The Medici legacy

Anna Maria Luisa is the last scion of the House of the Medici, the powerful family that dominated Florence and influenced the whole Europe. Her great contribution the Family Pact ensured the family treasure remained in Florence, which kept this city flow with art and history, and made it one of the most visited city in the world.

Anna Maria Luisa de'Medici

In memory of her, the city of Florence organized special events, as well as free entrance to civic and state museums. We visited museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Museo Stefano Bardini and fondazioni Salvatore Ramono.

Museo Stefano Bardini

Stefano Bardini was an Italian connoisseurs and art dealer. He was specialized in Italian paintings, Renaissance sculptures, furnishing and cassoni (marriage chest)

Famous Italian Cassone & St Michael Archangel by Antoinio Del Pollaiolo 

The original of the famed bronze of the wild boar, Il Porcellino, by Pietro Tacca

Museo di Pazzalo Vecchio 

In Piazza della Signoria Pazzalo with Michalongelo's David  Vecchio has been the symbol of civic power of Florence for seven centuries.

Salone dei Cinquecento

Second floor, with chapel of signoria, the hall of justice, study room...

Map of China

Kids having lessons in the museum, how luxury!

We can't thank Anna enough for this: without the Family Pact, I can't imagine what Florence would be today. I thought about all the treasures distorted in war, damaged in invasion or scattered during political revolutions. History cannot be reserved, but what should we learn from it? 

In the mood for coffee

In a small cold room up in the mountain, we had a class on the history of luxury. While talking about the evolution and presentation of luxury, the important status of coffee naturally came up. Of course, where else would be a better place to discuss this other than Italy?

Coffee was first introduced to the aristocracy and then gradually made accessible to the bourgeois. Different from alcohol, coffee represent intellectual and independence, it keeps people awake and alert. The Café Literal where people used to have a cup of coffee and read on a quite afternoon gradually gained its popularity. The coffee house culture has become a social activity, a place for friends gathering and even dating.

Do you feel love in your coffee?

As we are in the best place for coffee, I have developed the habit to have my expresso every morning, afternoon and even after dinner. In Italy, there are no Starbucks, and people will stare at you in shock if you ask for a "coffee to go". Here are some popular types of coffee

Caffè - In Italy the word “caffè’” naturally implies an espresso.

Caffè Macchiato –  In Italian, macchiare means to “stain” – and this espresso in a demitasse cup is stained with some hot milk, probably frothed, though no attention is placed on serving foam. This is not a mini-cappuccino.

Caffè Macchiato Freddo – An espresso served in a demitasse cup with cold or lukewarm milk on the side. It looks like a normal caffè next to a carafe of milk. 

Cappuccino - No need for explanation,  Probably the most well-known and loved coffee drink

Marocchino - It is a shot of espresso served in a glass demitasse (for aesthetic reasons), with a sprinkling of cacao (added either before or after the milk, sometimes both!) and milk foam spooned on top.

Latte Macchiato – Milk “stained” with coffee, and served hot in a glass cup as shown or in a tall glass, larger than a cappuccino.

Caffè Corretto – An espresso in a demitasse cup, with a “shot” of liquor of your choice.

There's also Caffe doppio, caffe freddo, caffee lungo, caffè HAG...

I am about to start the journey to explore all the good cafes in Florence one by one. The ones on my list are:

Pasticceria Donnini --  Piazza della Repubblica

Gilli  --  Piazza della Repubblica

La Loggia -- Via del Corso

Patrizio Cosi -- Borgo degli Albizi

Fabrics talks

Even we are not in a fairy-tale, fabric can have souls and emotions. At the Pitti Filati Fair we saw, touched and felt the stories of different fabrics. 

3 most innovating trend-themes 

1. Viscose 

Transforms from shiny and glamour to emboidery and exotic, Viscose impresses us with its versatility. It compliments the body shape and allow designers to free their creativity and imagination. 

2. Sparkling dream

The cotton and lurex blends made the night more glamourous and dreamy. With the metallic sheen and glimmering lurex, everyone can be the star and illuminate under the moon.

