Today was our first company visit of the trip. We toured Mantero Seta Textile Company which is located in Como, north of Milan. First on the tour, we were led through a huge design room with all-white surfaces and books and papers piled all over tables where dozens of workers were collaborating. It was exactly how you would imagine a fashion design workspace, very Project Runway. At Mantero, textiles are produced from the start to the end product, and we got to see most aspects of that process today. The looms where the thread is turned into plain fabric are located at another site, so we did not get to see those today. I was a little disappointed because they are probably so large and interesting to watch operate.

Next, we were shown the archive where designs and fabric from last season is organized. Every design I saw was so creative and beautiful. So, fashion designers and brands come to Mantero and they work together to design the pattern and select a printing method. There are two main printing methods: digital printing and screen printing. Digital printing prints on the fabric similarly to how a paper printer does and it is priced by the meter. On the other hand, screen printing prints one color at a time to achieve a more dimensional look, and it is priced by the number of colors. We were not allowed to take pictures during the tour for confidentiality purposes (the picture above was taken in the store they had on site). Then, we were shown the factory portion of the company site which was absolutely massive. It was crazy to be able to see the future textiles of designers such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton being produced in the factory. Something that was interesting about the factory was that there were no safety measures that I noticed being stressed. For example, I saw no workers wearing ear protection, gloves, or safety goggles. During the tour we were not told to stand or walk in specific locations. I felt safe at all times, however, in the US I would expect safety to be emphasized much more. Overall Mantero was a fascinating company to visit!

The next stop on our day trip to Como was the Lake! My coffee of the day was a caffé freddo which was a sweet, blended, cold espresso drink. During our group lunch the weather turned from cloudy to rainy which continued throughout the rest of the day. We took a tour through the town and got to see the city Duomo which was smaller than the one in Milan, but pretty nonetheless. After our rainy tour we took a boat tour of Lake Como. The boat tour was the highlight of my day. There were colorful houses scattered all over the side of the mountain next to the lake and the clouds were resting so low on the mountain. The weather gave the lake and mountain such a peaceful atmosphere. It was so pretty on a rainy day, so I cannot imagine how gorgeous it would look on a sunny one. I enjoyed the Mantero tour and visit to Lake Como – each day is better than the last!