January

So as I mentioned in my December post Montenapoleone is THE fancy pants part of town when it comes to apparel, if your looking for a successful designer brand your more likely than not to find them here. During the Christmas period I was idiotic enough to not take any pictures but as the window displays are always exceptionally phenomenal I've went back again in January to have a look at the new season VM. Unfortunately as you can probably see from the pictures it was absolutely chucking it down when I went back so he photos aren't that great but it gives you idea of the names around the area and the presentation effort that goes into them.



Dolce and Gabbana


Dolce and Gabbana




Berluti


Salvatore Ferragamo


This is a cheeky advertisement for Maserati, simply as it looks just a big glass box in the street with a very discrete phone number in very small print on the side. So for all you millionaires out there who leisurely walk by this is the perfect way to spontaneously purchase your new vehicle.

January has mainly been unbelievably busy with work for NABA and unfortunately I don't really have much new to report about the city of Milan itself. I'm now in exam period and have just about two and half weeks until exams start so the next few weeks are going to just be getting on with it. NABA do provide a lot of catch up sessions during these three weeks some with tutors and some without in order to get work finished. I have 4 full days to attend 3 for textiles and 1 for pattern cutting and then any work I don't finish in those practices I have to book in for separately so it's best to get it done. It's also graduation time at NABA which is really bizarre and I'm not quite sure how it work and if they are actually NABA of Domus students (Domus is the masters section of the academy) but it's pretty cool to see. Here in Italy there is no black cap and cape but instead students where their own clothes but decorate their heads with reeves of Ivy much like the sort you would imagine a Roman emperor to wear. Each student has their name put on a giant banner stating what it is they have graduated from, each course has a different coloured banner, and then students pull their banners down from the building as everyone cheers. I've put some photos before of campus without and without the banners so you can see the effect but it looks really nice.




Brera is the only other thing I have to report about the city, when walking around Duomo we decided to get lost and wandered down some random streets to accidentally find ourselves in this district. I've seen in a lot of the tour guides about Milan Brera is a place to visit and it's one of the main places for eating out. It's actually the most typically Italian part of the city I've seen yet with narrow streets and coloured houses it is very pretty. The only place I've eaten here so far is at Princes bakery which is an Italian bakery but a chain store, I know they have got one in London. The place is great though and you have the option to order in the restaurant downstairs or just get pizza or cakes from the counter. They all do Pranzo here which is Italian for lunch where they open what looks like a more attractive school dinner trolley at the bottom of the bakery and you can have lasagne, soup, spaghetti Bolognese etc. One of the quirky aspects to Brera are the tarot card readers that line the streets. For around €10 depending on the reader you can have your fortune told, personally I do want to have this done as I'm curious but my friends here have branded it a waste of time and forbidden me from wasting my money so I'm not sure I will. 


It terms of weather, it's weird weather. This month we've had sunshine, sleet and extreme hail! The extreme hail was extreme, from getting on the tram at the Duomo to getting off at my stop about 10 minutes later it had hailed with such force that the ground looked as though it had been covered with snow. Whilst on the tram this sounded like we we're being bombed. The sleet however was a little more pleasant and we did get a lovely picture of us shielding ourselves with umbrellas outside our fashion design studio.



Unfortunately that's all I've got to say for a very boring January but I'll update again post exams.

December

Happy New Year! It's time for 2014 and a second semester in Milano.

So it is actually halfway through January as I'm writing this, in my apartment which now after so many weeks of battle finally has the internet! You can't possible understand the joy this has brought me.

At the start of December I did start getting a little homesick and to go back for Christmas has been amazing. I didn't go back to work but instead spent my time seeing friends and family and getting fat just like Christmas needs to be spent. One of the pathetic things I missed about being away was Topshop. To let you know there isn't a Topshop in Italy and as an ex employee and huge fan I really missed it. Not as much as my mum though, everyone misses there mum the most right? On arrival back home she did me a gravy dinner that was out of this world, I appreciated it so much more though as also you can't get gravy in Italy.. or dry shampoo.. or silver shampoo. These are all things that I have now brought back with me to enjoy.

Throughout Milan the run up to Christmas was completely slack and it took until a week into December for any form of substantial Christmas decorations to be put up. What is that!? If the Italians knew what Christmas is like in England they would probably think we are crazy but as a Christmas enthusiast I couldn't believe how late they left it to grace the streets with twinkly lights. In Duomo they erected a Christmas tree that's height pretty much matched that of the cathedral, it was big. It was something to do with DHL delivering packages from Christmas as there was also a cabin at it's foot however I'm not sure how that worked I just really appreciated the tree, pretty. See photo below. Naviglio Grande is always beautiful anytime but when the decorations went up there it looked sensational and so festive. 







