Beautiful Silk Fabrics Are Produced In Bellagio, Lake Como

I recently was lucky enough to visit Lake Como in Northern Italy which is regarded as the City of Silk and the silk capital of Europe.

This area is so amazingly beautiful and Lake Como is probably one of the most spectacular lakes in Europe. Since Roman times, Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people and is still a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. The Lake Como area is renowned for its silk manufacturing industry.  

 The art of silk weaving began back in 1510 and a visit to the museum in Como dedicated to the silk industry is worth a visit. In particular, the village of Bellagio is most famous for its silk fabrics, silk ties and silk scarves. In centuries past, the townspeople of Bellagio spun silk of a quality rivaled by other locations on Lake Como.

The Como silk industry supplies silken goods to the fashion houses of New York City, Paris and nearby Milan. Today in the Como region there are over 800 companies engaged in the silk and textile trade ranging from manufacturing, printing, dyeing, designing, and selling. If you own any silk garment, silk scarf or silk tie made by any big-name fashion house or world-famous designer such as Versace, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Armani or Zara, the chances are that the silk came from one of the Como businesses.

 

Bellagio is a beautiful little village located at the intersection of the three branches of the Y-shaped Lake Como in the Province of Como in the Italian region of Lombardy. You can get there by ferry and this trip is well worth it. The scenery is out of this world, the mansions on the lake front are unbelievable. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni and the magnificent Villa Carlotta. Many famous people had or still have homes on the shores of Lake Como. Some mansions pointed out to me were the homes of Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon and Richard Branson. 

The village of Bellagio is known as the pearl of the lake and is famous for its unique setting. The village is very old and has narrow alleyways and stone buildings, steps and  pathways. It’s outstanding beauty and its strategic position has written it permanently into Italian history. When you arrive there you are blessed not only with the charm of this little village but also with the number of little boutique shops specializing in the most amazing silk fabrics, silk ties and silk scarves.

Bellagio was already famous in Roman times and was frequented even then as a holiday resort.  The Romans living there at the time introduced the olive trees and the laurel bushes which are still found in abundance on the shores of the lake. Small industries grew up in the area during the 16^th - 18^th centuries and most of these were associated with the Sfondrati family who were the most important family in the town for over 200 years. 

 The main industries at that time were the production of candles and silk products and  included the breeding of silk worms and the cultivation of mulberry trees required for the silk industry to progress in the town. “The silkworm is a snob," says Moritz Mantero, the third-generation owner of Mantero Seta SpA, one of the largest silk manufacturers in Como, Italy "He'll eat anything, but he produces silk only if he eats mulberry!" The difficult cultivation of silkworms has long left Italy is now done primarily in China. 

For the past two decades China has dealt with the mass-market end of the silk rag trade, whereas Como concentrated on the high end of the market. The finishing end of luxury silk production stayed in the Como region and expanded.The Como silk industry set itself up to meet the fast-changing demands and relatively small orders of luxury fashion houses.  So the silk industry is still alive and flourishing in both Como and Bellagio today. But because of its small size, Bellagio has a smaller scope than Como. However the wonderful displays of silk fabrics, silk ties and silk scarves I saw in the shop windows in Bellagio are testimony to a thriving industry there.

The walk along the lake front and up and down the different alleyways with their cobble stone paths to find stores selling beautiful hats, colorful straw bags, as well as the gorgeous silk fabrics makes the visit to Bellagio well worth it. In addition there are also really interesting art galleries, handbag stores, antique shops and hand painted pottery, kitchenware and art made out of olive tree wood.  And the cafes and eateries were to die for as well. I loved the quaintness of Bellagio and strongly recommend a visit if you can.

Fashion Trends in Guangzhou China

When I visited Guangzhou recently I was surprised to find how westernized and casual the fashion trends were. 

The locals who frequented the market place in the centre of Guangzhou were casually dressed in dresses, trousers, hot pants, shorts and simple blouses and tee shirts. The people in Guangzhou could have been air lifted from China Town in Sydney Australia where I come from.

