"I'm Italian!" Isabella Rossellini exclaimed when we asked her how she came to host the opening of "Global Travel," a student exhibit, at Bergdorf Goodman last night.
"The Italian Trade Commission wanted someone to symbolize Italian fashion in America. I guess I was the obvious choice! I want to remind people what Italy can do."
The show runs through this week and includes ten looks designed by seniors at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Student teams partnered with the Italian Trade Commission, took a trip to the Lombardy region of Italy, met with various fabric mills and returned stateside with gorgeous fabrics and three months to design a small collection.
Aside from being Italian and beautiful, Isabella does harbor genuine interest in the less glamorous side of fashion - she originally wanted to be a costume designer for films. "So if I wasn't talented enough to do so, I'm lucky to have spent so much of my life very close to the design process. What these students did in three months is really incredible."
We agree. And we wish we could take the knotted white and navy dip-dyed dress below on a little trip of our own to Italy.
--PORTRAIT BY JEFFREY HOLMES
posted by guest
Mar 12, 2008 2:09PM
The last dress is really exquisite and looks really vintage... It's amazing that they only made it in three months!