Buongiorno a tutti! After a non-stop week attending to the firsts classes in italian, dealing with the language (seriously guys, I never thought it would be SO difficult, even with Spanish being quite similar to it...) and meeting so much new people I'm literally exhausted. In addition, Firenze has so much to do, so much to see and experience that even strolling to university every morning feels like a massive walk through history, which leaves you asking for more but also for a place to rest and eat a portion of fluffy stuffed focaccia. Stendhal syndrome, they call it *laugh*.

We've been strolling through the city during this week while trying to find less touristy places and still taking great blogging pictures, which is truly easy, as everywhere you put your eye on around here is either beautiful, classy or has good lighting. I call it "the photogenic city". We shot this pictures in the Piazza del Duomo while on our firsts days here, and I find truly amazing the double reality this place lives: while on daylight it is crowded to no end, we stopped by the other night just by casuality and almost no soul was there. It felt as magical as eerie, the Piazza del Duomo just for the two of my flatmates and I. It made me realize how a city can change through the day, and how some places can only be enjoyed while taking your time to really experience them. Almost no-one stays the night in Firenze for tourism. This classy, elegant and huge buildings were made to be looked at and venerated (everything in this city is, actually) but only a few people take into account that to experience any place, to really become part of it, you must add the factor called time. You must take your time to savour it, to feel it, or you are not really traveling. You are just adding a place to your sitemap.

In the meanwhile, I'll be getting ready for Winter season. I never thought it could be so damn cold in end September here: I'm already wearing my shawls, blazer, sweaters and almost coat. It's surreal. By this time, in sunny Valencia they're still going for a beach day on weekends! Remind me to find a great pair of classy, functional and cute sneakers: I've tripped so much already I feel I won't be getting home in Christmas without a walking stick.

What about you? Any recommendation to enjoy Italy and its less touristy places? Do tell me, I'm excited to know!

If there's one place I couldn't be grateful enough to visit last year's Madrid Openhouse event was Fernando Higueras' house-studio in the peaceful and picturesque district of Chamartín. Although it was very crowded for the event as it is quite rare for it to be open to public access, I really enjoyed the visit and I literally freaked-out when I experienced the true height of this underground house which is known as the "Hell-scraper" or "The Cave". Funny, isn't it?

So, when I found out Madrid-based luxury brand LOEWE did publish a new online campaign featuring Fernando Higueras architectural jewel as a background for one of their shoots, I knew I had to share it with you as part of the "Architecture and fashion" series here in Something Fashion.

Since Jonathan Anderson's arrival to Loewe's creative direction, the luxury brand has been involved in a cultural expedition to put the vanguardist Spanish patrimony into value. He accomplishes it with subtle interventions and photography campaigns taking place in Cuenca or Segovia, in the architecture of Javier Carvajal, or the abstract Ibiza of the 60's era. This season, Loewe presents its Autumn/Winter campaign through this photoshoot partially taken at this insolit cave. The spaces at Higueras' studio act as a perfect insolit, mysterious background to Loewe pieces, which are partially destructured in a space which is both contemporary and anthropologic.

 

Architecture graduation ceremony à la Spanish. We talked graduation and prom outfits before in this post, but this is the real deal: what I wore to our 2012-2017 Architecture School of Valencia graduation ceremony, how it felt and what was the whole evening like! First of all, I can't believe it's been almost a week since the whole thing and I'm already at Firenze, Italy with almost half of my luggage to unpack, two boxes to hit the mail and lots of sightseeing to do!

So, last Friday evening we, more than 200 Architecture students, relatives and professors gathered in the Palacio de Congresos of Valencia (built by architect Norman Foster) very early in the afternoon (and when I say early, I mean "early for an Spanish gathering of people". With these warm temperatures in all the Mediterranean coast, we are all night owls who like to convene very late!) for a graduation ceremony which had both its institutional and more serious side; and the other way round which had us laughing and enjoying to no end. For what I've heard from friends at other Universities and Faculties, graduations in Spain basically consist in reuniting all the students on a hall, listen to a couple of speeches (we even had some videos played in ours!) and then call us one by one to stage to put on our shoulders the beca (which translates directly as "scholarship" but it's actually a kind of sash which color depends on the field or studies you take) to finally reunite with our relatives to take pictures, meet our friends' families and head to dinner all together to celebrate and party.

