Linda Bertazza, Global MBA: “At Pitti Uomo we explored the boundaries between fashion, technology and hyper-connectivity.”
18 January 2019My name is Linda Bertazza and I come from Italy, precisely from a small village in the Veneto province where time seems to have stopped. I am a full-time student of the Global MBA in Design Fashion & Luxury Goods at Bologna Business School and the reporter of a unique experience I have just had with my class, the visit to Pitti Immagine Uomo 95.
But first, I’ll tell you something about myself. As a child I wanted to be a restorer, at the age of seven I imagined myself on a scaffolding inside some dusty cathedral in the act of restoring a fresco damaged by the action of time or by the neglect of man. Beauty has always played a fundamental role in my life, but not the ephemeral beauty coming from above to which we are accustomed, but beauty in the sense of harmony, balance and care. You’re wondering why I’m telling you all this and what it has to do with BBS. I ask you a little bit of patience.
Before joining BBS, I obtained a Degree in Foreign Languages for International Communication at the University of Padua, although part of my academic training took place abroad, specifically between Paris and Santa Barbara, California. After graduating from university I got a Diploma in Photography, since I wanted to study more closely a different language, in my opinion one of the most fascinating and controversial, and investigate the idea of beauty that has always accompanied me. This course of study and research has given me the opportunity to work as a teacher of experimental photography at Fondazione Mast, an international, cultural and philanthropic institution, based on technology, art and innovation, as well as one of the most interesting photographic realities on the Italian scene. Here I had the opportunity to concretely test myself by taking part in the design of a photographic area within the Foundation itself, entirely dedicated to children – from the training offer to the design of the spaces – working closely with Nino Migliori, one of the the greatest Italian photographic experimenters of all time, as well as with a team of photographers, architects, pedagogists, and atelierists.
This experience, which lasted three years, has enriched me a lot from a professional and personal point of view, but at the same time has given me a new challenge: how to preserve beauty in a world where individual profit plays an increasingly important role at the expense of everything else? I realized that in order to take an active part in a movement of change I absolutely had to get back to school. Leaving a job is never easy, especially when you feel at home, so I carefully looked for a path that suited my needs and the BBS Global MBA in Design, Fashion & Luxury Goods seemed to be tailor-made for me.
My highest aspiration, once obtained the MBA, would be to work in the sustainable fashion sector, so as to be able to combine creativity and care in one of the most polluting industries in the world, the second for consumption of water resources, with a environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions of 10% globally, not to mention the lack of transparency and traceability along the entire supply chain. Hence the need to learn in depth the mechanisms and laws that regulate its operation.
As part of the Global MBA, on January 11th, the School gave us the chance to visit the 95th edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo, the global event for menswear and contemporary lifestyle. With an exhibition area of 60,000 square meters, this edition of Pitti Uomo has hosted 1230 brands including 542 (44%) foreign brands and 13 exhibition sections, including Hi Beauty, specifically designed for fragrances and male beauty products, L ‘Altro Uomo, which investigates the most avant-garde positions in terms of style and men’s fashion, Urban Panorama, to talk about metropolitan men, I Play, a space dedicated to sportswear, and My Factory, to explore the boundaries between fashion, technology and hyperconnectivity.
What struck me most, in addition to the high quality and variety of brands on display, was the attention to the issue of sustainability, starting from the Italian Esemplare, a company attentive to the environment and the supply chain as well as to the safety and healthiness of the environments in which employees work, going through the Argentine Nous Etudions, which produces unisex garments made entirely from recycled plastic, up to the American North Sales, which with the “Back to the 90s” collection focuses on the theme of sustainability, emphasizing the RE-USE concept (recycle the fabric used to make sails to reuse it through new fabrics and padding) and USE LESS (use less plastic – selecting only natural fibers) – and using less energy, water and chemicals, through eco-sustainable dyeing methods. One thing that has greatly struck both me and my colleagues was the variety of natural fibers currently on the market and presented at Pitti. For example, we have discovered the existence of a fiber obtained from the by-product of the processing of the soy pod, from which we can obtain a soft, smooth and above all environmentally friendly fabric. A biodegradable fabric, with an almost zero environmental impact, bright like silk and with a great transpiration.
I consider this visit to Pitti Immagine Uomo a great opportunity not only because we managed to get an idea of the latest trends in men’s fashion, but above all because we had the opportunity to ask questions and establish a first contact with the brands of our interest.
Although I have been embarked on this new path of study at BBS and in the Global MBA in Design, Fashion and Luxury Goods for only three months, I feel that this journey will take me very far and provide me with the tools to achieve my deepest aspirations. Moreover, being inserted in an international class context is helping me to keep an open mind in relation to diversity and the others, fundamental in a constantly evolving world where being able to see elsewhere, towards new possibilities and opportunities, is indispensable to make a change.
Linda Bertazza – Italy
Global MBA Fashion, Design and Luxury Goods – Class of 2018/2019
