I
need to write a post acknowledging specifically the fashion here in Milan. I’ve
briefly mentioned aspects of the tailored Italian world but I also wanted to
share some of the store observations me and Millie took as part of our Visual
Merchandising assignment.
From
a tourist point of view, the shopping scene is nothing like back in the UK.
Fast fashion is not as commonly strewn down every high street and there is,
take a deep breath, no Primark. Struggling to live off of my extremely tight
budget is hard enough but to be constantly surrounded by elaborately dressed
locals is a temptation to splurge in its most subtle form. Then you end up
wandering around La Rinascente (a luxury department store) and sighing at the
fact the only thing you can afford from there is the free perfume sample they
hand you on the way out.
However,
what they do have is H&M and an amazing Zara store. In fact I took a photograph
of the Zara flagship entrance because I fell in love with the Visual
Merchandising; three suspended mannequins and a grand circular stair case – not
how you would expect a high street chain to display their collection. My
favourite store of them all is undoubtedly the Dolce & Gabbana womenswear flagship.
Nestled in the winding city streets the store windows illuminate the cobbles
with rich animated shades of red and gold with cascading ribbons of Roman coins
featuring as a back drop. Of course, a flawless sales associate welcomes you in
by opening the glass door and sweetly greeting “Buongiorno” as you enter into
the wonderland of the Italian designers. I have spent many hours on several occasions
floating through the store – I daren’t try anything on in there other than the
sunglasses, but notably I did have one of the clerks compliment me on the way I
had styled my scarf the other week. How about an internship next?
Every
designer store is immaculate and styled traditionally in the ‘less is more’
Italian way – Louis Vuitton, Prada, Armani, Vivienne Westwood, Valentino, Hugo
Boss – aspirational brands with killer window displays. Fun fact: I was told
off by our Italian friend Donatella for pronouncing designer brand Moschino as ‘Mosh-ee-no’,
it’s actually pronounced ‘Moz-kee-no’ who knew.
Here
are some of my favourite window displays/visual merchandising from stores
across Milan! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photographs of the
inside.
Zara
This chap was dressed so smartly I had to get him in the shot!
And Other Stories always had a gorgeous minimalist approach to merchandising