It was very moving and special to share with all of them this evening, and let everyone on that hall know that every project we've worked hard on has a bit of their soul, for accompanying and holding us during this journey. Then, we headed to dinner and had lots of fun dancing, catching up with those who left this year for their abroad year and basically enjoying the night with our friends and classmates.

And, moving on to the outfit part! I had a couple of graduation gowns at home I actually planned on wearing. I was very undecided for months, and when I finally cleared my mind about which one I was about to wear, this gorgeous blue gown (is it actually blue? Blue and orange? Multicolored? I don't have a clue) appeared right in front of my eyes on a random Summer sales' afternoon out (I didn't even started my Summer internship yet!) all put together beautifully in a mannequin. I runned towards it. Like, literally running. At the mall. Like a crazy thing. I knew I was looking for something different, not too crazy or showy, nor revealing; but something that depicted as much as possible the kind of woman I am, and who I want to be in the near future. My ideal dress didn't have any shape nor particular color until that moment. I wanted something both as unique and special as playful, fun and classy. My dress needed to be an statement of intents of all sorts, and I think I made it!

To top off this graduation outfit à la Spanish, I needed accessories worth the dress' style and an appropriate hair updo which fitted the event and the whole look. The prom-inspired hairdo I'm sporting came from this Instagram video from Heather Chapman's profile, and was beautifully and patiently crafted by my mum (although some hair pulling and tangles were made, I must confess). The ah-mazing tassel earrings came from Emokë Diseños, who handcrafted these unique soutache earrings according to my preferences, and who kindly lets you customize and take care of all the colors, sizes and details. I also wore her designs here. No comment on the makeup, I just did my regular day-to-day cat eyeliner with a blue pop of color on the lower lash line and put some (Well, OK. Actually, TONS of) signature red lipstick.

(Architecture collage "gubahámori" by Gellért Hill vía afasia archzine)

I've been popping up the topic about leaving for an Erasmus for a while (you can read about it here or also in this post). But, after all that, I've realized I never did a full post about it. Although it is not really a fashion-related topic, I find it perfect to write about and tell you all a little bit about, as Something Fashion was born in the middle of a trip abroad, so, traveling is a serious matter around here too.

First of all, you might be wondering... "Weren't you leaving to The Netherlands?" Well, yes and no. Netherlands and all Holland are my architecture come-true dream when it comes to teaching and education, and I hope I have the chance of moving there in a near future for a doctor's degree or to work. But, very few spots were offered on the Erasmus grant application and only one at TU Delft, which is the place I ever dreamed of taking a year abroad. Every course the Architecture School here in Valencia sends the highest grade applying, which wasn't my case, like, AT ALL. So, I had to think about other places to put on my Erasmus application form.

That said. I wanted to throw some light about why I decided to leave for a studying year abroad, and give some advice based on my previous experience traveling and studying in a foreign country. First thing's first, I must say that I wasn't the regular student who couldn't think about anything else but Erasmus year (or similar) when getting to my way to mid-career (in Spain you are not allowed to go study abroad until you reach your third year of college. Although it depends on the college career you're taking, and where you're taking it). In fact, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to get my architecture degree in Valencia as fast as possible, save money and then leave for a master's degree abroad.

Photos by trasotracamara

I entered the Valencia Technical School of Architecture five years ago, aiming to change the world, design spectacular buildings and without any specific route to follow, both in my career or my personal life. I just wanted everything to flow. To everything get into place at the right time and moment. But, what I didn't know is that nothing flows and nothing comes to you out of nothing. I didn't know I would have to work my ass out so, so hard to pass exams, obtain enough grades to apply for grants and academic programs and that this Grade, at the very end would change my life and my point of view about life in general so slowly but steadily. Life's a challenge we must overcome. Five years later into this, there are some useful things I've learned thanks to studying Architecture, and that I think will be very useful for you although you aren't even interested on technical or design stuff. There we go!

1. Differentiate yourself. Don't be a number
Distinguish yourself from the crowd. You are the best in being you, with your own opinions and point of view in things. Talk and expose what you think, give ideas, don't be ashamed! If anything, I've learned that being different and not a sheep in the flock is the key to be a high value in anything you are into. For example, this blog is one of the very few Spanish fashion blogs written in English, which might be different, but is an added value as it's something that makes it unique.

2. Always carry your notebook with you
It doesn't have to be a huge 42 x 30 notebook with expensive 120gr watercolor paper. Or even a Moleskine. I have two random spiral notebooks which are no bigger than a DIN-A5 and where I write everything when I'm on the go.

