Showing 1-22 of 22 results
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Alessi
Once upon a time, household gadgets were no fun - and then there was Alessi. One of the biggest names in contemporary Italian design, Alessi started hiring daring designers like Aldo Rossi and Robert Venturi in the 1980s, and now we have kettles that chirp, red peppers that chop, giant noses that hold pencils, and schoolgirls that open bottles of wine.
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Anna Fabiano
Hardworking Milanese fashionistas treat themselves to these curvaceous red jackets, swingy black-and-white knit silk skirts and kicky minidresses, each under €100 . 'They're lovely because they're made with love', says Anna from behind the counter, and she means it.
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Berluti
A custom-made shoe for every man's passing whim: go Zen in profound seaweed-green leather, rock out in deep purple, or warm up in sun-bronzed ochre that's the essence of Italy. There's the occasional misstep, like wing-tips covered with Da Vinci code scribblings - but the streamlined, single-eyelet numbers don't miss a beat. Prices have more than adjusted for inflation since Berluti was founded in 1895.
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Biffi
Where fashion-conscious Milanese get their unfair advantage over the rest of us: Dries Van Noten suits in industrial fabrics reinforced with metal, aerodynamically engineered Comme des Garcons wraps and the latest get-ups from up-and-coming designers from Italy to Brazil.
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DB Living
Two floors of inexpensive, whimsical design objects, including rubber radios that look bounceable and lamps made entirely of Italian comics. Introduce fun to the office with a turquoise leather case for papers, or a pop-up plastic puzzle that doubles as a CD/DVD rack.
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Dragoncella
Flattering, flirty looks with a cutting edge make Dragoncella look like Betsey Johnson's Italian love child. Unexpected details make each piece unique, like a circle of plain white on the side of a psychedelic print dress, or red ribbon on a brown denim skirt hem. Unexpected prices too: almost everything is under €100 .
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Ethic
Streetsmarts meet ethnic flair halfway here, with breezy bias-cut dresses in great graphic prints and funky tiered necklaces. Wear yours someplace sultry - at these prices, you can start saving for an airfare.
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Frip
Ever wonder what Kate Moss and Johnny Depp wore when they were trashing hotel suites? This avant-edge '80s-style store gives some idea: green satin dresses with unfinished hems worn alone or over Acme Action Jeans; PVC tuxedo collars atop torn T-shirts with 'This isn't a f***ing Gucci T-shirt' slogans.
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Hogan
The saving grace of cobblestone-pounding, style-conscious Milanese, Hogan built a global reputation on fancy sneakers that are a dream to wear. Now that flair for casual finery is also found in retro peep-toe platforms and funky orange, brown and green striped bags in buttery leather. Prices are competitive with other Golden Quad designers, around €200 .
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Isola Show Room
Everything here is handmade, streetsmart and way too cool for design school: mod enamel jewellery, limited-edition T-shirts with 'Spaghetti Club' slogans and wild-style graffiti paintings, all at starving-artist prices. Best of all are mother-daughter team Lavgon's one-of-a-kind quilted skirts with raw silk edges, and deconstructed wool jackets with vintage fabric inside the sleeves.
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La Perla
Naughty but nice La Perla lingerie is branching out from its signature lacy bras to bathing suits that seem to be made entirely of straps.
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La Vetrina di Beryl
This is what it must be like to raid the photo-shoot shoe racks at Italian Vogue . At around €80 , Ordinary People house brand ballerina silk espadrilles keep pace with the best, including Georgina Goodman's seafoam green crackled leather pumps with a lip like a frog's (around €490 ) and Marc Jacobs metallic T-straps ( €250 ).
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Le Solferine
Turn the sidewalk into your own personal runway in Solferine's standout shoes. Any week is Fashion Week in handcrafted boots with inlaid rhinestone heels, and it only takes two of those gold leather peep toe heels to tango.
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Love Therapy
Back in the '80s, designer Elio Fiorucci was all about cherub T-shirts and red jeans - but now he's moved on to garden gnomes and gotten into Love Therapy. You will too, with gnome tees for adults and kids, funky Irregular Choice metallic flats, and orange and green Orla Kiely raincoats for strutting in storms.
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Luisa Beccaria
If ever you're stumped about what to wear to a wedding, here's your answer. Make an Audrey Hepburn entrance in diaphanous silk that floats right off the shoulders, custom-designed for shameless figure flattery.
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Martino Midali
Midali has a flair for delicate nips and tucks that would make a plastic surgeon jealous. His ingeniously ruched purple silk skirt nips in to make any waistline look tiny, and pin-tucking turns a plain white cotton shirt into a wonder with hundreds of tiny folds of fabric.
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Mauro Leoni
You knew there had to be a fun, original, wearable, inexpensive shoe maker in Milan, and Mauro's it. Metallic ballet slippers with an X marking the spot across the toe, 1940s pink wing-tip pumps, red polka-dotted grosgrain heels, and orange T-strap flats, all for less than around €75 - it's enough to make you forget all about that mean old Manolo and standoffish Jimmy Choo, and finally fall in love again.
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Moroni Gomma
Every plastic gizmo imaginable, and then some: credit cards you use to grate garlic, Kartell orange Lucite end tables, melamine bowls lined with photographic serving suggestions of popcorn or pistachios. Don't miss the 'nice price' bargains on the mezzanine.
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Patrizia Pepe
Who can be bothered with all those flounces and bows on the metro? Patrizia Pepe gets what urban women really want - feminine tailoring - and makes it snappy. Her cuts are curvy and colours clever, with a certain refinement that shows who's in control here, and she's perfectly capable of pulling off cream leather knickerbockers.
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Pietro Brunelli Maternity Appeal
Bump movie stars right off the best-dressed list with body-skimming designs that showcase your latest creative endeavour. The aqua silk dress with tiny pleats right below the bustline would make JLo jealous, and the belly-baring olive green halter could upstage Angelina.
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Salvatore & Marie
The fashion musts of the future have already arrived here: outer-space orange Lucite collars, bronzed porcelain candelabra recently evolved from primordial ooze, and tank tops with detachable soft-sculpture cats that would be right at home on Tim Burton.
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Trace
Ingenious indie designers turn old school into new cool here: yellow and brown silkscreened stripes make you stare longer than is decent at sheer, pleated white cotton schoolgirl skirts, a newfangled traditional Japanese jacket comes with an ingenious built-in ruched belt and diagonal pleats add a contrarian twist to a skirt made of regimental tie fabric.
Showing 1-22 of 22 results
