A Trip to Italy with the Production and Design Teams

Our production and design teams arrived in Italy excited and ready to get to work. Nicole, our Senior Vice President of Product, landed in Milan and then took a train to central station and then another train to Florence where she met Junko, our Director of Design, and Mae, one of our designers, who had just landed from Istanbul. From there, they walked around Florence to fight off jet lag. See below for their shopping and restaurant picks!

A few Florence musts:

• Luisa Via Roma, located in the heart of Florence, has been a benchmark and international institution in the luxury goods market since 1930. The store and website luisaviaroma.com, offer a world preview of the best designers and up-and-coming fashion names.

• Santa Maria Novella. The oldest apothecary in the world was founded by monks using rose water for treatments in 1212.

• Gucci Garden. The House debuts the Gucci Garden inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia, which housed the Gucci Museo.

• La Giostra. Delicious Tuscan dishes under 16th-century brick vaults.

• Caffè Gilli. The oldest café in Florence. Once a pastry shop and has since become one of the city’s most popular spots. The perfect place for a drink and to take in the scene.

*Travel Tip: there aren't direct flights to Florence from NYC so rather than connect, fly into Milan and take the train. It's an easy train ride!

The team spent their final day factory hopping! First on the list was a factory that produces towels and sheets. They watched the process as the workers cut the sheets by hand before they were sewn.

Next up was a factory we are working with for sweaters. The team checked on Fall22 production and explored ideas for the future. Junko and our partner Sandra discussed the fit and technicality of the cable knit widths while Mae tried on the new sweater specs, updating and revising the design to perfect the fit.

The team then headed to a factory that makes the perfect blankets and ponchos, for a look into the production of our blankets for Fall22. This factory also specializes in recycling and repurposing and walked the team through their production process.

• About the process: the raw materials are first broken down from recycled sweaters (and new materials) and are separated by material. From there, the materials are mixed to make new colors and yarns in a recipe-like format. The material then goes through a carding machine three times and is then spun into yarn. The yarn is then waxed on a special machine and goes on a loom where the fabric is woven. If there is a special design it goes on a jacquard loom. If it has fringe it goes to a fringe machine!

They wrapped up their last night with a dreamy dinner at a Tuscan Villa close to the factories!