From Contest to Craftsmanship: Istituto Marangoni Miami students talk internship with Alexandre Birman in Brazil

Two Istituto Marangoni Miami students, Bettina Mattei and Ryan Anthony Hamilton, recently completed a two-week internship at the Brazilian headquarters of luxury shoe designer Alexandre Birman. This unique opportunity allowed them to immerse themselves in the company's craftsmanship and operations, including creating shoes in the factory – a first for non-craftsmen.

Under the guidance of Alexandre Birman, chief executive officer of Arezzo & Co, who oversees shoe brands such as his namesake label, Arezzo, Anacapri, Fiever, and Schutz, the students gained firsthand insights into the working of a luxury conglomerate. “Ryan and Bettina emerged as the winners of an internship challenge that began as a contest about a year ago,” explained Amy Berkowitz, the professor at Istituto Marangoni Miami, who supervised the internship. “Out of 40 students who submitted their work, six were selected, and eventually, Ryan and Bettina were chosen as the final winners after they presented their shoe designs alongside other finalists to Alexandre during Art Basel in Miami, leading to their well-deserved victory.”

The partnership between Istituto Marangoni Miami and Alexandre Birman is set to continue, offering further possibilities for emerging talents in the global fashion realm in the coming months. FashionUnited spoke with this year's internship winners and their leading teacher, Amy Berkowitz about their time in Brazil and their impressions of the Birman company, the trials, tribulations and triumphs of studying fashion design and their dreams for the future.

First of all, congratulations on winning this challenge and your internships, but before we talk about your time in Brazil with Alexandre Birman, could you introduce yourself?

Ryan: I am Ryan Anthony Hamilton. I am a fashion design student in my second year. Fashion design has always been a passion for me since I was a child. It was all I'd ever known. And that was huge dilemma for me and my parents at first, since fashion design felt like an unconventional job that might not lead to something consistent, but I took chances and it paid off pretty well

Bettina: My name is Bettina Matei. I'm from Brazil and I'm an engineer actually. I graduated in engineering a few years ago and one day realised that I wanted to follow my dreams. I wanted to do something with fashion, but had no idea if I had talent or not. And I always wanted to live in Miami, so that's when I changed my life completely. I left my country to come to Miami and study fashion, and then I applied for the contest and this internship came. It was like a dream come true. And Amy and Ryan can attest to that, I cried a couple of times because it was unbelievable for me.

You originally did not know the challenge would lead to an internship with Alexandre Birman, right?

Bettina: No, it was a surprise because Marangoni has a lot of partners and when Alexander came to the school I couldn't believe it. I am one of the only Brazilian students here and he is Brazilian. It was such a coincidence. So for me it was very special.

You’ve followed and supervised similar projects before Amy, from your point of view, what made this opportunity so special?

Amy: The scope of the Birman company. It's a larger than life company. They have so many brands and so many tentacles in different markets that allowed Ryan and Bettina to really experience a full spectrum. They saw many different levels, many different price points and many different attributes of people that do certain specific things. That's how the internship evolved, from one week of going to the factory and then one week internally with all of the people that put it all together at the end of the day. I also have to say, the Birman staff, the people that hosted Bettina and Ryan, went over and above many other internships that I've ever seen.

Would you say the internship was what you expected?

Ryan: My perception of internships has always been that you observe and watch, but don’t necessarily get to do things. I thought it's just a bird's eye view. This internship was very interactive and we got to do things and really got to be a part of the company. It felt more like job training than an internship.

Did that make it hard to leave in the end?

Ryan: Very, very. I'm going to submit my resume soon [laughs].

What's your key takeaway after two weeks with Birman?

Ryan: Just taking my time. I feel like sometimes I get into things and I'm so eager to finish them and make an impression, but I think it's just about learning and just stepping back and taking the time to actually take in the information. I also learnt that it's best to just be yourself and not worry about how you might be perceived.

Bettina: It was very special to understand different ways to do what we do usually, sketches for example. We’ve learnt how to do them one way, but the company has a completely different way of doing them. We had classes with their creative director and his sketches were completely different from what we are used to doing. It just underlined that there are so many different ways of doing something and that there is not one ‘correct’ way to do fashion. At the end of the day there are so many, all of them are correct, all of them are art.

Is there anything that stands out to you? Something that will stay with you going forward?

Bettina: The most special for me was when we entered the archive. They have all the shoes that the company produced since the beginning. I recognised shoes that my mom owned when I was a child, that was really touching. But we learned so much – the entire process, from the sketch to the production. Ultimately we also created the packaging and did a photo shoot. And then we had one week to learn everything about the business side of the company. They opened their doors to us so we can implement their knowledge in our own careers in the future.

Ryan: I agree, their archive was very special. And then they have these plant-made leathers and are experimenting with sustainable fabrics as well as creating their own. I am very passionate about sustainability and to see that they are experiencing and that there is something in the works that was very important to me.

Bettina: Oh, and I also talked to so many people, and to see a company of this size with genuinely happy employees that work with a smile on their faces is encouraging.

You briefly touched on the uncertainty of studying fashion, did this reassure you that everything can and will work out in the end?

Ryan: I think this kind of opportunity shows us that we can do it, you know? It’s proof that our talent and that time that we put into it is worth it and our dreams can actually come true, can actually be something real. Fashion is a trade. It's a skill-based industry, so everything's based on your skill. Us being selected for this internship proved that this is an industry that you can step into and that there's room for everyone. It was very reassuring for me. Just being selected for it was more than enough to let me know that I can do this.

While we are on the topic of reassurance – what is your dream future in fashion?

Bettina: Right now I want to work with luxury brands, but in the future, probably I'll have my own brand. For now I want to learn from others and after having this experience in the luxury field, I’ll probably do something with shoes one day.

Ryan: Personally at the moment I’m not interested in having my own brand but I do love other people's ideas and I like to reinterpret those. So I would like to start out as a junior designer and then eventually become a creative creative director. 15 to 20 years from now I'll have my own brand, but I just want to fully be in the industry and learn everything there is to learn before I'll do that.

Amy: I just have to say as their instructor and having been in the business basically most of my life, this internship and future internships and competitions just warms my heart. Because it's all about giving back in this very hard industry. I was very grateful to see them, to see Bettina and Ryan absorbed in this experience. The next challenge will start in September and next June Birman will open their doors again and welcome another two students into their company.