3. Neo-experimentalism 

Today's new world is filled with imagination and creativity, we can free and integrate our ideas, to try new styles, to mix & match or to challenge the tradition. Technology definitely accalerate the process. 

Companies inspired by trends

New Holland--Futurural The trend for quality, genuine raw materials and energy, relationship with earth and nature. 

Stylesight -- technology with global content, online worksite, constant analyze the global marketing, with office in New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Monticolor -- ecological fashion with raw materials, to create sustainable biological product.

Filatex -- since 1958, with 3.000 types of yarns based on 35 kinds of materials. They never stops researching and innovation.

Personal favorites

I am mostly inspired by the free-mind neo-experimentalism. To be innovative and courageous to build a different world. The two companies that caught my attention with their creativity are Millefili and EcafilBest. 

To create an emotional connection with the customers, brands have to be innovative and use all five senses: visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile and gustatory. The colorful candy stalls and sweet fruity smells drew us to Millefili. Before looking at their yarn, the customers can taste the candies and try different fragrant. After they find their favorite “flavor”, they will be able to find them on the fabrics. Some smells are refreshing, some are calm, and some are passionate… The fresh squeezed juice and fruity deserts makes the fabric seem organic and natural. The whole atmosphere made it hard not to step inside and take a peek. 

EcafiBest

It was like Alice’s Wonderland made of yarn: huge mushrooms, candy canes, flowers and caterpillars crawling around. The brand uses this theme to emphasis human connection with the earth and nature. It also created a joyful and sweet ambiance, reminding me of a fun summer afternoon picnic in the park. 

A taste of the past

Each item at vintage fair has its own story to tell. 

Sunglasses from 1940s, still elegant and classy, truly timeless 

Fashion Starts Young

Over 510 collections, 8300 buyers and a total of over 10,000 visitors, Pitti Bimbo is the only trade fair in the world that presents a complete overview of children's fashion. It seems the fashion brands have expanded their targets to the youngest.

After observations and research and discussion, we have summarized some of the

  trends in children fashion

1. Ecological

The use of sustainable materials and renewable energy. 

2. Street-fashion

Inspired by the chic styles found on some of the most trendy streets around the globe, the designers have brought the look to the children's fashion world. T-shirts with graphic prints, casual yet stylish mix-and-match express the attitude and individual style of the young.

3. Ballerina

The movie "Black Swan" has brought back the ballerina fever. 

4. Vintage

The look of the past is one of the main trends in today's fashion, the children's world is no exception. 

5. Similar to adult fashion style

Some of the hottest children clothes are just smaller version of designer clothing. Sometimes we wonder if it has gone too far and lost the essence of children fashion.

6. The 80s theme influence,  

with bright color, stripes and polka dots. 

7. Advanced jewelry decoration, 

such as Swarovski element crystal. 

8. Floral motif

is one of mothers favorite to dress up their daughters like princess.

9. outdoor & nature

a taste of the wild, with jungle theme and animal prints. 

10. Culture and identity. 

With globalization, people start look for authentic and original characteristics from heritage. 

11. Club culture

with bright acid colors. 

Favorite brands at the fair. 

Rykiel Enfant

It is the children version of Sonia Rykeil, which is dedicated to sensuality and pleasure. The enfant collection kept the brand DNA while added the children innocence and playfulness in the clothes. At the fair the brand features wide strips and acid colors. 

Loranjinha

The brand promotes ecological products by using sustainable and organic materials such as bamboos fiber. It combines innovative technology with fashion and emphasis the brand ethical value. 

Monnalisa 

The e-boutique caught our eyes first and drew us to their stand. The layout, style and video synchronize with the video commercial and altogether created emotional connection. As the tween generation is getting more tech-savvy, E-communication is gaining its popularity. 

Personal thoughts

Overall, we feel that children fashion style is the perception of adults. As many of the kids are too young to choose for themselves, parents have been deciding what are the best for their children. Secondly, now many luxury brands enter children fashion world by adding some playful and naive elements on adult collections. Finally, emotional touch is crucial, e.g, many brands produce mother-kid clothing sets.

In your opinion, what is the most important element in children clothing?