Describe a typical day at work.
I get to class a few minutes before the lessons start at 8:30 am. As students get in class, I work with each one of them to continue their work on the patternmaking and sewing program. What's great in our school is that we usually don't give group lessons, but we teach one-to-one to each student so they can proceed with their own rhythm.
I switch on the professional ironing board and sewing machines to get ready for the day, I wear my centimeter and I work with the students until 5 pm. We happen to have calmer days at school, when I have time to chat a few with my students, answer they questions and help them with their sewing projects,
While other days are so hectic. I barely have time to breathe like days before events and exams when the sewing lab is full of models and students giving final touches to their wonderful creations, just like a mini-fashion week!
Working on draping
Why do you do what you do?
I love being amongst young people, they're so inspirational and challenging!
Sewing and pattern drafting is such precision work, it takes a lot of practice, math, and patience.
Sometimes students think of fashion more as a creative and social networking job. My task is to show them the beauty of actually owning the technique to build real garments. Seamstress, tailors and patternmakers are the foundation of the whole fashion industry, I strongly believe these careers need to be taken care of!
I love seeing how proud my students are when they create garments from scratch, and their astonishment when they discover how a seam, a buttonhole, a pleat is made. I'm a teacher to give to the fashion industry conscious designers, proud seamstresses, and to keep handcrafted tradition alive!
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
Keeping updated on how the fashion industry is changing around the world, how garment production works, what it means today, and being employed in a fashion company is fundamental in order to give my students the knowledge and the tools to make conscious choices for their future.
I'm grateful for the opportunities I had to work and study abroad because they gave me inputs and ideas I could have never had in Italy. I'm happy as a Spanish and English speaker to be often a connecting point between Italian and international students. It's wonderful to see them knowing each other, sharing cultures, and experiences.
What are some current projects you are working on?
I already started working on the next exam session with some students who will graduate in June 2022. They will create a custom haute-couture garment and each one of them will take care of the whole work: design, pattern making, fabric and material selection, pattern fitting, cutting, and sewing.
They will finally wear their own creation during the exam session. Depending on the education they choose, some of them will also design a complete collection, so it's a lot of work that takes at least 3 months, that's why I already started!
Also, I'm working with our school chief, Catia Lorenzini, on a partnership with a local garment factory who produces prototypes and samples for high quality Italian fashion brands, in order to help the students get ready for future careers.
I will take care of the internship of some of the students in the factory, where they will learn to use special cutting and sewing machines, work with high quality materials with a focus on denim garment, which is the main production of the company. I really hope this partnership will create career opportunities in our area for young people.
Some students working on patternmaking in Scuola Moda Cesena
What makes Scuola Moda Cesena special?
There are two things that make our school so special: first, the place, second, the informal and familiar environment the staff creates. The school is in Cesena, a small city in Romagna hills, just a few minutes walking from the historical center and the city university.
Cesena has a culture rich in gastronomy, fashion, nature, and it's easily connected by train and highways to the seaside and to important cities like Venice, Florence, Rimini, Bologna, Ancona and many of Italy's natural wonders.
The school is situated in an historical palace of the city center, and thanks to the intention of our director Catia Lorenzini, staff is young and able to keep an informal and modern approach to teaching, with an eye on fashion trends, team building, sharing and working together to grow every day.
Why should someone choose Scuola Moda Cesena over competitors?
Even though Italy is famous for fashion, we are one of the last professional schools offering traditional to digital patternmaking and industrial sewing to tailoring classes. As most fashion schools are focusing today on design, styling, and business, we keep the crafting tradition alive of more technical careers which is requested by companies working in Italy today.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
I hope they take away consciousness of how the fashion industry is made, how many possibilities it can offer, and how precious exercise and crafting techniques are. I hope they'll remember sewing tricks and Italian food, and I hope they'll make many friends in class!
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
I'm often translating for participants who don't speak Italian, and I try to be helpful in case they need information about the city, public transport, shops and services. I'm happy to be a guide to them especially in their first days in Cesena, and I've noticed they manage to find everything they need to enjoy their experience very quickly.
With international students during my internship in San Sebastian (Spain) in 2014
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
I think languages are keys to opening doors to wonderful new worlds! Languages have the power of fully expressing a culture, a way of facing life and telling stories that any translation or subtitle could never have.
You don't need to be proficient in many languages, but be always curious about what a word means, or how a concept is expressed, because this is the best exercise to keep your mind and heart flexible and open.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel is leaving home with a purpose, or a wish, or a project. Everything can happen when you're abroad, even the most unexpected great thing, and you'll adjust the path while walking. Meaningful travel is also when you take home life lessons, good memories, achievements and some new friends.
How is your company handling Covid protocols? What should participants know about your Covid readiness? How are you assisting participants with navigating the new travel landscape?
Covid protocols in Italy today are changing quickly to face the developing emergency.
In general, face masks are mandatory in the whole school indoor area, we provide sanitizing gel in each room and we organize spaces so students desks are 1.5 meters away from each other as suggested by law.
At the moment, vaccination is strongly suggested, there are many restrictions in Italy for those who are not vaccinated for Covid. Protocols are challenging but they don’t affect the quality of our lessons. With facemasks and often sanitizing hands and working stations, we are able to give class as usual.
