The six-day Milan Fashion Week ended with a disco show full of bright colors and glitter, leopard prints and pearls, furs and chains, where not only robots, but also Lithuanian Ugnė Gelgotaitė walked among the models.
Ugnė Gelgotaitė (23 years old) left her native Vilnius at the age of five and settled in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia. The girl, who has been thinking about working in the world of fashion since childhood, has been living, studying and working in Milan for five years.
The presentation of the Dolce & Gabbana collection, which intertwines the disco style of the XNUMXs with artificial intelligence, soon made allusions and the protective equipment that has become everyday during the pandemic, is an important experience for Lithuania.
"The selection was huge, so the emotions, walking on the podium, were really huge - says Ugnė. - Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbanna are real professionals, very demanding, but also curious and polite people. They personally prepare each model for the show on the catwalk and are happy to communicate. So we talked about the new collection and the robots used for its presentation, created by the Italian Institute of Technology, which are cute little creatures programmed to learn through communication."
Having graduated from the Lyceum of Exact Sciences and Music School in Cagliari, the Lithuanian went to Milan five years ago to study communication and public relations. However, her dream is to work in the world of fashion not only as a model. "The work of a model is not the goal of my life, but it is a great arena to get acquainted with the specifics of working in the fashion world, with professionals in this sector, to gain knowledge and experience," says Ugnė.
The Lithuanian woman who encouraged the Lithuanians of the world to vote with tricolor socks in the last Seimas elections believes that her Lithuanian roots are an additional drive for her. "I grew up with a Lithuanian mother, strict but fair. She instilled in me curiosity, independence, and self-belief," says the Lithuanian.
Before she got to the podium of famous designers, the girl had to go a long way.
"After arriving in Milan, I went through modeling agencies, where I received comments that I was too short," says the 1,72 m tall girl. "I had to spend whole days at auditions, where, at best, I got a job as a photo model."
The Lithuanian has photographed and filmed in dozens of advertising campaigns, from new, little-known designers to world-famous names such as Diadora, Australian, Marni, Moncler, Valentino. At last year's Milan Fashion Week, she walked the catwalk for the first time in the presentation of the collection of Barbara Bologna, a designer who creates punk elegance. This designer also chose Lithuania to present her collections to buyers in Paris.
Last summer, the Lithuanian woman became the face of the collection of the designer Simona Marziali, who won the talent competition of the Italian edition of Vogue magazine, at the Milan Fashion Week.
Ugnė says that she was better prepared for this Milan Fashion Week thanks to the pandemic.
"The whole year has been very stressful. After months of being locked at home in the heart of the coronavirus, not being able to hug loved ones, there is uncertainty and even fear in Milan. But the Milanese are strong people, they don't give up and they don't stop, they go far no matter what. Similar to Lithuanians. During the pandemic, I tried to concentrate on studies and work, but I think that painting, yoga, jogging, activities for which I had more time during the pandemic helped me not to lose my balance and even to develop inner strength," Ugnė says.
