" Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. ” - CoCo Chanel

Fashion.  An international industry with so many different opportunities and pathways buried within it. I loved fashion and before I went to college, I had dreams of going into fashion because it seemed so glamorous, creative, and exciting. I lived for following the trends, keeping up with the latest designer collections, and reading various fashion magazines. It was my passion and Fashion Merchandising was my major, until I realized that only a small part of the skills needed to be successful in the fashion industry can be learned in a classroom. The rest of the skills I would have to learn, would be lessons from the real world through experience, location, and networking. I am from New Mexico where fashion is seen as a hobby, not a lifestyle, so it was becoming difficult to keep my passion alive. I understood that if I wanted to be a part of the fashion industry, I would have to leave New Mexico.

             This made me re-evaluate my dreams, and I recognized that they were so generic and misguided. I had created a false image of the fashion industry based on the media’s portrayal of it in TV shows, movies, magazines, etc. I had a sudden realization that I had no idea on how to enter the industry and no sense of what I wanted to do. I was completely lost. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to do fashion, but I had no plans, steps, or thoughts to make my dreams a reality. So I changed my major to International Business and Marketing, and started looking into ways that I could experience the world first hand. I have always wanted to live and study abroad in Italy, and Milan, being a fashion capital of the world, seemed like the perfect place to figure out my life.

 I wanted to discover my passion again, and when Milan Fashion Week (Feb. 18th - 23rd, 2014) came around, I was exposed to only a small fraction of what the industry has to offer by walking through the streets near the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. From the pink runway that made an ordinary sidewalk into a killer catwalk to the number of photographers throughout the plaza and streets, I loved every moment of it. It gave me a small perspective of some of the opportunities and pathways fashion has to offer, and that was incredible. I realized that I am just trying to find my place in the world, and maybe Milan can lead me to exactly where I need to be…