Montenapoleone was by far though the most impressive sector of Milan in accordance with Christmas decorations I have never seen anything like it in my life! They actually have a string of baubles through the street that double as speakers playing christmas music and every single store either has fairy light, reeves of ivy of some form of giant bow. Stupidly I didn't take any photos but if you google there are some on there but in my post for next month I'll go take some of it in it's normal state. Montenapoleone is the designer district of Milan and has names such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Celine, DKNY and so on. Each shop has a big scary looking body guard and so far I've been too chicken to actually go in any but in terms of visual merchandising inspiration there is not a better area in Milan. Equally it's a fantastic area to roam around in terms of street style, most people are conservatively fashionable in Milan but if your looking to get a picture to blog of someone a little more daring and eccentric it's your best bet to lurk around there. 

For dining I've found some absolute gems during December! It terms of bars we've now upgraded and become slightly more sophisticated that the dirty D'OOR and found an outside wine bar just off Naviglio Grande on Via Casale the road that lead to the metro stop Porta Genova. The bar itself is called La Vineria and it actually for most parts of the day just a brewery, it is tiny and has no indoor seating whatsoever and only opens in the evening where customers sit outside on barrels under heaters. The wine is amazing and at only 7 euros a bottle it's the cheapest we've found to date. They also sell sandwiches that look good yet to try one of those and throughout the night you watch as people come and go refilling bottles of wine from the tap to take home. It seems to be a very affluent place to find young people and everytime we've visited has been so busy it's difficult to get a seat. 

For eating I have two places to tell you about that are extreme ends of the scale of typically Italian and complete chainstore. The typically Italian place is a pizzeria on the top of Alzaia Naviglio Pavese called Luna Rosso. For around 8 euros you able to purchase the most gigantic pizza imaginable, really they don't even fit on the plate! I recommend the fantasia and the one with blue cheese, ham and salami. So far this place has given me the best pizza in Milan and as they only charge 12 euros for a bottle of white wine it is also viable to sit and have a drink in there as well. The decor isn't anything particularly special but the food is and the staff are also very friendly and helpful. 

In terms of chain restaurant I'm talking about a place called the Old Wild West. So far I know of three in Milan but I've got a feeling there an awful lot more, it's a western themed burger and grill restaurant that is value for money and fast service. The place does monster portion of fries with every meal and very, very good nachos. Equally cool they really have invested money on the decor of the place and sometimes you will find yourself sitting in a wagon as you eat. The biggest one I know of is near the square on Corso di Porta Ticinese and I've been three times now without being disappointed. 

In december there was also a few additional attractions to the city one of which was an outdoor ice skating rink and small german market in Porta Venezia that we visited with some friends from NABA. This was actually a pretty small rink and nothing compared to time square in New York so don't get to excited but it was still nice to get to know some people of our course better and see the city. It was located in the part just across from the historic gateway where you pop up from the metro. 






For university it's now becoming pretty full on and through December I found myself working more and more especially for fashion design. Currently we should have two collection each with two of the following; shorts, trousers, knitwear, tops, accessories, coats, dresses, jackets and skirts. All of our design work has now moved out of our sketchbooks and on to A3 sheets with accompanying flats and fabric samples to the illustrations. To get the fabric samples we we're advised to visit a fabric shop near the metro stop Zara called Tessuti and Scampoli on  Via Lario. To date this is the best fabric shop I've seen and they have a huge range of fabrics also allowing you to buy samples charging to the cost of the roll for how big a piece you want however if you do not speak Italian like me it is a bit of a challenging encounter. One lady in particular is incredibly rude and refuses to serve you if you do not speak Italian but if you persevere and have plenty of time to wait you will eventually be served by someone.

For knitting I've started making my box and I have to say I love adobe illustrator like Brick loves lamp, yes that was an anchorman reference. Thank you Adobe, thanks you. Last post I put details of my project on here giving an overview of my idea and how I'm going about it, this is a a continuation and I've gone through the process of translating my wardrobe into an illustrator file with different layers so I can laser cut the little devil.

How sure I am that it's going to work? 'Hmm we'll see' summarises it nicely. I've chosen to put the decorative details of the wardrobe on the file too and they are going to be engraved rather than cut through (hopefully) but I'm excited to tackle a mock up in cardboard and see how it fits together.



In terms of textiles inspiration and ideas don't really come any easier that rummaging through a box of what your hoping to achieve and taking ideas from already beautiful things. I luckily have been able to do this and have sifted my way through a huge box of amazing textiles looking at the different techniques used and how they differ depending on the fabric they are implicated on to. I'm using bacteria as inspiration for one of my fabrics and so have looked at flocking to create a hairy textile but didn't really know the different ways the method could be used. Now in my post box rummage enlightenment I've learnt that is it possible to transfer print onto flock, there are different length of flocking fabric and that the base fabric that is flocked on to, which can be anything by the way! This makes a huge difference. 


