Senior Lola Stoffels-Sack has grown up sewing and designing; it’s hard to imagine her pursuing anything other than fashion design because of her love for the art. Stoffels-Sack is committed to Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a college under the State University of New York, and is studying fashion design at Polimoda, which hosts FIT in Florence, Italy.
“I got into both Polimoda and FIT separately, but then the FIT and Polimoda program gave me an opportunity to have the best of both worlds,” Stoffels-Sack said. “So, I get some time in the states, but I can start off in Italy.”
Embarking on a journey far from home is an experience that Stoffels-Sack knew she’d aim for.
“I’ve kind of always known that I wanted to go to Italy,” Stoffels-Sack said. “Freshman year was when I really was like, yeah, this is what I’m doing – I’m gonna make this happen.”
The more research and preparation Stoffels-Sack endured, the more her future became clear to her.
“I did sort of a test run last summer,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I went to Paris by myself for two-and-a-half weeks to do a fashion design program.”
The process of looking into summer programs happened to lead Stoffels-Sack to consider a future at Polimoda.
“I got into Polimoda and I went and toured it a few weeks ago,” Stoffels-Sack said. “It was just amazing.”
Studying fashion design in Italy will be a far cry from high school.
“It’s all hands on, which I’m a little nervous for, but it’s also what I’m really excited for,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I’m really excited to be in a studio space and thrive doing something that I love.”
Stoffels-Sack learned to sew and design without a formal education in the art and is eager to explore more traditional sewing methods.
“I’m really excited to learn traditional sewing techniques because I am a self taught seamstress; some of my techniques are a little unconventional,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I’m really excited to have that traditional knowledge of pattern making, seams and all that stuff.”
Stoffels-Sack is seizing the opportunity to absorb the knowledge that FIT at Polimoda offers and is especially enthusiastic to dive into what she hasn’t gotten the chance to learn throughout childhood and high school.
“I can’t wait to study the fine arts,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I’ve never been super well-versed in fine arts so I think that’ll give me a really great opportunity to soak all that up and just be a sponge and learn from anything and everything.”
Italy is a world of opportunities for aspiring designers like Stoffels-Sack.
“Lake Como is also really close to Florence, which is the hub for silk,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I’ll be able to take trips out there with my class to learn about the silk industry.”
There will be no shortage of inspiration on the streets of Florence, Italy, a city known for its charming abundance of culture and Renaissance art.
“Florence is a city of artists,” Stoffels-Sack said “There’s art just sort of ingrained through the streets.”
Similarly to how art is woven into Florence, art is ingrained in Stoffels-Sack’s life.
“I’ve been sewing since I was seven,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I taught myself how to sew and I haven’t stopped since.”
There is an absence of doubt when it comes to Stoffels-Sack’s passion and talent.
“I’ve been making clothes, designing clothes, kind of my whole life,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I’ve really always known that this is what I wanted to do.”
While she applied to other schools, those programs were still fashion design focused. Even so, Stoffels-Sack had a sense that she would choose Polimoda.
“There were kind of no other options for me,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I was like, if I don’t do this, it’s nothing.”
Stoffels-Sack’s style of expressive and alluring work reflects the designers she is inspired by and admires.
“My favorite designer is John Galliano,” Stoffels-Sack said. “He is a little bit controversial as a human, but I think his work speaks for itself.”
Galliano is recognized for his extravagant, theatrical and unorthodox designs.
“He’s always just being himself in his creative work,” Stoffels-Sack said. “His stuff just outshines everything in my opinion.”
Galliano is among the designers that push the boundaries of what may be considered tasteful in innovative and experimental ways.
“I also look up to Alexander McQueen, who, similarly, is more avant-garde, very expressive with his work and his work is a little bit darker,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I just think they create characters with their clothes instead of just boring garments.”
Stoffels-Sack’s personal process when it comes to designing is an art that only comes from a decade of experience.
“In a way, making stuff gives me my energy.” Stoffels-Sack said. “The more I create, the more inspired I feel.”
A vital part of designing for Stoffels-Sack is the experimental portions of designing to reach a final product.
“The garment sort of starts to come to life and I play around with it, take it apart and rework it until I’m happy with it.”
The journey from the beginning of a design to its end is not always clear; the process of shaping a garment is familiar and practiced for Stoffels-Sack and it isn’t always a product of meticulously structured planning.
“That’s why I’m really excited to sort of slow down the process and start from the basics and learn how to use math to create a perfect pattern and learn how and why I’m making the shapes that I’m making.”
When it comes to her identity as a designer, Stoffels-Sack strives to send a message through striking and unique designs.
“I think clothes are meant to make you feel confident and beautiful,” Stoffels-Sack said. “I think there’s a very traditional way that specifically women think that they need to look to feel beautiful, and I hope that I can create clothes that are out of the ordinary but still make women feel seen and appreciated.”
Part of Stoffels-Sack’s motivation going into fashion design is identifying her voice as an artist through navigating what FIT at Polimoda has to offer.
“One thing that I’m really excited about going to fashion school is finding my own creative voice and aesthetic because I think I create a lot of different types of clothes – nothing has a very linear feel,” Stoffels-Sack said. “So, I’m really excited to explore my own voice so that when I create collections and thesis projects it evokes a certain emotion and a certain feeling.”
Stoffels-Sack’s enthusiasm for her future in fashion design is infectious – her dedication to her craft is admirable and shines through her art.
“That’s really what going to design school helps you do,” Stoffels-Sack said. “They let you explore and find who you are.”
