Been a while, huh? Well I’m happy to say that my absence has been due to making this study abroad trip happen! As previously mentioned, I was accepted into Lorenzo de Medici’s School of Fashion in Florence, Italy. It’s a bit surreal being somewhere so unfamiliar, but I’m already so in love with this gorgeous city! I’m taking 2 classes: Fashion Illustration and Fashion Buying Concepts, and my professors are amazing.
I have a million pics so let’s start from the beginning…
I had a 5hr layover in Munich, Germany, which turned out to have the most beautiful airport I’d ever gone through. I had to walk what seemed like 4 miles to get to my gate, but who cares when the halls are lined with delicious food and immaculate designer stores!
First real Italian dinner
8am orientation was a little rough the next morning, filled with warnings from the Italian Polizia that left some of us extra paranoid about pickpocketing and assault…
They aren’t really big on breakfast, but the little pastries and sandwiches they serve at their cafes are everything. Not to mention the cappuccinos and lattes!
I was pleasantly surprised with my apartment, after initially assuming it was going to be something like my freshman year dorm!
My 2 roomies on the right, and other new friend on the left at our welcome dinner! Love them, they’re so much fun:)
Did some pre-class exploring of the city, so of course we had to check out the nightlife! All they play here is American music. Went to one club and they were playing old school Whitney.
Fun lol
At the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge
Checked out the leather market a few blocks from our apartment! It’s lined with vendors that constantly haggle you to buy their Italian souvenirs, silk scarves, and leather goods. Click here to see video from my 1st experience there!
First day of class! Prof. Ioele teaches my Buying class and has a ton of experience in buying, branding, and marketing. She was the former director of the buying office in Florence for Target stores. She’s just naturally stylish and evidently has no problem wearing 6″ pumps on these cobblestone streets everyday. 
In my Illustration class, we dove right into sketching [click here to see video of me sketching a figure] and did our first assignment of identifying our target consumer. I chose Olivia Pope from Scandal. Kerry Washington is a style icon in real life, but her costume designer/stylist puts her in the most chic career separates I’ve ever seen. I’ll get to design a line for her over the next few weeks that I’m here, as a final assignment!
Jet lag is real…and trying to keep up with everything and get my sleep schedule back on track has been a struggle!
Pretty much my new everyday lunch spot. Best salad ever!
 Prof. Ioele took us on a field trip to the Scuola del Cuoio, which is the Leather School of Florence. If you know me, you know I collect leather goods…and if you didn’t know, Florence is the leather capital of the world! So yes, I was super excited for this trip.
The school was founded by 2 leather artisan families after WWII. Their mission was to give orphans of the war a means to learn a practical trade with which to earn a living. At the school, we were able to see the artisans hand make leather bags and other goods. 
Precision is everything, and only the best, most talented and passionate students get chosen to become artisans here. International students start in the basement making goods with the much less expensive leather, then they move upstairs once they’re ready to start doing the real deal.
They also do a lot of gilding. The leather is treated with milk, egg whites and olive oil, then a sheet of gold is placed on the leather, and customized branding irons are used to create the design.
Click here to see Francesco gild this leather with 22kt gold! 
Jewels to adorn some of the bags were bought in Africa.
Python
Python, crocodile, ostrich, baby calf, and deer skins are imported from Africa, Australia, and other countries all over the world. The deer skins are actually imported from Virginia! Italian leather doesn’t mean the leather comes from animals raised in Italy, it means that skins from all over are treated [dyed, embossed, printed, etc.] in Italian shops.
Students in the basement practicing their skills.
Been an interesting first week! Tune in for next week’s post!
xxJoelle
Sunday brunch with my girls after churchđ
colors of joelle 