I remember being young and everyone would tell me Vogue is the best magazine in Fashion. At the time, I had no idea what that meant but growing up I always looked at Vogue like we look at celebrities, very special! It’s hard to even get into Vogue in America but when I was getting ready for Vogue Italia, It didn’t feel real.
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| June 2011 Issue |
We walked into an entrance and right by the entrance is a black gate with Condé Nast written right in the middle. I thought to myself, this is huge! Do you know how many incredible designers, stylist, celebrities; PR companies and editors walk through this same entrance? Too many to count and too many for me to mention because I know I will miss many. Once we walked into the office, we had to wait a little bit in the lobby but that was fine to me because I was keeping myself busy reading history. I was reading the June edition magazine with 3 plus sized models as the cover and had more than10 spreads within the magazine. This is ground breaking! They were gorgeous and now Vogue has reached a new target market and gave them the sense of belonging when reading a Vogue magazine. Also as I was waiting, there were TV’s showing many Vogue editorials and pictures. I was watching the receptionist and how they were acting, what they were saying and if they cracked a smile. They received at least 6 orders from different designers and companies such as Di Luca. I wonder what is it the bags and what they are used for!
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| Franca Sozzani |
Once we had the chance to go visit the rooms, we walked up 3 or 4 flight of marble stairs. If I worked there, I wouldn’t regret eating a chocolate croissant since I would burn all the calories going up and down the stairs everyday. We walked into a glass door and had 3 plaques on the wall; Vogue Italia, L’Uomo and Vogue.it. The office is not what everyone would think it would be back in America. It is simplistic and every room basically looks the same; Mac desktops, glass desks, white walls and papers everywhere. It is amazing that an office so simply is filled with people with complex minds and can create masterpieces. Sometimes you need simple in a very busy environment. We met Sara Maino , the Fashion Editor for Vogue Italia. No words can describe how genuine and extremely approachable she is or how speechless I was because I wasn’t sure if I was in a dream or not. We walked around and saw the various departments. Than finally walked into Franca Sozzani, the Editor in Chief for Vogue Italia. Enough said. I could visualize who has been there and what happens in that room. At the end of the tour we asked Sara some questions and found out that they plan Who’s on next during fashion week in NYC and to be qualified one doesn’t have to be Italian but they need to produce in Italy. They don’t take many interns, but if you would want to, they ask to you to be flexible and be able to speak English. The days are not the typical 9-5, they can work minimally 10 hours a day and most likely more. It’s fashion. We deserve our own clock and should be able to dictate how many hours in a day there should be because 24 hours, sometimes is just not enough in this industry. Sara emphasized that since they do not hire a lot, everyone has their title and their job description but should be able to do most of everyone’s job. Flexibility is a must. Sara started working at Vogue as an intern when she was 19 and worked there for over 15 years. She has seen this magazine progress through many stages.
After Vogue we did a quick video of what we thought about Vogue with Fashiontimes.it. I am never good at this whole video thing; I have no choice but to warm up to it. I know I will.
Right after Vogue we had to go to a fashion shoot at IEM, Istituto Europeo di Design. A school known for its excellence in graphic design, design school, management and fashion communication. We met with a freelance stylist who gave the students a theme; denim. They must find all the props, clothes, models and make up artist and create a photo shoot. The students explained that it takes about 2 months to create it because they must call companies to ask to borrow clothes, find a model for free and a make up artist. I saw my first photo shoot and it was definitely an experience!
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| IED Milano |
Later that night we were invited by Maria to go to the Tommy Hilfiger for a premier of its Spring/Summer 2011 collection. It’s only day 4 and we already went to 2 cocktails that we would have never had the chance to go to in America. The store was decorated with American flag mannequins and the store leaked American rock and roll. Clearly, the inspiration was American lounge and rock and roll, something that all of us could relate. The store was decorated with guitars and record cases. There was a live performance from a girl and a man playing a guitar. It was actually good! I have no idea who it was though. I enjoyed the visuals of the store. There were mannequins hanging from what looked like suspenders but they were cut in half and only the waist down was hanging. The store was pretty busy and by 9 the store was packed with guests. This day was a very long but every minute was worth it. I have learned so much this far and have experienced things that people who are working in the industry don’t get the chance to do or get the chance to go to. I can live like this.
Working at GUESS? I was able to do many window displays and visuals through the different departments. Window displays is the first thing a customer notices when walking by, it must be designed in a strategic and visually aesthetic way to bring them in.
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| Mannequin |
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| American Rock & Roll |
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| American Flag Mannequins |
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