Chinese citizens from out side of Guangzhou city are of the opinion that this city is lacking in historical and cultural depth and that the fashion trends are somewhat lacking as well. This view is held despite Guangzhou’s  rich cultural  inheritance of over 2000 years which has recently being unearthed in the old tomb of the Nanyue King of the western Han Dynasty, and other ancient sites, such as the Chen Temple.

 Geographically Guangzhou is isolated from the rest of China by mountainous peaks and is located not too far from the westernized Hong Kong.  Its early contact to the outside western world has resulted in its unique way of life leading to a more westernized lifestyle, fashion trends, liberal ideas, distinctive cuisine, commerce, trade and tremendous wealth.

The temperature when I visited in July was in the mid to high 30’s (^OC), very humid, and there were sudden heavy tropical showers in the afternoon.  The climate was hot and sticky and the local people dressed for comfort more than for fashion trends. The best months to holiday in Guangzhou are October and November or April and May. The typhoon season is summer which is from June to September Guangzhou and this is when this sub-tropical climate’s humidity levels are at their highest.

The favourite fashion trends with the young women and girls appeared to be shorts or hot pants and light tops to keep them cool. Older women wore loose fitting trousers and tops, or simple dresses. Men wore shorts and tee shirts.  It was quite rare to see men in suits in the streets. The only ones I saw were in the hotels and were probably business men visiting Guangzhou.

Children like children everywhere wore simple clothes to keep them cool, and enjoy tasty treats.

What puzzled me most about the fashion trends I saw was that most of the fabrics worn by the locals were man-made synthetic materials. Also the majority of the clothes I saw for sale at the markets were made in synthetic fabrics. I personally find these synthetic fabrics hot and sweaty to wear because they do not breathe. I was unable to wear any of my own clothes made of synthetic fabric in Guangzhou and I really cannot understand how a whole city of people living in such a hot sticky climate managed to keep cool in all those synthetic materials. 

The shoes also seemed to be made out of synthetic materials which sweat and do not stretch when your feet become hot and swollen. The men seemed to wear sneakers and the women synthetic sandals. High platform shoes seemed to be the favourite fashion trends with the girls and young women. 

English is only spoken by a small percentage of people in Guangzhou so it is a good idea to carry your hotel's business card with you when you go out. Have the names of your destinations clearly written down in Chinese by the hotel staff so that you can   ask for directions if necessary. Also have a few phrases written down for shopping, such as how much does this cost? Or where is the toilet? However a lot of educated younger people do have some basic English language and most staff at hotels, bars and restaurants do speak satisfactory English, so the best thing to do  if you are  lost is to call into a hotel to ask directions.

I experienced three levels of shopping in Guangzhou. The upmarket brands such as New Balance, Nike and Versace where I found the prices to be about the same as in Sydney; the bargain stores which offer cheap Chinese made products; and the counterfeit stores which sell fake imitations of leading fashion trends and brands.

 
Tourists typically come to Guangzhou to shop and eat. Guangzhou is renowned for its   huge markets specializing in nearly any sort product made in China, such as Chinese tea, herbs, garments, watches, electronics and toys. Guangzhou is known for being up with the fashion trends and offering cheaper versions of products and brands available on the international markets. Guangzhou is a shoppers' paradise with loads of good quality products at affordable prices. You will be surprised to discover how low the real cost is for most products made in China. If you are looking for up to date fashion trends, the Baima Clothes Market, World Trade Mall and Teemall are the best places to shop.

But buyer beware!  There appears to be two price rules – one rule for the locals and another rule for the tourists. The prices on the majority of items are not clearly labelled and if you ask about the price the calculator is produced to calculate a “special” price. However I found that the price is higher than those found in Sydney and who is to know if the product is real or faux.

If you are approached by a hawker on the streets, beware because they will probably take you to a counterfeit store. Sometimes you may be really happy with your purchase and the price you pay, but don’t forget it is not under guarantee and there is warranty provided if something goes wrong with it.