Final Project

It's that time of year (again!)-- FINAL PROJECT

Sorry for the lack of posts but I am finding it hard to find to sleep at this moment

Exciting things will be posted after my presentation (including a movie, picture above is a still from the movie)

Firenze Giorno 190- Pucci and Siena

So today, I went with my friend Rose and her boyfriend Simo to Emilio Pucci's- "Les Journees Particulieres" located at the Pucci country estate in Granaiolo. It was an event that showcased their archives and how Pucci prints are made. It was amazing to see archived pieces- I really wanted to take pictures, but it wasnt allowed, so my one and only shot was of a wall and a print (second picture ;p).

After the museum, we went to Siena for lunch and met up (randomly) with some other friends from school. So we had pizza, enjoyed the day and walked around Siena- it was really cold though- it might be time to invest on a winter coat before I turn into an ice cube...

Firenze Girono 66

Pitti Immagine has kicked off today and goes until Friday. There are various events and parties planned all over the city. Tonight, I atteneded the Firenze & Fashion event which was held in the main Plaza Della Republica, while various shops kept their doors open late- some even held full on parties inside. I stopped in many stores to browse and drink champagne :)

The Pucci store was by far my favourite.

Firenze Girono 62, 63- LUSIA VIA ROMA

This weekend has been anything but boring! 

This past Friday, Lusia Via Roma put on an event that was called, "bloggers chat session". People could tweet in questions and there was an open floor for conversation. It was really interesting to hear peoples points of view on where they think blogging is going, as well as how they got started. After the event, I walked around the Centre- starting Monday, the trade show Pitti Uomo is going to be starting- so there is going to be some great people watching all week long. Red Valentino set up a pop-up shop and I saw a GQ booth being set up too. Pictures will follow during the week. For those who dont know what Pitti Uomo is, it is a market where buyers come and order textiles and collections, the trends at the show also forecast whats going to be "in" for next year. Tons of street style photographers and celebrities make the trek to Florence and the city really becomes a fashion mecca. 

On Saturday, my friend Zhara from Portugal came to visit, her blog Trendy Zahra was chosen for an invite to the Luisa Via Roma closing party as well. We headed to the Centre and had lunch, walked around, and tried on clothes. I visited the Pucci store and fell in love with a dress, unfortunately they didnt have my size, and no other store did- we tried Paris, Milan, and Rome- but no luck! (it is the white and blue beaded dress above). 

We then met up with a good friend of mine from Provo, Lisa- who is here on an art history study abroad trip. As the day was perfect for exploring, we walked around, took pictures and headed to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where you can see breath taking views of Florence!

On Saturday evening, the Lusia Via Roma closing party happened. Of course, in usual fashion, things did not go according to plan. Zhara and I decided to take a taxi, as I live far away and wearing heels on these streets, well lets just say this- I highly dont recommend it!

We approached the taxi stand...to find no taxis, then we called the taxi number and no answer. Luckily there was a boy who was waiting close by and helped us try and reach a taxi. No luck- there was absolutely no taxis available at that time.

Great, now what to do!? Walking would take us about 40mins, and in heels maybe an hour and a half (thats if we even could make it that far).

Slightly getting nervous and wondering how we would make it, we came up with a plan. 

We approached a boy and attempted to explain what was going on, through use of broken Italian and a mix of Spanish. He understood us for the most part and tried calling a taxi for us too, but no luck. So he ended up driving us there! Something like this, I wouldn't normally do, but we were slightly desperate and in need of a ride. His name was Daniel, and he was from Florence. So Daniel if you ever read this (highly unlikely as his english was not so good)

THANK YOU SO MUCH (for the 7th time now)

Arriving at the party, there was already people lined up and dressed in the theme of Animalier. Zhara and I met up with a friend of mine, Haritini of the SoHo Symposium.

The party was fun and very interesting. The people, the fashion, and the conversation made the event (not to mention the great food too!). There was performances and then later the floor was opened up for a dance party. It was a great night and a highlight of my stay in Florence so far. 

Most of the night I talked with Fosco Giulianelli, whose awesome ceramic bow tie is pictured above, he also has a great blog thefashionist, and I tried to convince Yvan Rodic of thefacehunter to come to Turks and Caicos. 

Overall it was a successful night in my books!

Pucci Pre-Spring 2011

Firenze Girono 5

So today could technically be considered the "first" day of classes- we were supposed to have two classes: Fashion Graphics and Fashion Time Management (however the later one got cancelled and moved to tomorrow, unlucky for us- classes tomorrow will now go from 10 am- 6pm). To start things off, we got our login information and a virtual tour of the most crucial (or so I think) part of our course- Polimoda Servitzi. This site is where our schedules are and all the information for upcoming events and grades/tests, etc. To make things a bit more interesting, the computers are in Italian, which isnt that bad- as you can recognize most of the stuff and you know where to click out of habit.