One has a thicker paper on which I can draw or paint with markers, and which I mostly use for class projects and work revisions. The other one has a thinner paper and it's where I write everything I come up with talking about the blog: interview ideas or candidates, outfit combinations, posting times... Once you get used to writing down everything, you'll live happier, I promise. You won't lose track of your ideas anymore. You might even find yourself having an inspiration boost!


3. Get moving. Do things. Get involved in everything
I didn't know the importance of being literally everywhere when I started studying Architecture. But it is. Get yourself out of the box and get to know the people surrounding you and what they're up to. Get involved in your community, your neighborhood, your school or class committee. Be willing to know new things and help others as best as you can.

During this five years, I've got the chance to know how the School I study at works, and thanks to getting involved and being interested I've got the chance on participating on amazing things there, whether they're related to festivals and other students initiatives, to being an active member of the University Student's council. Every chance is a nice way to get out of your comfort zone or meet new people, to learn even the slightest skill as being diplomatic as hell with people I don't get on with, or deal with paperwork I didn't even know existed.

During this five years of university, I've met all sorts of people. Nice people. Nasty people. Inspiring people. People I've got the luck to cherish not only as friends but also as amazing professionals with outstanding ideas. Amazing teachers and professors, and not as great ones.

But, if there's something I've learned from all these people surrounding me is that every one of them is different, and if I've had the chance on working on amazing projects or having crazy ideas which eventually turned real is thanks to those who think differently than me. Who has a completely 180-degree view on things and are not afraid to share it. People who thank that different view helped me be more open-minded, and not to take anything for granted. And that's something I really think you should embrace!

Whenever I'm meeting my friends, I feel like at the lottery of life I got gifted with the most Viking ones of them all, as they love to spend whole evenings chatting around a table of emptied beer bottles and a bowl with snacks. And sometimes, I have the feeling like that best ideas are the ones which came out of those informal meetings grabbing a couple of beers at the nearest pub (okay, I'm not a beer drinker but I like sweet mead. Looks like I'm the most Viking one after all). Unexpected ideas. Crazy ideas. But all of them as great as the one before that.

It's as if everything flowed on those moments. Hours pass and you get to talk about so many things! Time to go back to #2 and grab your notebook, isn't it?

#AirMomentUPV. Some say it's the journey and not the destination what matters the most. Well, when it comes to architecture and design of anything I would absolutely say that! Last Saturday we had the chance to have the girls from Conjuntos Empáticos (which is an investigation group about architecture, art and pedagogy which gathers up some cool people mostly from Madrid) as guests at Valencia Architecture School to teach us about inflatable and pneumatic architecture, which we could make ourselves with their priceless help.

We spent the whole day at the School, a group of nearly 30 Architecture students working non-stop patterning in huge plastic rolls, cutting edges, "sewing" pieces with our flat irons and basically, invading the whole School's hall to build a huge inflatable, plastic "mushroom" in which we can get inside!

It feels amazing to see the process, from the first excitement and don't-know-exactly-what-I'm-doing moments to the peak of the day when you see it all black and you're sure you won't achieve the goal, to the final countdown in which you realize you're part of the the team, everyone's working super hard to get the work done and you'll achieve it. It makes me remember last year's ETSA·TOPIA festival, which was all about team-work with people you might not even know at all, but whom you end bonding and sharing those crazy, race-against-time moments. I find these kind of experiences super important for anyone in any professional field: it develops teamwork, empathy, social and crisis-solving skills which are essential in any job, but specially in architecture. You are supposed to be against this kind of experiences every single day in your future, so better be prepared!

So, that's the main reason why I'm bringing you these pictures today: mostly to see the process behind that very cool thing we built. Those are the pictures which hide our conversations while "sewing" plastic, our desperation moments because we couldn't find any sense to the patterns and seams (but we figured it all by the end of the afternoon) and the final result. At the end, fashion is a series of processes and creative solutions to some needs and problems which are supposed to be solved, too. And which are supposed to be of good use: in this case, we will use the #AirMomentUPV pavilion to meet and have a cozy place to relax between classes and seminaries at the Architecture School. How cool is that?

OPEN HOUSE 2016 was all about learning and care to detail. I find incredible how my perception about architecture and detail has changed and evolved since the very first time I took part in a trip with my architect mates at the School. I can't believe already five years have passed since that first trip to Ticino and Milan area!

