Backstage at Marchesa - LFW

Hey everyone!!

So as promised, today I am going to post some backstage pictures of the exclusive Marchesa fashion show of the 13th of September!

If you haven't read my previous post where I describe my experience working for this amazing International brand, I suggest you quickly go take a look! (link here).

When we first got to the venue, the gorgeous Banqueting Hall in London (you can check it out here), everything was a little blurry... there were soooooo many people working backstage, the hair and makeup crew was already there and so were some of the photographers; it was full of personnel for the buffet and some of the guests allowed backstage were starting to arrive.

(That would be me, proudly showing my Marchesa backstage AAA pass!)

When the moving vans arrived at the venue with all the collection, shoes, accessories, emergency kits and all the possible props necessary (and not), we started unpacking and placing everything in its right place - organisational skills are key whether you work backstage or in the studio.

Marchesa - rock' n' roll gypsy.

Hey guys!!

As promised, today I wanted to talk to you about my experience as an intern for Marchesa during London Fashion Week.

As you guys can imagine, it has been an amazing opportunity to be able to work with such a big name of the fashion industry; I have learnt so much in such a short time, and have enjoyed myself a lot, even though it's been really hard work - as can be expected.

The 'atelier' we working in the days before the catwalk show was the Chancery Suite in Rosewood Hotel in London (if interested, you can check this amazing hotel out here).

It was a gorgeous setting for a studio, even though at times the space in the suite was not enough - there were at lot of people working on the collection and a lot of industrial machinery took up a lot of space too.

We worked on many of the dresses seen on the catwalk show (if you haven't seen it yet, you can check out the collection here), mostly hand sewing and doing embroidery work on the delicate fabrics.

London Fashion Week.

Hey everyone!!

So it's been a pretty intense couple of days since I've come back from Barcelona! Yes, I went to Barcelona as well - my friend Alice is currently living there because she's interning at the amazing Arts Hotel Barcelona (in case you're going to Barcelona and are looking for a fab hotel, you can check this one out here).

Since the fashion month has started and since I'll fly back to the Uk on the 5th of September, I thought I better apply to help backstage during London Fashion Week (in case you were wondering which designers will be showing or what the schedule looks like this year, here's the link to the official page).

This would be my second time experiencing LFW, and I obviously couldn't let the chance slip away. So I've spent the last couple of days emailing companies and sending my CV and cover letters around, and..... I'm happy to announce that from the 12th to the 14th of September I will be interning for Marchesa.

Images by Norman Jean Roy (on http://www.bellanaija.com/2013/01/26/bridal-inspiration-from-magic-kingdom-marchesas-georgina-chapman-feature-in-american-vogue-february-2013-issue/)
Vogue US February 2013 – “Magic Kingdom”

I have always admired this high-end womenswear brand, as it brings together timeless elegance and innovation - no wonder many Hollywood stars have chosen it and still choose it for their Red Carpet looks.

This is the first time the brand, established in 2004 by Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, has chosen to present their new (SS 2015) collection abroad - they usually show at New York Fashion Week.

This year they decided to move the catwalk show to London, city that it's growing day by day as a Mecca for all of us fashion addicts, partly because it's a metropolis that still maintains its European charm.
So I will report back to you guys what's going on backstage and I will tell you how my experience will go - which by the way I am sure will be amazing as I will not only be participating in LFW but also working for a brand that I admire this much!



Until next time,
x, Val.

Valentina goes to Shanghai!

Hello everyone!

I'm officially back!

Sorry for the lack of new posts of the blog, I have to admit I haven't been writing anything at all because I really needed to take some time off from any kind of work. The last project in uni, the one with Tommy Hilfiger Denim, has been pretty intense and tiring, so decided to take some time for myself and refuel after all the hard work. In the next few days I will write a post about this exhausting yet amazing opportunity to collaborate with such a great brand and show you guys the resulting collection my group and I came up with.

I have been travelling around quite a lot this summer so I really wanted to share some new experiences and amazing photographs with you guys.

Since finishing uni last May, I went back to Italy to see my Italian friends and family and then I flew all the way to China to visit the other half of my family. It's been a pretty good summer and I've been collecting some really good memories, plus I've been taking lot of photos so that I can have material for my Final Year Collection!

So far yet so close, my 3rd Year Collection will start coming to life this year, so I need as much visuals and inspiration as possible. This summer's been great in that sense, cause I've been travelling a lot and that allowed me to widen my horizons and draw inspirational imagery and ideas from many different sources on two different sides of the world. What could a designer possibly want more than the possibility to travel and explore?

One of the most satisfying things was exploring Shanghai in more depth; I've been to this A M A Z I N G city many may times, but never really 'explored' it in the non-tourist kind of way; this year I decided I really wanted to get lost in its alleys, and visit some less known places and areas I had never been to, allowing myself to be a real 'Shanghainese' in a way.

One of the most surprising and interesting places I went to was a place that sold lots of antiques, not really definable as an antique market, but more like a massive warehouse with lots of antiques, varying from memorabilia, decorative objects, bags, clothes to furniture and vintage electronic devices.