The REAL final visit in my Johnson & Wales class was at Mazzanti Piume. This trip was by far one of my favorite places! Not centrally located in Florence like many other visits, Mazzanti Piume is a manufacturer of bird feathers in fashion. They cater to many different high-end designers, including but not limited to Chanel, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana.

The Manufacturing

The feather accessory production process is rather simple. Unfortunately I was not able to take the best photos of workers handling the feathers in respect of the company’s photo policy. Although, the simple process is can be explained in words. The feathers are deconstructed from its original state, taken into one of these handmade older machinery, and magic happens when our guide and third generation owner ran some straight edge object across attaching all the feathers into one strand. We went into another room where the strand was spiralized, and developed into one long almost complete piece.

Photo Ops

My class was able to capture really cool pictures as we all wore hats from the manufacturer. One thing I found interesting were the custom pieces that Mazzanti Piume creates for their high-end designers’ celebrity clientele. One hat we were able to try on was originally designed to be worn by singer and songwriter Lady Gaga. Other notable pieces from here were designed for Versace that were worn on Kylie and Kendall Jenner at the 2019 Met Gala.