The more years I spent watching, learning and receiving classes about structures, design theory and history, the more I'm able to pay that attention to detail and be aware of everything surrounding me, specially when I go on a trip to places I've never been before. Besides, visiting buildings and places with a group of architect friends forces you to discuss, to watch carefully and see everything.
On this trip to the capital I had the chance to take it easily, making super punctual scapes out of the group to the Old Book Fair placed at Paseo de Recoletos; or to enjoy a tour visit to the Royal Tapestry Factory, which was amazing. This was a visit to Madrid in which I had so much time for myself, to stroll around the city and really feel the independence I'm looking for on a near future. There's so much to think about once you cross the subway entry and start walking downstairs to take the train which will lead you to the outside neighbourhoods of the city, to look up an specific building you've wanted to visit for a long time.

Open House festival in Madrid also let me plot and start the thinking process on some new ideas and coming posts for the blog, as well as discovering new guest for the "Behind the design" series which I'll be sending emails to and getting in touch as soon as possible. It's all about learning!

Madrid is such an exciting city! There are lots of interesting and amazing things happening there every day, every week. There's so much to do, so many miles to stroll around and still so many places I've got on my agenda to see, that every time I go on a trip there, I'm seeing a completely different city.

Last week during Madrid's Architecture Week there was held OPEN HOUSE 2016 at the city, which is a festival where some rare buildings are open to regular public for them to visit on a tour, and some architecture studios at the capital are able to be visited too. So, I got the amazing chance to meet some of my favorite architects and teams in Madrid, as they showed students how they work and what they're up to lately. It was such an experience I shared with 11 people whom I know a little (some very close friends, others close friends of my close friends living in other Spain places and coming from very far) but these days I spent in Madrid provided me the opportunity to open up to new people, to learn A LOT, visit new places I had no idea they existed... Sometimes these are the kind of experiences which really make you to stop for a little bit, take some (needed) fresh air and see things from a very new perspective. 

I arrived home exhausted but at the same time so energized! Spending time on a city which is not your hometown although you've been there uncountable times make you feel more aware of your surroundings, stepping out of your comfort zone and taking decisions on a very short period of time. Perks of travelling with a huge group of people and realizing you also need your own space of time for yourself to enjoy the city, to stroll around with no particular destination and let yourself drift to discover.

Did you know about OPEN HOUSE Festival? What's your favorite part of being lost in a city you already know as the back of your hand?

Photos by trasotracamara

28th, 29th, 30th April. If you've been around for awhile, you might know we've been totally absorbed and super stressed for the last 6 months thanks to the organization and stuff around the Architecture's School culture festival (best known as ETSA·TOPIA), which emerged last year from a group of students, and which celebrated its second edition past week. The festival is not only about architecture, but also about cooperation between students, different associations and groups from Valencia and even other cities in Spain; about workshops and different activities as conversations, "Pecha Kucha" presentations or ephemeral architecture at the Polytechnic University campus. All filled with beer, snacks, the best mood and best young architects gang EVER.

The festival is all about having fun and make our School come back to life for some days. Because life (and architecture) is more than just studying and non-stop work!

This year's theme was "Plan B", which is about different options and perspectives, talking about both work and life. As future architects, we must be very conscious of our surroundings, the huge amount of design knowledge and ideation capabilities we have thanks to our studies and this edition was about all that: step out of our comfort zones and discover how many different paths we can take.

I had the chance to share these days involved into staff duties, which was exhausting but very fulfilling and fun! We were a bunch of about 50 people running up and down the whole building, dressed with those black & black T-shirts, helping with the snacks or the assembly of all the audiovisuals stuff among other things. It's been great, because this is the kind of things which helps you know how teamwork actually works, or how to manage a last-minute crisis. It's been a total change of view for me and a 360 degree experience to take part into all this. You could feel those really good vibes, that illusion just by stepping into the School, and I can tell those feelings are still around although the festival has already ended. That's the fun thing about it: the countdown for next year's ETSA·TOPIA has already started.

