Thumbnails!

These are just a few of my ideas for this line!  I am starting to get really excited with what I will be ending up with for my line!

Bergamo!

For another day trip I attended we went to the lovely city Bergamo!  This city was very divided but in an interesting way and seem to have a lot of history.

 

Bergamo is a town and or comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milano.

 

The foothills of the Alps begin just north of the town.

The town has two centers upper city, a hilltop medieval town, surrounded by 17th century defensive walls, and the lower city.

The two parts of the town are connected by cable car, roads, and foot-paths.

The lower city is the modern center of Bergamo.

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The city rapidly expanded during the 20th century.

Fabric Board!

These are the Fabric that I will be using for my line!

Amsterdam!

So we went to Amsterdam for a few days and I had so much fun!

Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands

Amsterdam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

De Wallen, also known as Walletjes or Rosse Buurt, is a designated area for legalized prostitution and is Amsterdam's largest and most well known red-light district.

It consists of a network of roads and alleys containing several hundred small, one-room apartments rented by sex workers who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights.

Amsterdam has many cafes. They range from large and modern to small and cozy. 

Amsterdam was something else the night life the people, I can't wait to go back!

Color Board!

This is my color story for my fall line!  It is a bit brighter then normal, but this is what I am looking for!

Cologne, Germany!

This weekend I ended up in two amazing places Cologne Germany! I found the people and the places are so full of facts and history! I love this beautiful city and the history behind it all!

Cologne is Germany's fourth largest City!

It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, it is claimed that it had been founded by the Ubii in the year 38 BC.

The Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne. Cologne is also well-known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival, the reggae summerjam, and Cologne Gay Pride.

During World War II, Cologne was a Military Area Command Headquarters.

During the Bombing of Cologne in World War II, Cologne had 262 air raids by the Western Allies, which caused approximately 20,000 casualties and almost completely wiped out the center of the city. The church was left standing because it had been used as a locater for the bombers to know when they had reached the city.

In 1945 architect and urban planner Rudolf Schwarz called Cologne the "world's greatest heap of debris," Schwarz designed the master plan of reconstruction in 1947.

 This city just really inspired me!

Target Market!

Target Market / Ragged Wood                                     Itasha Phelps

Level: 3

Age: 26 – 42

Size Range: 0-15

Price Range: $200-$1,000

Gender: Female

Family Size: Any/ looking into starting a family

Income: 60,000-100,000

Occupation: International Business Women

Education: Bachelors Degree - Masters

Religion: Open

Race / Ethnicity: Any

Social Class: Middle to Upper

Lifestyle: Business to Traveler

Climate: Europe

Being that I am in Milan I have been paying attention to the more European businesswomen verses the American businesswomen.  One thing that I have noticed is that they know how to be fashionable and at the same time business appropriate.  For my target market I wanted to try something different and work with businesswomen but with a lot of ethnic hints throughout the silhouettes.  Because my target market has the capability to travel to many different placing and experiences a lot of things that American businesswomen can not or just do not I believe with my target customer has the capability of being very sexy and ethnic friendly!

Lake Como!

For a day trip we went to Lake Como as a class!  I thought that it was a very beautiful north city in Italy!  

The lake was very calming and the people were very nice and entertaining.

 

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.  

 

It is the third largest lake in Italy.

 

It is one of the deepest lakes in Europe and the bottom of the lake is more than 656 ft below sea-level.

Since Roman times, Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people, and a very popular tourist attraction!

It is famous for its numerous villas and palaces.

. Currently, many celebrities have or had homes on the shores of Lake Como.  Lake Como is widely kown as being one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy!

 

 

Fashion!

So from the very beginning I have been talking about finding Fashion!  So I have decided to show you what fashion means to me in Milano!  From what I am finding Milano is a mixture of so many different cultures built on one idea, business.  The business women here are able to stay professional without having to lose their fashion fashion sense!  So I am designing a line that has inspired me while I have been in Milano!  This is something new for me normally my women that I design for a bit more free spirited and worry less about work, but the women here in Milano have inspired me to try something new!

So here is the beginning of my line; my inspiration is directed from this board and I will continue to post my ideas and updates of my design for my line!

