Emily Zambrowicz

Emily Zambrowicz ’19

Assistant Knitwear Designer & Freelance Designer, Looped In, Barletta, Apulia, Italy

Designer takes on Italy

Emily Zambrowicz, ’19, left Milwaukee shortly after graduation and moved to the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani region on Adriatic coast of Southern Italy where she works as assistant knitwear designer for high-quality knitwear company Looped In. She also designs freelance.

Uncertainty arises direction

“I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew it needed to involve fashion,” she said. “As long as I can remember, the first thing I notice is a person’s clothing, accessories, and shoes.”

Emily chose the fashion design program at Mount Mary and loved her study abroad opportunity in Paris through the Paris American Academy. “I love working with my hands, so the hand-sewn pleating technique I practiced while there made me very happy!”

On campus, her CAD I: Adobe, and Textiles class exposed her to skills she uses on the job every day. “Learning to draw detailed tech flats of my designs helped me understand apparel terminology, construction and design details. In textiles class, I learned basic knowledge of fabrics, including quality, content and construction, which helped me understand which fabric is best for a particular garment’s functionality.”

Strong foundation guides her

Emily continues to learn on the job – about yarn quality, size, gauge, and application for a variety of apparel items and accessories.

Looped In is a small factory with only 10 employees so Emily’s work exposes her to all aspects of the design, manufacture and distribution of knitwear and accessories. Her organization and approval of details and yarns for each order is crucial to keep the factory work flowing. Collaboration with brands and other factories to create high-quality knitwear is constant and Looped In will soon begin producing designs of its own.

Advice from Emily Zambrowicz

Being detail oriented and organized both digitally and physically go hand in hand, so Emily’s advice to students is to “take good notes and be thorough. Being well prepared saves a lot of time for you and your team.”