You interned at Missoni. What was it like?The internship at Missoni was amazing. I could not have wished for a better first work experience! I worked in the womenswear design department and the design director was my internship mentor. I arrived just as preparations for the Fall/Winter 2017 season began. I was lucky to arrive then, when it was all getting started. I learned how to work very fast! You don’t always have the time to look at things carefully and go at your own pace, you have to be fast and respect deadlines.

In addition to the work environment, where I felt immediately accepted, what I most appreciated was the broad cultural knowledge that the Missoni team shared with me by allowing me participate in so many different activities. I discovered something new every day, which I took in as personal knowledge, and finally applied as new «work tools.» It also gave me the opportunity to figure out what I really enjoy doing professionally.

Young Talent

A DEBUT AT MISSONINABA graduate Martina Devicienti describes herself as a “dreamer.” Her innovative, creative designs won her the Lectra Prize at the 2016 NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti competition.

Final-year students were asked to create a collection inspired by the theme “Dolce Stil Novo (Sweet New Style),” a literary movement that became a symbol of a new way of seeing and understand the world. Devicienti was awarded licenses for Modaris and Diamino, as well as a day of training with a Lectra expert. She also won a three-month internship at Missoni, the iconic Italian fashion brand and a Lectra customer for over twenty years. In our latest interview, she shares her path to fashion design, what it was like working at Missoni, and her thoughts on real style.

Dolce Stil Novo

How did you end up studying fashion?Some of my first memories are connected to sewing, and sewing is connected to my grandmother, who was a seamstress. She had sewn since she was a child, and she passed on her passion for sewing to me.

I started studying design in my third year of high school. I had initially intended to go into industry, but I realized that wasn’t for me. So, I enrolled in the Morvillo Falcone Fashion and Clothing Institute and that’s where it all started. In the end, I chose to go to NABA, so after high school, I went to Milan.

The first year was pretty difficult, but gradually I got used to it. The three-year course in Fashion Design NABA offers two specialization paths, in fashion design and fashion styling. The first two years are the same for both programs and in your third year, you can choose a specialty. I chose NABA for this reason, because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do exactly. In the end, I chose fashion design.

About LectraFor forward-looking companies that breathe life into our wardrobes, car interiors, furniture and more, Lectra is committed to crafting the premium technologies that facilitate the digital transformation of their industry. Lectra’s offer empowers brands and manufacturers from design to production, providing them with the market respect and peace of mind they deserve. Supporting the fashion and apparel industry, Lectra offers PLM and CAD software, cutting room solutions and expert services to create, develop and produce garments, accessories and footwear. Founded in 1973, today Lectra has 32 subsidiaries across the globe, serving customers in over 100 countries. With more than 1,650 employees, Lectra reported revenues of $313 million in 2017. Lectra is listed on Euronext (LSS).

® Modaris and Diamino are registered trademarks of Lectra.

As a designer, how do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends?I stay up to date using websites, newspapers, and magazines. The sites I use the most are Vogue and WWD. I don’t follow bloggers, I’m not a fan of them. I don’t think people should be followed as examples; maybe that was appropriate before, but today, if you’re paid to wear clothes or you’re managed by someone else, you’re not being yourself. They define trends that are imposed on them, they’re not style icons. A style icon would be Anna Piaggi or Iris Van Herpen, who really mean something to fashion. I also think that style is something innate. For example, I’m creative, but I don’t have innate style. I don’t define myself by my style, but rather by my creativity. I think these are two different things.

Where do you see yourself, or hope to be, in 10 years?I hope to have my own brand, a little company like Lai, with staff and production in Italy.

How has working with Lectra solutions been beneficial to you?It has built up gradually: in high school, we so-metimes used CAD programs. We don’t spend enough time on CAD in school, because there is so much to learn, between design and pattern-making. But this knowledge has been helpful in professional situations. When you need to use technology to respond to the needs of fashion companies, it’s very useful to have the software on hand and know how to use it. For example, Modaris offers a world of possibilities: it saves an enormous amount of time and simplifies tasks. During my internship, there was strong interaction between the design department and the patternmaking team, which uses Modaris. The knowledge I acquired during the Fashion Design three-year course at NABA, specifically on using Lectra CAD, was definitely useful.

What was the greatest lesson the internship taught you?The biggest lesson I learned is you don’t get to give up unless you’ve given something at least ten tries! In this line of work, challenges large and small have to be confronted and worked out.

What do you like most about being a designer and working in fashion?Being creative and having a certain kind of freedom. The more skilled you are in patternmaking and sewing, the more you can create. In my opinion, you’re born creative, you can’t become a designer if you don’t have innate creativity. It’s not a skill you can acquire. It’s like building a house: if you don’t have the foundation, it won’t last. You can draw whatever you like on paper, but you also have to be sure that your project is feasible. I love to draw. When I create a collection, I like to be funny, I don’t know how to be any other way. I’m a dreamer, and through my creations, I get to dream even more.

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