It’s that time of year when we are surrounded by countdowns to Christmas and I must confess that, if I still were a kid (and maybe even not), I’d love to have a Hamleys’ Advent Calendar.  Its little windows are filled with real presents such as hairclips, bracelets and other nifty items!

Now is the moment for that perennial question “a la Hamlet”: nativity scene or Christmas tree? Or both perhaps?

I’m quite tempted by eco-trees, which could be made from tin cans, paper boxes, electric wires, forks, etc. (everything recycled!). Unfortunately, I can’t decorate my home this year because I have to move out at the end of December. So instead, I’m boxing up my entire life!

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The trend of virtual catwalks seemed to be happening only at Italian Life, the island of Italian style at Second Life. Well, I never believed that it would have any influence on the “analogic” fashion world! 

Viktor & Rolf have virtualized Shalom Harlow and created a completely online catwalk. Many clones of the top model were used to present their Spring-Summer 09 collection. Perhaps it’s a conscious decision due to the economic crisis. They’ve certainly reduced their number of models. Certainly, one of world’s top-paid models couldn’t have come cheap!

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I was just about to schedule an appointment for two months from now, when I realized that I couldn’t put it into my desk calendar because the year is almost up!

The year 2008 has just flown by so fast. Perhaps it is because life has been so intense and the cold has only just arrived that I only realized now I need to find a new calendar for 2009.

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I always tire out easily when I run and now I’ve discovered why. I’m wearing the wrong fabric! I need an aerodynamic suit like Fiona May has!

Well, I could go to Superhuman Performance - at the Textile Museum in Prato - and choose from a variety of high performance, aerodynamic, hydrodynamic and fireproof sports garments that would make even Spiderman envious!

We often buy clothes because we’re dazzled by their shapes or colors while we see their fabrics as secondary. However, fashion is adapting to new lifestyles primarily because of the development of new sportswear fabrics.

Let’s see what new textiles come out of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which just may become part of the history of fashion!

Technorati Tags: textiles, sports garments, Olympics, Beijing

Welcome back everybody!
It feels strange, doesn’t it? I feel completely disassociated. My body is back (and well ensconced at my desk), but my mind is still on a stand-by.

After my ritual email downloading, the many pressing questions that have accumulated and the new projects starting up, a coffee break is my only relief!
However, being able to have a relaxing chat with someone is an illusion! I already know that it’ll be the usual pandemonium. Pleasant but chaotic. Because in their hurry to tell their holiday stories, everybody will compete with each other to talk and the end result will be a mish-mash of overlapping voices.

Idea: we need to take numbers like at a supermarket and give each person a few minutes to plan their intervention. However, to do that, we’d probably have to get organized a few months in advance. Actually, considering how many people work for Mandarina Duck, we’d have to start in January!

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It’s time to go on vacation. See you back again next 18 August!

When I was at home last Sunday with nothing to do, I decided to go for a walk around Porretta.
On the road leading to the centre of the town, there’s a little bridge that crosses over the Reno River, which runs right through the middle of the town.
It’s a favourite place for children to play and they often watch the herons, ducks and other birds that live on or near the river.
My grandfather often took me there to watch the ducks and sometimes we would feed them.
Well, in a somewhat melancholy state of mind, I instinctively stopped on the bridge - not to commit suicide, mind you, but just in remembrance of my grandfather - when suddenly I saw a small brightly-coloured duck dashing about and shooing away all the others.
It was just awful!

Show as slideshow

Technorati Tags: Mandarina Duck, Reno River

Mandarina Duck wish you a blessed Easter and Springtime joy.

This is my last post to say goodbye to you all. This time I’m being quite serious.

I’ve always said that when a really great opportunity comes your way, you have to take it.
And one has come to me. So, I’m leaving Mandarina Duck to start down a new and important career path.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you’re rid of me. I’ll be reading Duckside and keeping an eye on the company that helped me to grow (and also to rack my brain, work hard, have fun and travel), it will just be from the outside!

A big hug to all

Andrea

Technorati Tags: Andrea Signori, Opportunities

I’ve just gotten back to my desk and while I’m still a little chilly and tired, I’m also quite re-energized.
If it’s true that one’s workload is inversely proportional to the amount of empty space on one’s desk, then my future doesn’t look too good. While I was away, my heaps of papers have multiplied.

However, for the next little while, I can live off the memory of my recent holiday filled with the arts.

It all started just before Christmas, when I had been chosen to take my aunt and uncle to Malpensa Airport in Milan for their journey to some warm place. Right near the ticket counter of Terminal 1, I came across the “Solar Disk” by Arnaldo Pomodoro, which was amongst many other masterpieces by twenty 20th-century masters in the show “Exhibair, Twenty Masters from the Farnesina Collection“.
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