Our first lesson started off with an intro to Photoshop. The professor went around the room and asked everyone their personal experience with the programs and I was a bit shocked to find that no one really had that much experience with the programs- as in college I had to take graphic design etc etc so I know the programs somewhat to pretty well. Anyhow the first exercise started off easy with cutting and pasting then re-colouring an image, and the teacher asked me to explain somethings to the class along the way (which if you know me- I really like to talk in-front of groups (urgh)- none the less..) . After the class was over we got to take a tour of the library (personally excited about), Polimoda's library is the best fashion library in Italy- and it could be one of the prettiest too! They have the newest fashion magazines, both mainstream and indie as well as tons of films, lookbooks, and extensive collections on designers. Upon entering the library, I immediately spotted the huge brightly coloured Pucci book and thought to myself that I will immediately be coming back after the day was over, to check it out.

We received our i.d cards and wi-fi passes and then were free to go- so I went back to the library to get some pictures and look at the Pucci book. I really wanted to check it out, however its about 600 pages and quite heavy, so judging from my already 10 pound bag that I was carrying- I might have to go back and rent it out.

Since we got out early, I decided to go into the Centre and walk around, as it was a nice and warm day. I looked through some stores and finally made my way into a bookstore, where I found a little Italian phrase book (which I ended up getting). My goal is to learn quite a bit of Italian as if you want to do an internship in Italy- you must know at least a B1 level (thats 200 hrs of Italian). Some girls in my group also want to learn, therefore we are probably going to get something together and begin the process. I find that my Italian is not bad, I can get the basics of what is being talked about, I just dont know how to respond!

The Centre was getting more crowed, so I decided to walk towards home. Since it was such a nice day I found a shady spot on one of the bridges. I sat there for half an hour or so attempting to read this Italian book, but it was hard to concentrate between the people walking by, horns honking, and people asking me for directions. I dont know why, me of all people they would want to ask, a) I dont look Italian, b) well basically a summed it up. The most interesting question I did get asked was- "where is the Hermes store?", or in Italian dove'e Hermes- the lady to whom which was asking looked shocked when I replied in English (guess I fooled them!). Lucky for her, I did know which direction it was :)

Firenze giorno 1

So as my first official day in Firenze, I can say- I think im going to love it here! I am a bit out of sync with the time, slightly still jet-lagged I found myself taking a nap for about 2 hrs. Only to wake up even more exhausted. I could be the only one in Florence that is freezing though! My apt is the "basement" of the building, and I used quotes b.c its actually the ground floor and the entrance is on street level, none the less its slightly cooler than I wish it was. However I have read that Florence will get so warm its almost unbearable (at this present time, I can only hope!). Waking up in the early hours wasnt a problem for me, as I wanted to start my day off with running errands and getting what needed to be done- done. So I found myself my map and figured out how to reach the Centre (where all the action/people are). My roommate offered me to go with her to see Polimoda and the location. So I thought this would be a good chance to see where I will have to walk daily- so I went and then from there continued on to the Centre. All of the streets look the same, the colours and the architecture (plus or minus a few Italian flags and shutters) so I basically was being very conscious of my steps so I would be able to find my way back. After walking about 30mins, I finally made it to a bridge that crossed the river in which I would need to travel to make it over to the Centre. Walking the bridge and looking at the view was a tad bit surreal as only weeks ago I was looking at images taken from the exact place that I was standing. In typical Amy fashion, I just so happened to stumble onto the high end luxury shops street I looked to the left- Salvatore Ferragamo and to my right, Prada....then all of a sudden I stumbled upon (what ive been waiting for...) the Pucci store! I pretty much stood there and jumped up and down (no I am not exaggerating, people were looking...). I had to continue on my way however and keep my hopes of entering the store for another day (a.k.a tomorrow!) due to my time limits to run my errands.

I finally found a currency exchange place within good time- since I had a bit of time I walked around, took some pictures, marvelled at the many gelato places I passed by and went into a Zara store. Looking through the store I came across a great pair of beige pants, so I decided to try them on just for kicks and giggles. Upon entering the change- room, I noticed a pair of glasses sitting on the bench inside the room. I dont know if its just my luck but they were a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers (something that I have wanted for awhile and in tortoise, just like I wanted too!)- my day was off to a good start! The pants didnt really end up looking that great, so I continued on my way with my new glasses on. Noticing the time, I decided it would be best to head back to my apt. After crossing the bridge and walking for a bit, I came to a pedestrian cross walk, the traffic is crazy here and you really have to be careful crossing the street (and this is coming from someone who has lived in nyc and dealt with the traffic). Anyhow- I was waiting and all of a sudden and Ferrari pulls up, the man driving it is quite attractive and he slowly takes the turn, stopping mid way to wave at me...weird- until I got a better look at him and im pretty sure it was Matthew McConaughey, slightly floored at this, I happily continued on my way and thought-wow this day couldnt get any better! I might be going out tonight, however I am a bit tempted to stay in and work in my Italian- which is going somewhat better!