample pieces that were mostly a part of the winter collection for 2013. The samples were mostly made of wools and other heavy fabrics for winter that were wovens or jacquards. And of course, since it was for winter, almost everything was black. During the visit I asked if from year to year the patterns stay the same or change? And I was told that each year things are usually the same and there will always be the repeated classics but jacquards sometimes change each year but are similar to years past. This years trend, well for 2013, is fibers and yarns that reflect light with open weaves. On average the company produces 3000 different types of fabrics and patterns.
After we learned about the company and the process of making the fabrics, we were shown how an image is made on a CAD (computer aid design), transfered to the weaving machine and made as a final product. It was a really great experience because I had never before seen the process first hand, I had only been taught about it in class.
After the visit at G2 we got back on the bus and rode about a half hour to our hotel, Giotto Hotel, in Florence. When we arrived it was very hot! We settled into our rooms and then went as a group to dinner at Trattoria Pizzeria da Garibardi. I had chicken in a creamy white wine sauce, it was delicious. For the rest of the night a group of us walked around and explored the city.
Day 2:
On Tuesday morning we made our way over the Arno River to visit Angela Caputi. I talk more about our visit to Angela Caputi in the post below. After our visit we headed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge to explore some of the shops and take in the scenery. We then made our way to the market, to explore and see what we could buy. That day I just looked around to get some ideas for some gifts and I did not do much shopping. Later that night I went out to dinner with Sarah, Brittany, Blaine, Stephanie, Megan and Chloe. I felt very American and ordered a Hawaiian pizza. After dinner we bought a bottle of wine ( or two) and just relaxed, chatted and watched some funny youtube videos.
Day 3:
Wednesday was a long day. In the morning we got up and went on a bus and walking tour of Florence, and it lasted for most of the day but we saw a lot! We started the tour on the outskirts of Florence and traveled through the citys gate to go up the hills to see the amazing view of Florence and to see Michelangelo's David. This version of David is not the original, the original is in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. From the top of the hill the view of Florence was spectacular.
We then headed up what seemed like a million stairs to the Church of San Miniato. It was built in 1080 and inside the church some of the most beautiful Romanesque architecture can be seen. From there we headed back into Florence. We got off the bus and began our walking tour. Our first stop was to a small field that was the site of where one of the first football game was played (and when I say football, I really mean soccer, of course). It began many years ago when four neighborhoods would compete against each other and look at it today. After that we made our way up to the Gucci Museum.
The Gucci Museum opened recently for the celebration of Gucci's 90th Anniversary. The museum is located inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia located in Florence's Piazza Signoria. The exhibition shows its rich archive along with some contemporary art. The rooms are filled with travel items, including the Gucci Cadillac, trunks and jet setting accessories from the 50's 60's and 70's. On the second floor there were florals, sports clothing, red carpet gowns, wore by celebrities in the past, and so much more. After the museum we made our way to the Duomo. The Duomo in Florence is the fourth largest cathedral in the world. Within the Duomo there is so much history, from the floor tiles to the gold dome that sits at the top of the dome. I learned so much that day! That is where the tour ended and I was tired. I obviously was not tired enough because a small group of us climbed over 400 stairs to the top of the dome. The view at the top was amazing.
After our climb to the top, we rewarded ourselves with gelato on a waffle, it was so fattening yet so good! Unfortunately I have not seen that since we've been back in Milan, it must just be a Florence thing for all the tourist. Then for the rest of the night, I just relaxed my sore feet.
Day 4:
Men's Pitti Trade Shows. Thursday morning we met Fulvio at the hotel to make our way to Pitti. Pitti is trade shows for men, where brands get to show their brands to the buyers ahead of time, for upcoming seasons. Thanks to FashionTimes we were able to go to three vendors. Alero, who Maria from Pink&Chic does PR work for, Sundeck and Ben Sherman. They were all amazing visits and each company really took the time to talk to us and explain their brands. It was very nice of them, especially since we are students, not buyers. My favorite was Ben Sherman. We entered into a small old brick house and traveled up the brick spiral staircase and up into a small workshop where there were tailors hand sewing pants together. It was very unique and on the walls were different fits for men's trousers. Then after we left there we went into another old building which was set in the 50's with women's clothes. The line resembles that time period and the clothing was soft, feminine and romantic, I could even picture myself in a few outfits.
Because the collection is not available for sale, there were many of my photo's that I could no post at this time.
After our visit to Pitti, we made our way to the Costume Museum. I saw a lot of beautiful and intricate detailing on many dresses from the past. It is unbelievable to think during that time it was all made by hand. The collection of apparel started with the 18th century to present day. At the exhibit there was also a section of the restorations of the Medici families funeral garments, that date back to the 16th century. Later that evening we went out to dinner and I had a delicious plate of linguini with seafood and lobster. The seafood consisted of clams, mussels, calamari and other things that I probably would not have ordered if I was home, but I am glad I ordered it because it was very good!
Later that night a large group of us, including the Fulvio (with his camera) went out for our last night in Florence. We had a good time but the place we went to was not really any of our scenes, but we still made the best our of it.
Day 5:
Check out on Friday morning was at 9:30 am and the bus was not leaving Florence to go back to Milan until 3 pm. That meant I had the whole day to shop. I headed to the markets with my Mila Schon bag and bought some gifts for family and friends and a few for myself too. I won't go into much detail about what I bought I don't want to give anything away. After waiting with our luggage for the bus to arrive in the hot sun, we were finally on our way back to Milan. We had a very fun bus ride back singing and dancing on the bus to keep ourselves awake. We arrived to Milan around 9 pm and we were all so happy to be "home".
Later that night a large group of us, including the Fulvio (with his camera) went out for our last night in Florence. We had a good time but the place we went to was not really any of our scenes, but we still made the best our of it.
Day 5:
Check out on Friday morning was at 9:30 am and the bus was not leaving Florence to go back to Milan until 3 pm. That meant I had the whole day to shop. I headed to the markets with my Mila Schon bag and bought some gifts for family and friends and a few for myself too. I won't go into much detail about what I bought I don't want to give anything away. After waiting with our luggage for the bus to arrive in the hot sun, we were finally on our way back to Milan. We had a very fun bus ride back singing and dancing on the bus to keep ourselves awake. We arrived to Milan around 9 pm and we were all so happy to be "home".
