In the first week of May the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies, Dr. Birutė Žygaitienė and Head of the Internships Centre, lecturer Gražina Skripkienė, and Head of the Office, lecturer Miglė Pilvelytė, visited the international fashion school “Istituto Cordella” in Lecce, south of Italy. The purpose of this Erasmus+ mobility visit was to get acquainted with the activities of the fashion school and to discuss the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement.
During a warm meeting, Indrė Matutytė – Cordella, the head of the fashion school, and Manuel Cordella, the designer-modeller, introduced the guests to the fascinating history of the family, which has been well-known in the world of fashion since 1783, when Leonardo Cordella founded the historic atelier of stylish clothing. Much later, the renowned designer Pino Cordella founded the Istituto Cordella, an international fashion school where his children Manuel and Carol are still working today, in order to pass on his understanding of elegant dressing to the younger generation.
The fashion stylist Carol Cordella presented to the guests the family’s unique private museum, which contains more than 200 vintage models (some dating back to the early 18th century). We marvelled at the masterpieces of the famous fashion designers (Versace, Schiaparelli, etc.) and the wedding dresses of the Cordella family members. Carol sees this collection as a significant legacy for the cultural growth of future generations of young stylists, and especially for the students of Istituto Cordella. During the workshop, Manuel Cordella and the students presented their creative projects, which clearly continue the traditions of the elegant fashion cherished by the members of the Cordella family. In their free time the lecturers had a possibility to enjoy the architecture of the Baroque city of Lecce and other nearby towns, the historical monuments, the contemporary artistic creations and the spectacular scenery of southern Italy.
We hope that the warm relationship with Istituto Cordella, the international fashion school, which was initiated during the International Week in Vilniaus kolegija in March this year will continue. During the visit real opportunities for cooperation were discussed, inviting lecturers from both countries to take advantage of the Erasmus+ mobility programme for internships, and students for choosing practices and joint creative projects.
