Made-in-Italy: Identities, Cultures, and Globalization in Italian Fashion and Design

Katte Lubega lives with his parents, brother, and sister in Acton, MA. A freshman at Vanderbilt Katte is on the pre-med track and currently undecided on his major. Katte loves music (Hip-Hop and R&B), basketball, movies, and his friends. He has recently started playing chess but has much to learn.

Clara McMillan is a first-year studying English and French at Vanderbilt University. She is originally from Minnesota, where she lives with her parents, older sister, and new dog Cricket. Clara enjoys listening to music, cooking, going to concerts, and teaching new tricks to her dog. Her interest in fashion was sparked when she learned how to make clothes from scratch. She hopes to learn more about the design and production process of Italian fashion.

Alex Renkis is a first-year student at Vanderbilt. He has lived in Nashville for most of his life but enjoyed traveling to countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. He is still undecided about his major but is considering Computer Science and Philosophy. Fashion is a favorite interest of his. He hopes to learn a lot from this seminar.

Justin Shultz currently lives in Los Angeles with his parents, two sisters, and two doggies. He is currently undecided as to what he will major in but he has a strong passion for soccer, skiing, listening to music, watching movies, and playing with his dogs. From a young age, he was exposed to modern fashion as his older sisters aspired to be fashion designers when they grew up. He loves developing his sense of style as a means of expression and he can’t wait to see what is in store for the future.

Valerie Val is a second semester freshman at Vanderbilt University. She is originally from Miami,Florida and enjoys long swims at the beach. Being an only child of two rather older parents, she is used to being the center of attention. Valerie has a passion for traveling and experiencing different cultures, yet baffles at how similar humankind really is. She wants to major in HOD and Latin American Studies and give back to the South American continent that watched her mom grow. During her youth Valerie developed a love for fashion that still shines brightly today. With this love and her innovative ideas she plans to bring a lot to the table in this iseminar.

Yanni Zhang moved to Florida at the age of fourteen from Shanghai, China. After two years of accommodating to the new environment, Yanni has discovered her passion for human interaction, which leads to her pursuit of HOD major at Vanderbilt. Yanni started teaching herself dancing since high school and has done many kpop covers. She loves urban and hiphop dancing, and listens to mainly R&B and Neo Soul (keshi, Lauv, 88rising, Dean). She is also into photography and wishes to expose herself to more artistic expression, especially through fashion and design.

 Claire Yan is majoring in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Economics. Although her academics would not indicate it, she has loved the arts since exposure at a young age. She was first exposed to drawing, painting, sculpting, cello, flute, and choir in elementary school and has loved the creative arts ever since. After coming to college, Claire discovered the wonders of dancing and has devoted a lot of time to practicing for performances on campus. Fashion first made an appearance in Claire’s life during middle school when she started trying to find and express her own identity and has not left her since. As such, Claire is really looking forward to learning more about fashion throughout this semester.

Fashion Sustainability: Local to Global Practices and Possibilities

Emily Irigoyen is a first year majoring in Environmental Sociology and Spanish with a minor in Religious Studies. She was born and raised in the suburbs of south Florida where she lives with her mother. Emily enjoys painting, gardening, and cooking. She has aspirations to go to law school concentrating on Environmental law and hopes to work for a non-profit legal firm.

Davi Lennon is a first year student majoring in Economics and History and minoring in Business. She called New York City her home and wants to return there after college. Davi’s love for fashion stems from creating dresses out of non-cloth material in High School (cans, paper shreds, wire, etc.). Aside from fashion, on campus, she is a Tour Guide, member of AKPsi Business Fraternity, contributor to fashion blog Vanidy Fair, and Co-Director of Participant Communications for Dance Marathon.

Lydia Young, from Brentwood, TN, is a first year student in Vanderbilt’s Next Steps Program. Lydia’s creative hobbies include fashion design, nail art, cooking, and dancing. Her goal this semester has been to design a company, Inclusive Fashion, which will produce the right pieces for people with unique needs. For example, her designs will utilize effective fabrics for people with sensory issues, special buttons for those who have fine motor skills, or shoes that will look beautiful for special feet. Her designs will often include her favorite happy, sparkly colors, pink, mint green, and gold.

Zeus Zohair (real name Mohammad Zohair) is a first year majoring in Computer Science and Human & Organizational Development. Sent back by Corona to his home in Lahore at the heart of Pakistan, he currently spends his time with what he loves most – reading, coding and his family. His other passions include startups, the business world and great design. For his class he has tried to merge his learnings from Fashion Sustainability and those from Wond’ry Pre-Launch Program at Vanderbilt to create a draft business proposal for a new company he hopes to launch