The above image is an examples of transfer print flocking.


Not very clear with the image but the fabrics on the left hand side are examples of the same pattern flocked onto different fabrics.


Shades of blue, again flocking, can't get enough of that! 


And finally this is something I'm very excited about! One of the prints I'm going to produce is inspired by writing on a chalk board and the opaque ink on this Georgette gives exactly the right effect.

Marketing and pattern cutting are ongoing so there is nothing excited to report there it's now just going to be all round hard work in all subjects for the february exams. Towards the end of January classes actually stop and there is around a three week un timetabled period to help students focus on catching up and completing there work.

November

Happy November! We're creeping up to Christmas and it is actually and surprisingly to me starting to get a little bit cold here.

After another month I have plenty to talk about, starting with a very memorable Halloween, I posted for October just before halloween and so that's why it's in my November post. Obviously in England halloween in a huge deal and for weeks before all major supermarkets and stores do entice it in some way, here it is completely different and I think it could actually be easily missed. Other than select costume shops no where sells halloween outfits and as I'm discovering with everything in Milan the ones that do are so overpriced. It terms of where to go flyers were given out around my Universities area on the week before for various parties and events but other than that there wasn't a lot of advertisement I saw. As this was our first real night out since we arrived we decided to spend the night with the majority and joined the other erasmus students going to a bar called 'D'oor' which we now refer to as 'the dirty D'oor' located on Corso Di Porta Ticinese. Dressed as three glittery vampires we had the usual pre-drinks at our house and turned up so drunk everyone told us to go home! Another lesson learnt, people here do not drink to get drunk like us British hooligans but instead it's very rare to see someone really drunk! In the end all three of us went home at different times I myself going to McDonalds on the way back and falling all the way down the stairs, massive cringe. As always though in the morning you can laugh about it.





The bar we visited that night has actually become a bit of a regular place for us because it is student cheap. It's not much to look at or very nice inside and some of the people in there can only be described as strange but they do cocktails for 5 euros that are 4/5 spirits to soft drink and so if your going out it's a cheap night. It is also very close to a square in front of the 

St Lorenzo Maggiore Basilica where it is a thing to take a drink and sit down to chill out. I stumbled across this walking back from a late night of Shopping on a Friday but from about 8pm people start to sit down in the square and drink and then at 2pm in the morning the police come to move everyone out and the area is cleaned. It is legal to drink on the streets in Milan and most the bars in the area offer cheap drinks to take away and sit in the square or walk up and down the street. Music is usually played from somewhere and in the few times I've been someone always has a guitar. When full the square has an amazing atmosphere and it's definitely a spectacle to be experienced. The pictures below are the square itself, empty and us with a couple of friends from NABA feeling worse for wear after several rum and colas.





It is also this month that I have tried plenty of aperitivos. Aperitivo is a Milanese thing held daily at most bars and cafes between the hours of 6pm till about 11pm, although this changes bar to bar, where with any cocktail purchased you can also get a buffet. The idea behind it is to help the busy working people to catch up with there friends straight after work having a drink and a nibble to eat before then going home to have their evening meal. For us this is dinner. You can go up to the buffet as many times as you desire but it can look rude if you do over indulge. The best one I have found so far is at a bar called Ginger Cocktail Lab on Via Ascanio Sforza, Milan. The cocktails themselves are absolutely incredible but the food which is tailored towards vegans is also the tastiest I've had plus it's in a fantastic location on the second canal. 





Most the bars I've tried have been in the popular district of Navigli where I live, this is the area with two canals and is one of the main districts for going out at night. Naviglio Grande is the busier of the two canals and is split into sides. If standing at the top of the canal, on the left side are the more competitive bars which offer aperitivo and on the right are more expensive restaurants where you have to order from a menu. The canal is pretty long so you have plenty of different places to try.

Last week I had the joy of attending the Andy Warhol exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Piazza del Duomo next to the cathedral which is a pretty big gallery that seems so far to always have about two or three ever changing exhibitions on. I've never really had the chance to easily visit exhibition before so I plan on really taking advantage of this. The Andy Warhol exhibition was fantastic and so informative showcasing such a variety and collection of his personal work as well as other people involved in his artistic career, it was incredibly interesting. Currently other exhibition on show are Rodin and Il Vottol Del '900, exhibitions that are to be installed in the near future are Pollock and Kandinsky. As it is only 9,50 euros to get in as a student under the age of 26 I'm going to make the statement that I will attend most of these exhibitions by the end of the year. It is better to visit during the morning is the week if possible as when queuing for Warhol on a Saturday it did take us about an hour to get in. 

