My beloved Italy!

Long time without hearing a „Ciao, Bella!” Italy is a country that brings me so much joy, and even if one day I will end up by seeing all countries, it will still have a place in my heart.

On the way to Genova we stopped in Sanremo for a really short walk and one picture only.

Genova has its charm (like any city in Italy), or maybe it’s just me being so in love with everything that has to do with Italy.

Had the pleasure to meet Larra Sttutgard that offered us a glimpse of the industry in those parts. She creates everything on her own and she does it so well! No wonder she’s born in a family of artists.

Another spontanous and quick stop was Portofino! A place of such beauty and I must add, driving through the continental coast of Europe is just priceless!!

Just loving the spontaneity of this trip and how it changed completly from the initial plan. We were supposed to be home long time ago and to see less places than we actually did. But we took advantage of every single place we had on our route and we stayed longer that planned where we felt the need to do so, in order to explore more.

And so we came accross Vicenza where part of #feericteam, Myra Postolache, lives. We enjoyed a coffee together and also talked for hours about future plans regarding Feeric.

We could have stayed for days on end with Myra in Vicenza, because we have that many things to share and discuss. Nevertheless we had to be at the airport in Venice to pick up someone that might surprise you.

Remember when I told you this journey is more about the people we meet along the way?

Well if you remember this I do hope you also remember our stay in Berlin at Gaijin hotel. There we had the great pleasure to meet Mary, who made us feel so welcome. The time spent with her there was short, but lovely! And because of that she decided to join us in Venice! Oh I love it when spontaneous people meet… spontaneous people.

 

Spent 3 wonderful days, laughed so much, walked those streets together and as intended, created memories that will last.

One last stop for our documentary in Italy was right in the heart of Venice, at one of the most interesting places we have encountered on our route. I reffer to Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua the velvet heaven.

It is a living museum, literally! And we are so honored to be given the chance to interview Mr. Bevilacqua for our documentary.

You may want to read all the history of the company here  if you want to be as mesmerized as we were. The company runs from 1499 and it was kept in the family ever since. I, myself, was like a pupil learning the greatest lessons. And besides finding out the company creates velvet for countless big fashion brands such as Valentino, Prada, Miu Miu, and worldwide castles or even for the White House, what really surprised me was when we asked Mr. Bevilacqua how many meters of velvet are created each day. The answer came in… centimetres. The art of the savoir faire, preserved so well, and shared with the world by people, was the greatest pleasure to meet.

  

Having to say goodbye to Venice, here comes our last stop for the Fashion Literally tour. This was in Ljubljana where we stopped to interview Julia Kaja Hrovat and to find our from her about the industry in that part of Europe, the consumers and how she gets inspired by folclor. It seems the source of all the stories that inspire her are the elders in the surrounding mountains.

Ok, we decided we couldn’t leave that fast so we were off for a really short walk in the city as the weather was also by our side. Looking good Ljubljana. It is the 2nd time I am there and don’t have the chance to discover it entirely but yet again, more reasons to come back and spend time properly.

 

Fashion Around Europe, Literally tour has officially come to an end and this is how it looks in numbers:

60 days, 12.500 km, 13 countries, 86 places, an infinite number of feelings, emotions, memories, so many interesting people, stories, that will all come together in our upcoming documentary and book.

I wish time to fly so that we can share with you the result of this majestic journey that coundln’t have been possible without the greatest team out there: the 2 people that taught me so much in these days, Mitichi and Julie, and with whom I can’t wait to start planning future trips.

Thanks to OMV for being on our side each step of this journey, literally, to all the people involved but mostly, to all of you reading and following our story.