Florence, January 2025. Studio Firenze marked the starting point for the Spcy Summer ‘25 Collection. During my time abroad in the Syracuse Florence program, I was fortunate to take Silkscreen I. Kathy, the professor of Studio Firenze, inspired me to bring the brand back to life—this time through handmade work. I hadn’t designed or released any pieces for the brand since August 2023 due to limited resources and the high, costs of manufacturing.

Fast forward to January 2025—I was fully committed to designing and printing my own fashion pieces by hand for Spcy. But what pieces? In the Summer ‘22 and ‘23 collections, we mostly featured shorts. Everyone loved them, but bottoms aren’t as personal, and they can’t be worn year-round. I chose to start with bandanas because I immediately found a personal connection and loved their versatility.

During the late winter, I learned the ins and outs of an ancient technique called silkscreening. Silkscreening hasn’t gone anywhere—in fact, most clothing manufacturers worldwide still use some variation of it. The only catch? Almost nobody does it entirely by hand. With the brand focused on authenticity and human touch, it was the best thing that could have happened—hence, “each piece crafted by hand.”

With my previous understanding of film development, it was seamless to dive headfirst into creating screens. After curating the designs myself, I brought them to life with the guidance of my professor. This photo of me cleaning the silkscreen was taken by Margaux Halloran, the TA of the course.