Also in Piazza del Duomo is a department store called 'Rinascente'. As a fashion student, design student or food lover this is somewhere that HAS to be visited. The department store is huge and sells designer goods on all levels. To me the best floors are the following;
BASEMENT - It is the home wear section with an staggering collection of quirky items, lighting and electronics as well as a heineken SUB bar and coffee shop, most the items are so expensive you could cry but you may be able to afford a pantone mug if you save up.
1st FLOOR - Womens accessories, oh-my-god it is heaven. A complete floor dedicated to designer handbags and scarves, imagine it. 
5th/6th FLOOR - Womens clothing a shoes, you can actually touch Mary Katrantzou's creations along with a list of designers too long to write.
TOP FLOOR - the food hall, complete with supermarket. Yes. Up at the top there are plenty of different places to eat along with specialist foods like chocolate, olives, hams, teas etc. and a rooftop terrace bar to sit on in the sun and look directly at the cathedral. This picture is taking from the 1st floor women's accessories but unfortunately I'll have to go back again and take some more photos to share with you the wonders of the other floors.




Unfortunately the bad news about my time here is this, WE STILL DON'T HAVE THE INTERNET IN THE APARTMENT! As bills are extra on top of rent the apartment was not fitted with internet, of course in order to sign up for the internet you need an Italian bank account. To get this I waiting till the end of October when student services arrange an appointment for the bulk of erasmus students with the bank manager. This has now happened and I have signed up for the internet with the provider fastweb, they are an awful company! After the promise of having the internet fitted within a week we are still waiting after they haven't turned up three times and no one on the phone or in the shops want to help. As the Italians say 'bahww'. Hopefully it will be sorted next week but in the meantime it has made doing work for university incredibly difficult as the computer rooms at NABA are only open till 8pm and the campus is completely closed on weekends. Dare I say I miss the library?

In terms of classes it has been so busy again and already we're starting to prepare for the February exam period. 

For textiles by the time of the February exams I will be the proud creator of 15 different textiles all presented with corresponding care labels and fabric compositions, isn't that exciting. I've decided to use the same theme as my fashion design work so that the collection and fabrics can work alongside and compliment each other but have tweaked a couple of parts of the colour palette to make it a bit more vibrant and exciting. Within these samples I have to use three different methods of my choosing such as knitting, weaving, printing of any type, flocking, needle felting etc. etc. so there is plenty of choice. Development is now starting and I am required to keep an experimental diary of what methods I'm using.



In knitting I have been set the task to create a box of any size that represents myself which inside showcases my knitting ability as best as possible and may contain other forms of construction e.g. clay work, woven fabric etc. So, as I am completely obsessed with what I wear and when not dressed well genuinely feel a little bit scared to leave the house I have decided that really all I am is what I wear hence using my very pretty armoire and it's contents as the inspiration for this project. 

So far I've started by selecting the more textural parts of my wardrobe and taken photos to then try to imitate as best as possible by finding matching yarns and using the same stitches. I have made the bold decision to try my best to do this to scale which means I am going to measure everything!! EVERYTHING! Meaning my sketchbook will probably contain more numbers that anything else but non the less it should work out an awful lot better than 'winging it'. To construct the box given the curves and details I've decided laser cutting is probably my best bet and so this week I'll start work on the illustrator file, hoping I don't set anything on fire in production.













For fashion design our professor is making us draw. I can't draw. I'm really bad at drawing. I can admit this is helping though. The lesson is 9 till 5 in a single day in the same room so is pretty full on but pretty much works as us independently developing our collections and drawing skills and one by one having reviews with our tutor. Helen although incredible sarcastic is fantastic and already I've learnt so much about how to tackle the design process and I'm understanding more the absolute importance of function. 

For pattern making I've finished the waistcoat and am now making a ladies blazer. Our professor has told us that to make a blazer is the most difficult pattern cutting and I really hope he is right as so far it is hard. 

In marketing it's still very broad but still taught in a unique and interesting way, mostly our professor is setting us group tasks to use our marketing skill then explaining what we did via a presentation to the class. Usually I'm completely against things like this but it is working very well. Equally he is also showing us a lot of films and brands that utilise marketing in the best or worst possible way. The film he showed this week was the  September issue. For anyone interested in fashion it is a documentary of British Vogue following their progress on the production of the September issue of 2007, their largest issue to date, and an absolute, complete and utter must watch.

After a little bit of browsing on YouTube I've found a copy with the full film, prepare to watch the real life Devil Wears Prada. Of course the book of Devil Wears Prada is in fact based on Anna Wintour and written by her ex-assistant so you shouldn't really be surprised but speaking for myself I couldn't believe how accurate it really is, happy viewing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCRJNXccclA