Milan – Italy's Style Setters
Even After Womens Fashion Week, Milan is the World’s Fashion Capital
The eyes of the fashion world turn to the Milano Moda Donna catwalks for one week each February, but Milan's Quadrilatero della Moda sets the standard all year.
The Milan neighborhood known as Quadrilatero della Moda (Fashion Quarter) fills the streets south of Piazza Cavour, enclosed by Via Montenapoleone, Via La Spiga, Via San Andrea and Via Manzoni. Stroll these and the streets that form a grid between them to see window displays in the great fashion houses. Via Della Spiga offers the best.
Milan is home to many of the names that fill fashion magazines and the smartest boutiques worldwide: Fendi, Versache, Armani, Blumarine, Ferragamo, Trussardi, Byblos. Most of them have showrooms in Montenapo, as locals call this district. Don’t expect to see people actually wearing the often outrageous togs you’ll see in the show windows, though – most of them are there to grab attention, and the more fantastic the better.
Along with the big names, look for the houses of young and emerging designers who can name-drop with the best of them. Madonna wears clothes by Dolce & Gabbana, two young designers whose shop was designed by David Chipperfield (Via Spiga 2, Tel 02-7600-1155, Metro San Babila). Or look for Krizia, the designer that introduced the mini-skirt in the 1960s and is still creating ahead-of-the-pack designs for chic young style-setters (Via Spiga 23, Tel 02-7600-8429, Metro San Babila).
Off-price designer fashions are sold in the outlets and consignment shops, where you’ll see overstocks, last season's line, items that have been worn by models, and salesmen's samples. Discounts on these are usually 50% to 70% of the original tag. Consignments of worn-only-once fashions and top designer wear samples are sold at Te' Con Amiche (Via Visconte di Madrone 33, Tel 02-7733-1506, Metro San Bablio). Le Firme A 4 Soldi sells top-name fashions at deep discounts (Galleria De Cristoforus 3, Tel 02-7601-8289, Metro San Bablio).
Where to go once you’re suitably attired? At the pricey Dolce & Gabbana Martini Bar, owned by the menswear designer, you might be sipping your apertif next to this year’s super-model, slouched in one of the leather seats (Corso Venezia 15, Tel 02-7601-1154, Metro San Babila). At the Emporio Armani Café everything is stylish, from the décor to the people who down their espresso there (Via Manzoni 31, Tel 02-7231-8680, Metro Montenapoleone). The smart set from the Quadrilatero also hangs out at G Lounge (Via Larga 8, Tel 02-805-3042, Metro Duomo).
During Womens Fashion Week, everyone dresses even more smartly than usual. Clubs, trendy restaurants and bars are filled with people here for the show, and with others anxious to see them and what they are wearing. And if you’re not dressed to fit into this circle, you may be turned away from the trendiest clubs and bars. This is not true everywhere, but the smarter the club’s clientele, the more likely the omni-present bouncer is to keep it that way.
At any time of year, the favorite hotel for international fashionistas is Milan’s Four Seasons Hotel. They just have their big name designer-label shopping bags delivered directly to the Four Seasons concierge.
