Women's Clothing Boutique Opens In Downtown Chicopee
CHICOPEE — Downtown Chicopee has welcomed another new business with the recent opening of Moda Mia, a women's clothing boutique.
Since Johanna Maldonado was a little girl, her dream was to open a boutique. On Sept. 9, she did just that, with the opening of her storefront at 26 Center St.
From casual wear to business attire, items for date nights or a girl's night out, Moda Mia offers a variety of options for women, including accessories from local businesses.
Maldonado shared that she started this business last year, primarily selling items on social media such as Facebook and Instagram, along with attending many pop-up shops and vendor events in the area.
Maldonado, who lives in Springfield, said she was not actively looking for a location, but heard from her friend Victor at Goodworks Coffee House that there was space available a few doors down from him.
After contacting the landlord and visiting the space, Maldonado said it was the "perfect" place for Moda Mia with two "beautiful" windows in front that she thought would be ideal for manikins and other items to be placed for passersby.
Since opening, Maldonado said business has been "awesome" and traffic flow has been increasing.
She shared that the official ribbon cutting ceremony was "amazing" with many who showed up to support her.
Maldonado added that the support her business has received has been "overwhelming."
Every Saturday, Maldonado hosts a "Small Business Saturday" and invites locals to set up a table inside her boutique. For instance, she recently had a woman selling permanent jewelry. When people came in to buy the jewelry, she said many also purchased items from her boutique.
Each week, Maldonado will post which business will be there. At press time, she said she is booked through December.
Along with Maldonado, she has two other employees. She said she is looking for a "per diem type shift" — to assist part time when her employees are unavailable.
Moda Mia is open Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.M. To 7 p.M. And Saturday, 10 a.M. To 4 p.M.
Moda Mia can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
Milan's Sustainable Fashion Awards Take Center Stage At La Scala
Milan Fashion Week drew to a close last night with the sixth edition of the Camera Della Moda's Sustainable Fashion Awards. Hosted by The White Lotus's Sabrina Impacciatore at La Scala, the city's iconic opera house, the event saw a who's who of Italy's fashion establishment gather to celebrate those who are spearheading environmental and social change through their work. There were also some visiting notables in the form of Julianne Moore, Jeremy Strong, and others.
Recipients included Edward Enninful and Donatella Versace, both honored for their work to promote inclusivity and social change. Valentino received an award for its education programme in Rome, Kering for its regenerative practice, and Chloé for its fair trade supply chain. Gucci's all recycled or regenerative cotton sourced denim production earned it the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's award for Circular Economy, while Dolce & Gabbana's development of its Alta Moda ateliers and promotion of homegrown craft through its pan-Italian shows earned it the Craft and Artisanship Award.
Adut Akech and Edward Enninful
Candiani, manufacturer of biodegradable denim, and Manteco, a family firm that has been developing sustainable materials for three generations, were also worthy winners. Chloé and Enninful apart, there was a third non-Italian honoree: London's Priya Ahluwalia was named winner of this year's Bicester Collection Award For Emerging Designers.
As the night drew to a close, the highly entertaining Impacciatore reminded the audience of humanity's infinitesimally tiny footprint in the vastness of the cosmos. It was a truth we chewed over as we headed out into the night, and onwards to Paris.
Milano Moda Graduate Crowns Chiara Balla Winner Of CNMI Fashion Award 2023
Chiara Balla with her winning collection at Milano Moda Graduate 2023 Credits: Image courtesy of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.The young Italian designer Chiara Balla, a student of the fashion design programme at the Modartech Institute (Istituto Modartech) in Tuscany, Italy has won the highest honours at Milano Moda Graduate, a graduate fashion design competition organised by the National Chamber for Italian Fashion (CNMI). Balla was able to take home the competition's Fashion Design Award.
On September 19, the first day of MFW SS24, the 22-year-old emerging designer who is from Tuscany herself, presented a fashion collection, entitled 'Burrnesh', on the runway of Milano Moda Graduate at the Royal Palace of Milan. The looks she created are inspired by the women of the Balkans who were known as the Burrnesh.
Milano Moda Graduate is a fashion design contest dedicated to showcasing the best talents from the graduating classes of fashion schools in Italy. It is organised annually by the National Chamber for Italian Fashion (CNMI) in the context of Milan Fashion Week in September.
The international jury of the CNMI competition applauded Balla's collection which could be described as "somewhere between tradition and innovation", La Nazione, the Italian newspaper for the Florence region, wrote in a news article.
For her collection, Chiara was inspired by the Burrnesh women who lived in deeply patriarchal societies in the Balkans, where it was not accepted to live without the presence of a man, the local Tuscan news website toscanamedianews.It writes, describing the inspiration behind the collection.
In the absence of a male figure, they were the ones who had to deny their identity and take on that of the opposite sex. Becoming a Burrnesh meant undergoing a transition ceremony, during which the women's hair was cut and they had to change into men's clothes.
As a harmony between tradition and innovation, Chiara Balla created her collection using fabrics of Italian origin and Casentino cloth, where small details such as handmade prints and embroideries, the result of research and experimentation, are highlighted, Toscana Media News writes about the emerging designer's creations.
