London is the real deal, man

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I have sooooo much to write about and not nearly enough computer time for it all. I'll have to just give a few highlights.

So being here makes me so devastated that I am only staying for one quarter. There is so much to learn, so many people with incredible amounts of experience, I just want to sponge up everything in their brains and live and breathe that for years. I am taking a millinery (hat making) class from a woman named Prudence Spiegel. She makes all of the headpieces for all of the fashion shows of Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Lacoste and more. For those of you not fashion savvy, those are some of the biggest names in the business. She is highly trained and has tons of experience.

Then I'm taking a creative drape and volume class from an incredible instructor named Georg (pronounced Ghay-orgh ... it's German) and he has a degree in fine arts and another in photography and graphic design, then he moved to London to work in fashion illustration and decided to study fashion design. He is really enthusiastic and artsy and I'm really excited to train under him, especially because our focus in the class is going to be a huge challenge for me and I love being challenged. Our assignment for the final project (after a series of other projects) is to create a runway garment that is inspired by electronic music, the color scheme is loud clashing colors, and it has to be really big and crazy and creative. As you can see from my portfolio (my first post) This is completely the opposite of my work, so I am really getting pushed out of my box and I'm gonna have to use a lot of muscles I'm not used to working, but it will be a fun challenge.

And finally, my internship with Ulrich! I forget if I posted this before, but I interviewed for and was accepted for an internship with Ulrich Engler. I had never heard of him before, but he is a very high-end couture designer, and his clientele includes royalty. AACKKKK!!!! wow. If I screw up a pocket, off with my head!!

Well I had my first day with Ulrich today, and I was sooooo nervous and scared, but it went ok and I know that when I get comfortable there I will really enjoy it. I helped to sew a suit jacket today, which was a great experience, because there is so much involved with the inner construction of suits, it takes a long time to learn how to make one properly. I only messed up a couple times, but Ulrich was really nice about it. He mostly makes really fine dresses, so I won't be doing a lot of suits, but I really valued this experience. I am really looking forward to all the hand sewing and couture techniques that I will learn from him. It's a very highly developed art, and I am really learning from the best.

I have to stop hogging my flatmate's computer (thanks Laura!) But I'll write more when I can! Ciao!