For several months
now I have been working as a pattern-maker for a local company which has
produced designer garments for over forty years. It was a wonderful
pleasure, but also somewhat difficult for a fashion technician with over
fifteen-years of experience to work on-site in an Italian production
house.
It
is a family owned business which has existed for forty years, I have
been living in Italy for almost eight years and having arrived here I
only spoke English, my mother-tongue and Spanish. Fortunately at the
beginning my Spanish helped me get by!
It was wonderful to see Tom Ford, Vionnet, Dolce and Gabbana
completed and in the process gowns around the shop everyday. But for
me it was also frustrating to be able to be confident about my
pattern-making and communication skills, and identify how diffrent the
culture is. Therefore the process each person I worked with was always
completely, or slightly different then my own. The terminology was
another hard obstacles to overcome, not knowing the terms in Italian,
did not allow me to work as a confident pattern-maker that I know I am.
I also had to have respect, after all I was the "new-comer". Everyone
already had their set way of doing things.
I am very thankful I was given the opportunity!
