Leather!

A cheeky, not so little purchase that I made in Italy was a beautifully crafted, genuine Italian leather satchel. I believe I may be developing a relationship that is coming very close to obsession with this bag as I seem to be matching my outifts to the bag. Not my bag to my outifits! 

 The smell of this bag is beautiful! Like a field of slaughtered cows, this item reeks of genuine leather! My friends Hannah, Chanice and I were out shopping on the Friday afternoon in Italy, when we accidentally stumbled upon a man with a stall full of leather. Selling the same bag for 165 euros, I was very weary of handing a stall holder so much money!

It was on the last day that we came across Pitti's answer to a South London market, only it was full of genuine quality crafted goods! With great perseverance I was able to nab this bad boy up for almost half the price at 95 euros! DREAM! 

Although the leather is rather rigid now in its early days, the more I use it, the more supple it will become. It also grows in value with age! Imagine! I'd say I'd pass it down to my children, but I'm not sure how much I'll value their lives at yet! aha!

Pitti Filati.

So last week I was lucky enough to spend a few days in the beautiful Italian town of Pitti! It was as pat of my university course and enabled us the opportunity to visit the reputable and well know textile and knitwear trade show, Pitti Filati. 

These are a few images from the main entrance of the show. Because pretty much everything was obviously written in Italian, I didn't quite understand the relationship between knitwear and books. But despite my confusion, I decided to take pictures anyway as I was still able to appreciate the creativity. I particularly loved the way they had suspended all the books from the ceiling.

 More in line with the main focus of the show, here are a few images of some of my favourite trend displays. 

LED trees were used to create an almost enchanting scene, presenting the pale and pastel hues predicted for future knitwear trends.

My favourite of them all, the 'Fiesta'  room engaged its visitors with  a carnival like scene, playing upbeat festival music and videos of  Southern American, African and foreign cultures in celebration. The candy skull embroided smock top stood out to me. The strong detail and the bold clashing colours  make for a truly distinctive design. I'm currently trying to figure out how I can get one!

These cushions made from foam were made to replicate wire. I love the fact that through the use of only one fabric, they were able to create something that can look so harsh in aesthetic, yet be so comfortable  to touch. The contrasts in colours, sharp tones and textures is also really interesting.

I just though this was cool! haha! It reminds me of bedroom drawer set overflowing with clothes. I'm not sure if this is what they were aiming for though, but it's almost as if this was their prediction of what the S/S13 consumers bedroom is likely to look like.