After two crazy weeks filled with exams, essays to do (architects do write, too!) and all my afternoons out of home and not coming back there until pretty late at night, last Friday evening a couple of friends and I decided to go downtown Valencia to attend "More with less" online magazine presentation. An online issue based on the city, made by an interdisciplinary team of design professionals which aims to bring closer architecture projects, industrial design, prototypes and photography among others. All of this with the neatest and minimal of philosophies, with black and white as their only color palette and super sleek icons made out of pure lines. "More with less" was born in 2012, but was launched last Friday into a tiny but lovely space at the very heart of Valencia, only with the presence of explanatory panels and visual games hanging on the walls. An evening filled with beer and lots of friends too, of course.

It was a super nice and inspiring way to look for new ideas, meet people and discover new references for coming projects. I'm currently involved at the development of the Architecture School magazine and this year's culture Festival as well, so any ideas, any references and out of my comfort zone experiences are welcomed!

Pure. A start of something or good things. Cleanliness. White is usually associated with this adjectives, and once I realized I have tons of Pinterest boards plenty of white colored things, and once I saw I did inspiration posts before focusing on topics I also care about or like, but not having the same meaning as the color white for me, I thought it was the right time to do so.

White is my main color, that being said. For a long time when I was a child, I used to wear red a lot: it looks great on dark-haired and tanned skin girls like me. But once I grew up, I realized I started pairing everything with white, using it as the lead color when thinking about my outfits. Whenever I go out for a big party, I wear white because it is the most visible color when you're on a disco in the dark. It is also one of the most used hues on the typical Spanish architecture on the south and coast. And the color I mostly make my buildings and projects' façades of. White for me means primariness, light and space.

So now that I'm getting ready for my next trip to Manchester, where I'll be leaving tomorrow for a week, and now that I needed a boost of ideas for my packing (have you seen my tips for packing your luggage successfully?) maybe a bunch of white images for inspiration would make my day!

What about you? What's your favorite color? Does it have a meaning for you?

Sometimes I think I learn tons of things at the School of Architecture, except how to do architecture. I promise: the weirdest things you could never imagine, the most unbelievable situations, the most curious speeches, I've learnt them all at college. And there's still some years for me to go, so this has just started.

One of the anecdotes I talked above has a lot to do with fashion. I needed to tell you, because when I heard of it, I though it was so fun and rare that I was in need of sharing it.

Nowadays is not a weird thing having a multidisciplinary job which can be based on different disciplines and combine the best of several professions. I've met artists converted into makeup-artists, but also financial and marketing experts who have come to the dark side and are now designing websites. Industrial designers who illustrate books at nighttime. And why not, architects (some of them known all over the world, and considered the best creating buildings) who have decided to transfer their talent at creation into clothes and accessories. Without going any further, Rem Koolhas and Zaha Hadid launched some time ago a pair of shoe collections collaborating with famous brands and shoe designers. Gianni Versace studied architecture, as Gianfranco Ferré and Pierre Balmain, who didn't finish the degree because he wanted to focus on his career at Haute Couture. But 120 years ago, this was not so simple: if you studied something, odds were that was your profession for life.

We arrived Mérida almost at 8 in the evening last Monday. For those of you who follow me at my recently released Instagram account you might have noticed that I've been traveling around Spain this past week. Actually, kind of returning to the origins! I've literally crossed the country on a 7 hour car trip to know more about an area I had heard about too many times on my textbooks, which is also the place where my closest forefathers used to live before heading to Valencia some decades ago.

We started our trip at Mérida to see some of the monumental roman places and some modern architecture I knew about thanks to some teachers at College. I didn't realize how much of a city girl I am until I stepped out the car and realized how different is living on the largest city of the zone, where people is used to live, eat, dress on a total different way than the one we're used to on the coast. But even with that horrible weather around us the whole week, I've to say that Mérida is a nice place to be, much quieter and way slower-living than Valencia. Not even imaging comparing it to Madrid or Barcelona!

As I usually do when I travel, my most comfortable shoes got packed to walk around the best and dressiest way possible. Being honest, wet stone street do not do well on me, but I managed to slide the less possible. Let's add that it was much cooler than I thought (thanks I picked some extra jackets and sweatshirts) so the first stop on our trip was really brief, as it was a bit late and we were exhausted. We managed to see the zone near our hotel and then go back to have some yummy supper! "Templo de Diana" is the place you're seeing on most of the pictures, which was really close Mérida Palace Hotel and which I totally fell in love with, as it mixes ancient with contemporary architecture and it's a really iconic meeting point in the city.

Have you ever visited Mérida? Or Spain? Are you more of a city person or do you prefer quieter places?

P.D: Have you noticed my haircut? :D