Firenze Girono 6

So I am not sure what to think of this weather, it starts off really chilly in the morning, gets warm in our classroom, then cold, then as we leave class its super hot. I find it really tough to dress for this weather, and the last thing I want to be doing is wearing jeans while the sun is blaring down on me- however Florence has given me no choice but to be put in that situation. I am hoping that tomorrow- supposed to be 25c- will be warm as I plan on wearing a dress (finally!).

Our morning started with Strategic Branding, a class that is based upon how brands function, innovation, conceptualisation, luxury markets, and positioning ( there is way more involved, but I just picked the topics that we touched on today). I really like the class, and I found that I paid attention for the full 3 hours (not saying I don't pay attention in other classes, but my mind tends to wander if things get boring). My professor used to work at La Perla- luxury fashion lingerie label- and he recently published a book about the luxury market and how its changing and effecting the consumer.

After the lesson, I was thinking to myself about a discussion that we had in class, about trendsetters, mainstream, and laggards- basically I came to the conclusion that trendsetters are a little like hipsters. In a sense that they don't like things that are mainstream/ popular, a kind of mentality that they discovered it first, they don't want to be grouped into categories, they want to be independent and out there. Where mainstream people are safe, they wear things that they know will be accepted in society and things that are in trend. Laggards- well they just missed the bus, they are the last to wear a certain look, and find that they are wearing things that happen to actually be 2-3 years "behind". Ironically- fashion is a circle...and here where its gets slightly confusing- laggards (the people that missed the bus) can actually be trendsetters. So such is fashion- slightly confusing and full of niche type groups.

After three hours of talking about brand strategy, we were able to grab a quick bite to eat- lucky for us, we get discounts at a lot of the stores in the area (or maybe thats a bad thing too?). My class- all 15 of us- went to the closest deli to grab a panini. I got a salami, provolone, lettuce panini, which to my surprise was only about 2.10 euro- so even for being in the Centre, food can be somewhat reasonable.

After lunch, we had another 3 hour lecture on Fashion Time Management, where we talked about different groups such as LVMH and PPR (basically the head groups for luxury brands). I found that what I was learning came to me quite easy, as I have done an internship in sales (for a fashion brand before), so I could relate with some ideas and terms that the professor was explaining. This professor also worked for La Perla too- I find it very interesting that so far I've met two men that have worked at the same lingerie label- but perhaps I can see why they would?

Side note:Overall, my classes have been more interesting that any class I took in college. Therefore, I think I made a good choice in attending this program.

Anyhow after classes were done, I made my way home with some classmates, stopped to grab gelato: pistachio, hazelnut, and made my way to a park close by. Since it was such a nice warm afternoon, I decided once again to pull out my Italian book and attempt to read it over, this time proved to be more successful and less distracting.

Tomorrow I have another long day- 9 am- 6pm with a long break in between, so the plan is to go and see a Picasso exhibit during our break. I hope it works out!