Forte_Forte

Forte_Forte is designed and produced in Italy by Giada Forte and Paolo Forte (double the forte and you get a brand name!).

Some more info about the brand, as I found in the Tranoï webpage, is that the collections are made exclusive with Italian fabrics rich in special finishings and lovely hand-made details. Furthermore all pieces are embellished by precious embroidered labels, decorated with tiny enchanting jewel charms, and sold in small perfumed bags.

find out more about the brand in the official site!

DElight S/S 2012

At the same time that I'm burying in the back of the closet all the summer clothes and try desperately to find some warm Winter alternatives, DElight publish their Spring/Summer 2012 collection's lookbook! Rather familiar feeling, instant DElight recognition and some very well structured shirts and jackets from what I can tell so far!

Above are my 3 most favorite pieces! Follow DElight on Facebook and like yours.

Lazzari

Lazzari is an Italian brand with -apparently- really cute clothes that I discovered some days ago! What you see above is the lookbook of the Spring/Summer 2011 collection which I know, is already a past collection but I couldn't help but post these pictures as I really like the color pallet and the concept!

Pastels seem to be in trend even for the next Spring/Summer 2012 so I'm thinking of embracing it even during Winter!

Whyte_Bianco di Partenza

15 students from ISIA-Polimoda's Fashion Design course presented their creations a few days ago at the Contemporary Centre of Art EX3! Fellow students, teachers and the fashion crowd of Florence was there to see live the creations of the new designers!

As a teacher later mentioned to me ISIA is a more artistic institute and that's the reason why the 15 students presented more conceptual collections than stictly wearable ones. Here you can see my three most favorite collections.

Giulia Betti collection's name was 263 and was a mix of the Red Riding Hood and fairytale animal creatures!
 

Ieliena Mojarova with the collection "Wing Walkers" that was highly applaused

and the most wearable collection according to me, Sarah Proietti's Femdom

Each student had a unique theme, music soundtrack and presentation something that added extra points to the whole event!

Last picture taken from ISIA Design official site.

Made in...

As this is a rather personal blog, I wanted to share with you a change of my way of thinking in regards to a reality that is more and more experienced around me lately. I live in Florence for more than 9 months now and what is really obvious is how proud the Italians are for their famous etiquette “made in Italy”. If this etiquette is stronger or weaker than before is a matter that I wouldn’t like to mention right now but at least the etiquette remains strong in the minds of everyone as synonym to high craftsmanship and quality.

 What I realized these past few months is how much Greece is strong in imports. Like the fact that we had Starbucks way before Italians have had (the first Starbucks is rumored to open in Milano soon) and Inditex brands such as Uterque and Oysho that opened in Athens before approaching other more important European cities first. Well, nothing is wrong with that for sure and personally I felt rather proud that I had something that others didn’t have yet, but in such a plentiful environment is normal that we…well I, forgot something.

…How little I cared if something was made in Greece or abroad. And here I am today reading about these foreign brands such as The Row of the infamous Olsen twins that is predominantly manufactured in the USA. As Ashley Olsen says, "I really believe in our ability to be able to create here and utilize the skills that people have here. The skill set is here... But whether it's cars or clothing, I believe in manufacturing as close to home as possible." Then, there is another “celebrity” brand that is doing really well, Twenty 8 Twelve of the Miller sisters that for the first time this Autumn/Winter season they attempted to manufacture on home turf with a limited edition collection exclusively “made in England”.

 Made in…should count a lot more these days and as fashion is concerned, we shouldn’t forget about the existence of Greek brands. From Attrativo to Badila and from Ioanna Kourbella to the new generations of Greek designers, we should care a little bit more about our choices and consuming habits!

 p.s. well I also remembered this post of dearest Alecca Rox. Check if you haven’t done yet!

pic sources: style.com, vogue.co.uk

Ancient Greek Sandals

Almost a month after the last post and as I'm still in Greece enjoying my last holi-days here, I stroll around Athens in search of what's new and what's been missed all these months that I've been abroad! I have to admit that I catch myself behaving like a tourist and I visit shops around the centre in search of genuin "Greek" things, clothes and...hmm food!

These internet-free days that have passed, I realised that the most precious piece of clothing for summer is a pair of sandals and when out of a chance I found the site "Ancient Greek Sandals" I thought that the idea of such a site was very smart especially for the people who live abroad and don't have the chance to visit the area around Plaka and Monastiraki!

The sandals named after Greek godesses vary from real classics (if you go camping you'll definatelly recognise the "most-wanted" of the list) to originals with more elevated design details! The sandals above were my personal favourites and although being a little bit overprised for me, still the fact that they are designed by Christina Martini who has worked for designers like Vuitton and Balenciaga make them special.

Holidays!

The long expected holidays are finally here. Ahhh, summer in Greece how much I missed you!