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Hello Loves! I am back in the states and feeling better than ever! I just finished my term studying abroad at the Florence University of the Arts for two months, and brought home with me a little more than some souvenirs. My time in Italy was amazing; it ignited a spark of inspiration and a tranquil quality in me, and gave me a refreshed, rejuvenated, and revitalized outlook on life - lo adoro, I love it!
I chose to study abroad because wanted to leave my college career with no regrets and knowing that I took advantage of every single opportunity for growth and learning that was available to me. Something I always wanted to do for myself was travel (I have never been outside the country before) so I figured there was no time better than the last term of my degree to broaden my horizons. Studying abroad in the Florence University of the Arts program was a chance for me to look at, among other things, fashion from a new angle and gain a perspective that I have never explored as well as embrace the beauty of a culture unknown to me.
In registering for the FUA study abroad program, I found it difficult to choose my classes because there were so many interesting options and a limited number of credits for me to fill. Ultimately, I decided to take courses in visual communication & design, web design/html and css coding, and wine tasting. Even though I did not end up selecting the fashion-related courses, I was highly interested in the department and so I visited the FLY store to learn a little bit about what they do over there. After talking with some of the students and shooting with the store I learned what a unique opportunity the FUA program gives to study abroad fashion students to gain invaluable insight and immerse themselves in local fashion culture.
Allow me to introduce FLY to you! Fly is an acronym that stands for fashion loves you and it is also the name of a fabulous fashion boutique in Florence (BORGO PINTI 20R Florence, Italy) that partners with FUA students for experiential learning in the fashion department. It’s a beautiful establishment that showcases the best high end fashion of Italy! The merchandise is comprised of luxury vintage and designer collections and the store is a dynamic platform for local, emerging, and student designers to showcase their samples or most recent collections to share with the public. Something really cool about the store is that it is a a non profit, so proceeds made by the store are actually donated to the FUA scholarship fund for the fashion department .
The store manager, Gaia was such an incredible person, a very benevolent, diligent, and charismatic store manager and advisor to her student employees, bringing out the greatness in each and every one of them. She is an absolute ball of sunshine and everyone that I encountered shared how it was an absolute pleasure to work with her. I was so grateful to end my last week visiting her and the FLY family - there I met so many kind hardworking individuals who are passionate about their craft. This was a theme that I noticed across the Florence University of the Arts in general, the school is home to a number of unbelievably talented people and this institution both expands upon the industry knowledge of students and fosters their creative nature. I Was so impressed by all of the work that Gaia’s students put together.
The primary course where students receive hands on experience working at FLY was called retail management and experiential learning. The fewer credit option educates students about concepts of fashion and retail and the option with more credits was the course where students are able to apply the concepts to a practical setting - hence FLY. Over the duration of the course the students worked on various projects pertaining to retail strategy. They were presented with weekly focus themes that were broken down into daily tasks through their workshops in a collaborative environment where students work together and bounce ideas off of one another. Some examples of the concepts covered include social media, visual merchandising, event planning and many more. The university is big on interdepartmental collaboration and the fashion department utilizes the FUA network in putting on successful monthly in-store events incorporating students from the photography, graphic design, baking & pastry, wine classes and many more. Collaborating with FLY was pleasant in every way from the people worked there to the store itself - it was definitely one of the highlights of my experience in Florence.
Fashion in Italy is so authentic and unapologetic yet it has a distinct polished quality. Everyone here has their own sense of style and personality in dressing themselves; so stylish and well put together yet effortless, it’s so fabulous! And this is exactly what I wanted to capture in my shoot. Fashion is about expressing yourself there are no rules in artistic expression - Florence really does bring out the fun in fashion. Here are some of the outfits we put together, I love a good shoot, and am glad I got to play “dress up” in Italy - I am very happy with the results! Hey, just remember fashionistas you are never too old to play dress up” and to tell the truth adult dress up is just called a photoshoot. Thank you to the FLY family for hosting me, and making this project possible, much love. Check out the FLY-est kids in Firenze on the gram ;) - @caseyxhuang @rutiekk @edipietro19 @breeangelique_ @haniyyahdixon @peytonburkholder and @lexis_gervais and and a special shout out to our photographers! @reallevidejong and @yung.nonchalant!
As a person and a professional, exposure to new and innovative ideas, environments, and people, is a rich gift granted by humanity; may we absorb them, may we interpret them, and may we then aquire them as part of our constantly changing perspectives of the world we live in. From what little exposure I have had, I knew Italy had an incredibly fascinating fashion culture and I am glad I got to experience that. In reality, It was so much more amazing than anything I could have imagined. Everything about Italy from the cuisine and wine culture, to its lifestyle and the fashion is so elegant - I am in love with this city and I will be back soon enough! Until then, Stay Fabulous!
Xoxo
Kase