Oftentimes, students will fly over an entire ocean, past several countries, and through multiple time zones to attend The American University of Florence (AUF). Whether it is to study abroad for a semester or two at Florence University of the Arts (FUA) or to seek a degree at AUF, reaching the actual campus often means traveling a great distance.

For Italian student Edoardo Rosi, attending AUF didn’t require a long trip around the world. He simply travels to campus in the historic city center from his family’s place over in Novoli.

As a resident of Florence, Rosi opted to switch from a traditional Italian university to study fashion merchandising at AUF. Italian universities, he explains, are markedly different from a typical American college or university, with students taking classes for a few months, studying for the next few, and then facing an especially grueling exam season. 

After spending a year at an Italian university, Rosi wanted to switch gears and try out something different as he furthered his education. With an affinity for clothing, style, and marketing, Rosi decided AUF would be a great way to not only practice his English, but pursue his love for fashion as well.

At AUF, Rosi’s experience with fashion studies has been up close and personal. He has worked at FLY - Fashion Loves You, the vintage storefront operated by the university’s Department of Fashion Studies. Rosi has also dabbled in a bit of fashion design during his time at AUF, allowing him to produce unique pieces for experiential learning-based class projects.

“Probably my favorite thing that I did here is my fashion lab,” Rosi said. “Making accessories was really interesting.”

Almost every day, Rosi wears a stylish indication of his academic pursuits. Looped through his distressed, wide-legged jeans, he often sports a belt — black with a shiny silver buckle — of his own design. But the real feat of his fashion lab, he reveals, was the bag he modeled after the Louis Vuitton Speedy.

“I made it with leather, and this was really, really beautiful,” he says. “It was hard because it’s long work … but it was fun.” And by long work, he means starting with nothing but leather samples and finishing with a chic, handmade bag fit for a window display in an Oltrarno artisan shop.

“Before (making it), you have to draw everything,” Rosi explains, noting the time and care it takes to create high-quality accessories. “Then you have to find the right leather, cut it, and if something is wrong, it’s a mess.”

But in the end, Rosi had his bag in hand. Black with white leather patches to imitate cow print, it’s the ultimate proof of his hands-on fashion education in the city he calls home.

Before graduating, though, Rosi will have a chance of his own to study an ocean away, much like his international peers at the FUA study abroad programs. This year, he’ll be off to Fairfield, Connecticut for the spring semester, which is just over an hour away from New York, one of his all-time favorite cities. He’ll take a break from fashion courses, studying electives like religion, philosophy, and rhetoric.

“I’ve traveled before, but never for four months,” he says. “So it’s my longest trip. But I’m not intimidated — I’m encouraged.”

While Rosi isn’t certain what his next move will be after graduation quite yet, one thing’s for certain. No matter what he does, he’ll do it with style.

“I think know(ing) how to make something, especially me, just accessories, it’s really interesting,” he says. “But of course, the style you have, it’s something that you can’t learn, I think. It’s just you.”