The Ladybug Investigates: WHITE Milano and Coontemporary Mood During Milan Fashion Week

Last month I had the chance to have a closer look at Milan during Fashion Week. I already knew that it wasn’t all about fashion shows and amazing parties, but I finally got a glimps of the affairs happening around this important event that make a whole city change for 7 long and busy days!

For example the fairs and presentations and the pop-up events with emerging brands and handmade artists.

I spent an entire Sunday around via Tortona visiting Coontemporary Mood and WHITE. These two events, equally different, are an example of what you can discover during Fashion Week in Milan.

Coontemporary Mood is a special pop-up event completely dedicated to creativity in art, fashion and design.  It’s where 25 emerging brands and artists are selected to expose and sell their creations. This year was its third edition and I loved it not only because of the many beautiful things that I saw but also because I am such a fan of young emerging brands: their creativity and their artistry is a gift and it is always such a great discovery for me when I meet a new handcraft artist. During my visit I fell in love with Stefania Nicosia’s soft leather clutches and with two jewels makers: Metalíca Creazioni and MarinaMa Creazioni.

Metalíca makes wonderful and impressive handmade jewels mostly in bronze and brass with different types of stones; I was amazed by the eccentricity of the design and by the use of the materials. MarinaMa makes handmade luxury jewels and I was dying for her earcuffs and necklaces!

The White Show in Milano on via Tortona is a completely different event: it is a tradeshow, an International contemporary fashion showcase with a great selection of designers from all over the world both emerging and well settled. WHITE is open to buyers, offering them a mix of the most interesting brands and designs from International contemporary fashion. WHITE is considered an innovative container of ideas and services in the fashion scene and also within the Milan metropolitan environment.

The new trends and product for the SS2015 were presented and I fell in love with this big box full of clothes and accessories to come and of new brands that I fell in love with!

Let me just give a special mention to G.Kero, a French Brand that I discovered at WHITE that I adored… let’s call it love at first sight; I was totally amazed by their prints and patterns!

For the day I wore a Topshop silk navy shirt, a vintage skirt from EBV Everybody’s Buying Vintage and Topshop shoes and bag. I added one of my favorite handmade pieces: a statement necklace that I bought this summer in a craft market in Singapore.

The Ladybug Wakes Up in a Beautifully Bizarre Dream Come True: The Store Opening of Bizzaria!

This is not the story of a cool party with cool people for a cool shop. This is the story of a dream come true: the dream of Camilla Oliosi, one of the most talented handmade jewels creators that I’ve ever met.

Speaking of meeting her, I can still remember the day we met: it was the Christmas edition of Il Circo delle Pulci in December 2012. I was there for a tour (actually my first time at the Circo) and I was in such a bad mood. The place was cool; the stallers were great, but I wasn’t in the mood for handmade shopping or vintage hunting, that was- until I saw her! Her stall full of amazing collars, enormous funny studded bow-ties, attracted me immediately. We started talking about her creations and her plans, and I can clearly remember Camilla saying that one of her dreams was to open a store in her area (she’s from Veneto).

Well, after that day Camilla and I stayed in touch and I have been one of the hugest fans of her creative work: she also created a special piece for me, a beautiful cuff with vintage buttons that she found in an old haberdasher. I have followed with enthusiasm the development of her online store and her success- then came the day that she announced to me the next level of her dream coming true: she was going to open a shop in Peschiera del Garda … and I was invited to the grand opening!

I felt so proud and excited about the news. And I had this feeling, you know, when you feel that success rewards the right people and you are happy because you know that it is well deserved because of talent and hard-work… This was both my feeling and my inspiration, seeing those keys unlock the door of success for the Bizzaria brand.

I further lavished in this feeling when I saw the great job she did at the opening (with the help of Sara from News Eventi Como!): everything was just perfect! From the location, to the store, the party, the food (…the drinks!) and the great collection exposed in a lovely adorable dotted retro style shop that I fell in love with (actually the shop and the collection!). It was great to party with my fellow bloggers and as you can imagine, I left with my favorite piece of the collection… but I will unveil what it is when I wear it!

I think that my words aren’t enough to explain the creativity and talent of Camilla, so check the online site www.bizzaria.com to see with your own eyes! Congratulations Bizzaria!

For the occasion I wore a vintage silk skirt from the Montagnola market in Bologna, a beautiful lace and crochet vintage shirt that I bought in a wonderful vintage shop in Ljubljana – Vintage Divas – as the amazing little vintage bag that I am wearing. The fascinator-hat is a handmade creation from Olivia Iron.