The 24-year-old became the first Otago student to study at the Istituto Europeo di Design, partly because of her ability to speak Italian, where she took classes in shoe and accessory design.
She described the trip as "the best opportunity" and she felt incredibly lucky to be able to experience it.
Studying at the institute was similar to the polytechnic in content, but each class was taught separately, from technical drawing to photo manipulation, compared with everything in together.
Miss Cioaga's interest in shoes was sparked during a three-week elective course last year, but learning about accessory design had been "insightful".
"When I left, I was thinking about shoes and not about bags, and now I'm quite interested in accessories and leather in general," she said.
While in Milan, she was able to make a bag, belt and purse, but no shoes.
She was, however, able to visit an industrial area in which shoe components were made, including for designer Christian Louboutin.
Her final collection, which will be created this year, will be half shoes and half clothes and she hoped to source some leather from Italy for it.
The opportunity to study in Milan may be opened to more Otago Polytechnic students as Miss Cioaga believed classes in English would be started.
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