Advertisement
Published: January 11th 2018
Edit Blog Post
Notes left at the Istituto degli Innocenti by visitors. Concept Korea Never in my life have I ever been to a fashion show, nor have I ever considered the thought of attending. Regardless, I felt fairly neutral at the thought of going to the Concept Korea fashion show being held in Firenze. I knew that the show would be a cool experience that I didn’t want to leave out of my trip, but didn’t think that it would be one of the more memorable parts of my trip. To my surprise, I LOVED it! The atmosphere was not like anything I had ever experienced. Before the show began, there was a bright pink light that shown over the entire room, and music that fit the scene of it all just perfectly. Observing the people around me was like a show before the show! You could tell that the other people there to watch were there for a specific purpose other than entertainment. Some of them were even as glammed up as the models, but without some of the extremely ‘out there’ designs that the models were wearing.
The fashion show consisted of two different parts of fairly different designs, and each part had two rounds of modeling. I
noticed that even though one model would go down the run way twice, that their outfit did not always completely change. For some, the only difference between their first outfit and second outfit was an addition of a jacket or a hat, or both. There seemed to be some similar designs between the first and second parts of the show, but the colors differed a great deal. The first designer seemed to stick to the colors black, white, gray, brown and tan. Meanwhile, the second designer threw in tons of color that really popped. Even when the second show used black, tan, brown, gray or white it was always accompanied by a pop of color. For example, one model from the second round had black pants with a tan coat, but had a blue and purple striped tie wrapped around his waist, as pictured. There also seemed to be an abnormal number of red-headed models, especially in the second round, that honestly added a certain aesthetic that made the color in the clothing to pop more! As mentioned both had similar designs, and this included: sherpa on the outside, many ruffles, sweatshirts with extra opening and/or sleeves, furs, plaids, corduroys,
and pants that were too long or had other extra material. I was not a fan of the sweatshirts draping over the shoulders that had extra head openings and sleeves, nor do I think that it will make it in the market. What I did enjoy was the plaid, ruffles and corduroy. I think I will always love corduroy and would love for that to make a comeback. It was a fun experience and I was lucky enough to be able to sit down in the front row to watch it all!
Museums to see! Since the fashion show I have been to three different exhibits/tours: Broncacci Chapel, Istituto degli Innocenti, and Strozzi Museum. The Strozzi museum consisted of numerous depictions of Christ on the cross, as well as him right after being taken down off the cross. I really enjoyed this part of the museum because seeing a representation of the Savior dying for the world can’t help but give you this different/overwhelming emotion. Despite the strong emotion evoked from the Strazzi museum I have to say that I enjoyed the Istituto degli Innocenti the most. While seeing a depiction of Christ on the cross is always emotional, I believe that seeing others put Christ’s love, charity, into action is even more special. The Istituto degli Innocenti stood out from the others because of its history of charity.
This Istituto degli Innocenti was a home for orphaned children for centuries, and these children came from both poor and wealthy families. Parents were able to drop of their children anonymously for years in front of the building and each child that was dropped off was guaranteed care. I really loved that many of the parents would leave half of a coin or piece of cloth in hope that the would meet their child again one day with the other half. They had an exhibit of these trinkets left with children, each trinket was labeled with the child’s name who owned it. Many of these coins and such had crosses on them, and I thought that must’ve meant the world of difference to those children considering their circumstance. It makes me wonder the different reasons why parents had to leave their children there, regardless, I assume they had done what they knew would be best for their child.
The children were cared for by several types of nurses including wet nurses that were even guaranteed care as their job was to breastfeed multiple infants a day. Many of the wet nurses even had their own children there, but were not allowed to breastfeed their own children. Nonetheless, this place was not only a sanctuary for infants and children in need but also mothers. Mothers who had children out of wedlock were really out of place in society and this place allowed for them to solace, and take care. I thought it was funny that in one of the readings in the museum the wet nurses were described as “well-fed” according to their appearance. They had a meal plan that required them to eat mostly beans, rice, pasta, eggs, and cheese. To drink they were required to have two liters of wine a day! I thought this was crazy considering alcohol can get in breastmilk and thus to the baby; however, you can still see how nutrition was important to them, even if it is not similar to what would be recommended today. After infancy, the children were not offered, but required to receive education and taught skills for future jobs. The Istituto degli Innocenti performed true charity by preparing children for futures they would not have otherwise had. The most heart wrenching part about the whole thing was the part of the museum where you can leave colorful notes and drawings. Many of the notes left were from children who visited the museum, and their notes consisted of sincere thanks for caring for the children. Often looking from a child’s perspective opens your heart a little more. The world can always use a little more thanks, love and charity.
Steps for 01/10/18: 19,810
Steps for 01/11/18: 11,753
Advertisement
Tot: 0.054s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0272s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb