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Published: August 9th 2012
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Florence Fashion at Polimoda.
I was almost jumping out of my skin with excitement over starting my course, the orientaion day was on the Thursday before class started on Monday and by the looks of the other 100 students that were also there early, we were all equally as excited and anxious to begin.
Unfortunately the education staffweren't quite as organised and we had to wait for half an hour before they got organised. Seems everything was still running on "Italian time". I had learnt about it when I applied for my visa. Basically it will happen, but it proably wont be immediately. We were introduced to our lecturers and then taken on a tour of the computer rooms and library. I honesly almost hyperventilated with excitement. A whole room full of magazines relating to fashion, shoes, design, textiles....vogue, harpers...ypu name it they've got it! Then the highlight...all issues of Vogue America ONLINE dating back to the early 40's or there abouts! Can you vomit with excitement?!? Awful analagy but I was getting close... This was followed by a tour of the books downstairs...rooms and rooms of fashion books! Omg! Tour over I met Davina and Agne and went for lunch.
My tutor for general drawing and organising the portfolio was Phillipe. First day he asked us to draw a skirt, front, back and sides. I don't usually draw....so it was dreadful. Homework for us all was to find images in magazines that would inspire our new 5 item skirt and pants collection for our summer portfolio. Next day was with the beautiful Yolanda, our Spanish sewing teacher, she was delightful but the machines in the first class were industrial sewing monsters which were far too fast for me to sew accurately, I was quite upset! I know I can sew on a slower machine but this?! Luckily the following week we moved to another sewing school building and the machines were much more reasonable. I felt much less like a complete klutz and managed work I could have actually shown someone.
The school organised us a tour out to a fashion design winter trends expo for 2014. It seems almost crazy that fashion looks that far ahead when it is so "fast fashion" orientated. It was a side of the industy I had not really considered. To think that many seasons ahead, seems to kill the idea od 'trends' which to me meant something more immediate and growing with the immediacy of each season. Davina and I also hit the vintage market next door...I tried several dresses but those girls in previous eras had no shoulders! Or hips! I fit the waist! Haha I found my dream dress audrey hepburn inspired but.....my bust wasn't able to fit. It was so dissapointing. So was the following week's lecture on neural gender fashion....not to my liking, especially when you sit through 4 hours of death by powerpoint. Un fun.
The next day we met out teacher for illustration, Nicola. Not as warm and easy going as the lovely Phillipe, much more straight down the line. Where Phillipe would be really positive and encouraging, Nicola would just state an opinion and move on, it was like good cop - bad cop. I didn't warm to Nicola as much as Phillipe.
I struggled with the sketching as I found it very difficult and although Phillipe was encouraging I really hate it when I can't get something right and know that I should be able to do it better. I am a perfectionist in some ways. Nicola was negative also which was disheartening. I wouldn't have minded contructive critisism or even help with drawing techniques, but no such luck. It was the one element of the course I didn't like. Everything was self directed learning. I appreciate you need to develop your own style and flair but it is hard to do that without knowledge of the basic skills. There was no intruction on drawingnor techniques which was what I had been really looking forward to. However the freedom to do anything resulted in some wacky things I would never have tried usually. The focus was on the artist forms of fashion rather than wearable consumer fashion. I eventually caved to do something more artistic but it was a struggle to let go of designing or sewing something I would wear in public.
I have included as much of the process that I could in photos (most will be uploaded later sorry).
The portfolio was
Graphic images for inspiration x 10
Re-draw images x 10
Paint the images x 10
Collage with images
Design own 5 piece skirt and pants collection
Pick one design and realise it in muslin.
I loved not having to make a pattern for my final design. I basically designed and realised the skirt by draping the material on the manequin, pinning it where I wanted it, and then cutting out and sewing as I put the pieces together. A sewing manequin is now first purchase for my sewing room when I get home.
All the hard work paid off when Nicola saw my portfolio together and said "well done" my first positive comment in 4 weeks! I almost died with pride. My drawing skills are still dreadful but I can work on that, as a whole he liked the collection!
Patrick, the head of Polimoda spent the whole last lesson seeing our work. His first comment was "where can I buy your work?" he saw my design in the sewing labs thd previous day and loved my work, he said I needed work in drawing but there was creativity and talent there! Yay. I don't want to do another 3 year degree in fashion design, even though Patrick said I now had entry into the course if I wanted. I thin next step for me will be drawing and painting lessons and maybe pattern cutting. I prefer short courses rather than a three year commitment to something I regard as a passionate hobby, not a long term career goal. I am sooo glad I came over to Florence to try it out. It was much much harder and challenging than I thought it would be but I enjoyed it when it was all completed and I had finished and had something to show for all my hours of work.
Stay tuned for the next sewing adventure, I met a girl doing a course in New York! Wow can you imagine? I can! Next stop, Big Apple! :-)
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