Virginia Cesana
Textiles
Fashion oriented textile designer with excellent Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign skills and a strong eye for detail.
Final year project
The Goddess Diana
The Goddess Diana Collection
The prints visualised on the illustrations show in chronological order the events of Diana's tales.
From left to right:
1. The birth of Apollo
2. Niobe the mountain
3. The hunter (blouse)
4. Actaeon's fate (gilet)
5. Gargaphia
6. The giant: Orion and the scorpion
7. Callisto (trousers)
8. Arcas (blouse)
Actaeon's fate
Laser etched on 100% polyester faux suede. Actaeon accidentally found the sacred vale Gargaphia for cooling himself and the dogs he took hunting. He caught sight of Diana while she was naked, and to keep him from telling anyone, she transformed him into a deer. As a deer, then, he was devoured by his own hounds.
Diana with Actaeon and Callisto illustration
Although primarily associated with hunting, Diana was also revered as the goddess of the woods, children and childbirth, fertility, chastity, the moon, and wild animals.
The giant: Orion and the scorpion
Printed on 100% Silk satin, The giant: Orion and the scorpion tells the story of when Orion tried to take advantage of Diana. The anger that Diana felt produced a scorpion that stung Orion to death. To remind everyone to respect her vow of chastity, Diana placed them in the sky, constantly chasing each other (Orion and the scorpion constellations).
The birth of Apollo
Printed on 100% silk twill, The Birth of Apollo represents when the goddess Latona gives birth to two twin deities, Diana and Apollo. As Diana was the firstborn, she helped her mother deliver Apollo, thus becoming the goddess of childbirth.
Gargaphia
Printed on peached splashproof fabric, Gargaphia depicts what the sacred vale where Diana lives looks like.
With a lush undergrowth in the deep forest, many hues of green cover the surface where Diana, her nymphs and the unfortunate Actaeon walked.
Arcas
Printed on organic poplin cotton, Callisto, one of Diana's nymphs, had an affair with Jupiter and was left pregnant. One day as Callisto went to bathe in a stream, Diana noticed her pregnancy and expelled her from the group, and after she gave birth to Arcas, Diana transformed Callisto into a bear. Diana expected her nymphs and close followers to respect the vow of chastity just like her, and for this reason, she punished Callisto.
Arcas went hunting in the woods one day, and Callisto saw him. Forgetting that she was a bear, she went to hug him, and Arcas almost drove a spear into her heart. To save them both, Jupiter put them among the stars where they are identifiable as Ursa Major (Callisto) and Ursa Minor (Arcas)
Diana's dress marble statue study and mark-making drawing of a mountain with a full moon
Virginia Cesana
Final year project
The Goddess Diana
Awards
The Worshipful Company of Painters-Stainers 2017.
Second-year work was exhibited at Premiere Vision in Paris.
Diploma in Professional Studies.
Work Experience
Etro, Milan (IT) 2020-2021
Textile design womenswear internship
Activities and responsibilities:
• Creating print designs for the various collections (F/W, Runaway and S/S)
• Print placement on fashion illustrations (all over and engineered)
• Organising mood boards
• Occasionally work with accessories, knitwear and menswear departments
• Help organise and attend meetings
Skills acquired:
• Strongly improved Adobe Creative Cloud software skills
• Designing high quality and detailed prints
• Managing time and deadlines
• Team working
• Luxury fashion industry knowledge
Fiera Milano Unica textiles trade fair, Milan (IT) 2019
Hostess
Activities and responsibilities:
• Clients details’ collection
• Supervision of fabric swatches in the sustainability area
Skills acquired:
• Developed a good understanding of the products being showcased, and how textiles trade fairs work and was involved in the set up of the fair
• Networking with designers and buyers
Ermenegildo Zegna, Trivero (IT) 2018
Weave Design studio Internship
Activities and responsibilities:
• Assisting designers
• Data entry on technical file for weaving
• Organising and cutting fabric swatches
• Attending meetings with companies and clients
Skills acquired:
• Learnt the production processes from raw materials to end products and how to interact with the different departments within the company
• Developed colour palettes and colour proportions skills