New Goal!

Ok, so my goal was to find art and fashion, and history that applied to the golden ratio!  So I tried and I had some very good accomplishments with everything, but it turns out that I am having a lack of golden ratio blog post.  So my new goal is to still find things that apply to the golden ratio when they arise, but for now I am finding that I am very interested in the history in the places that I am seeing and the art, I mean it is the main reason why I came to Italy!  I want to keep my beginning post up still, I still find them very informational! 

So here is my happy face ready to face the world!  I am happy to share all my experiences with everyone and let me know how you like it!

Milano!

 

If you did not know the city that I am curently living in and attending school in is Milano!

So far I have explored the city on several occations so I figured it was about time that I maybe gave you a few facts about Milano!

Milano is the capital of the region of Lombardy.

The Milan metropolitan area, by far the largest in Italy.

The city proper has a population of about 1,310,000, while the urban area is the largest in Italy and the fifth largest in the European Union with a population of 4,345,000.

The city remains one of Europe's main transportation site's, and Milan is the10th most important centre for business and finance.

Milan is recognized for having some of the most innovated fashion and design capital. 

The Lombard metropolis is especially famous for its fashion houses and shops.

Milan has been crazy, but so much fun and I am enjoying the time I am spending here!

Florence!

This weekend I spent three days in Florence even though we had some problems with where we were staying I could not help think it was the most beautiful place I had ever been too!

While I was in Florence the first thing I had to do was clime to the top of the Florence Cathedral. I wanted to see the city and that I did!

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church of Florence, Italy, the building of this structure begun in 1296, and was completed in 1436. 

The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile.

Florence lies on River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture.

Florence is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.  It was long under the rule of the Medici family. 

"David" is a marble sculpture that stands at about 17 feet high, and was worked on between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. 

The statue was moved to the Accademia Gallery in Florence in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica.

http://www.limblengthening.dk/?Body_proportions:The_golden_section

The proportions of the David also add up to golden ratio!  Much of the art in Florance had was so beautifully placed and balanced.  It was life changing and I would love to go back some day soon!

Italian Art

This weekend I saw a few amazing things!  This weekend was souly focused on art and most of the items I saw this weekend are pieces of art that I have been ready about and seeing in art books for years.  The emotion that I have for these pieces of art have really driven me in the past and now to become a better artist, fashion designer, and many other things!

Friday afternoon I went to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.  It was nothing sort of amazing and life changing really!

The Last Supper measures 450 × 870 centimeters (15 feet × 29 ft) and covers the back wall of the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.

The Last Supper portrays the reaction given by each apostle after Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various emotions of shock and anger.

In common with other depictions of The Last Supper from this period, Leonardo seats the diners on one side of the table, so that none of them have their backs to the viewer.

The painting contains several references to the number 3.  The number represents the Holy Trinity by the Christian belief.

The Apostles are seated in groupings of three, there are three windows behind Jesus, and the shape of Jesus' figure resembles a triangle. There may be other references that have since been lost as the painting deteriorated.

The last Supper is a great reference to the Golden Ratio!  This picture is just a quick reference to it!

Examples!

The number approximately equal to 1.618033989…

It is exactly equal to (1+√5)/2

If you divide a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is also equal to the whole length divided by the longer part then you will have the Golden Ratio!

Leonnardo Da Vince often played with Golden Ratio in most of his masterpieces. One of his most famous pieces is the Vitruvian Man created in 1487; the drawing was created with pen and ink on paper. He believed the workings of the human body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe. The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the perfect symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole.

The Golden Ratio can be found everywhere you just sometimes need to know where to look. I like many other people have a hard time understanding it and that is why I am challenging myself with this project! Wish me luck!

My goal!

My goal for this project is to find items, art, and fashion in Milano and all througout Italy that inspire me and that also apply to this golden ratio. When I first learned about the golden ratio in an earlier art class I could not quite understand why this applied to art, but the more I pay attention to things I notice that the golden ratio is almost everywhere if you are looking close enough anyway. So I have decided to learn more about it, and more about the items that I am looking at, why not I am in Italy any way!