Fashion shopping in Italy
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Banco 10
Prison orange is out and plum silk velvet is in at this nonprofit boutique: all those sumptuous high-fashion velvet tailcoats and cocktail dresses were created as part of a job retraining program at the women’s prison on Giudecca. La Fenice has dressed its divas in ensembles made through this program, which uses opulent silks, velvets and tapestry, donated by Fortuny and Bevilaqua for smartly tailored jackets and handbags designed by women inmates. Volunteers run the boutique, and purchases fund the women prisoners’ continuing career training and reintegration into society after their release.
reviewed
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E. Marinella
Looking for something to go with the John Lobbs? Naples’ legendary su misura (bespoke) tie-maker has finally made it to Milan. Heavy wooden drawers are filled with RTW silk beauties, subtly adorned with tiny flowers or geometric patterns. Once inside this elegant, private atelier though, you’ll be sure to want a precisely fitted six-fold wool-lined fat-knot number. Their advice: ‘the only rule is to follow the instinct’.
reviewed
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Fiorella Gallery
Groupies are the only accessory needed for Fiorella’s rock-star fashions. Crushed-velvet smoking jackets in louche shades of lavender and blood red are printed by hand with baroque wallpaper patterns and a Fiorella signature: wide-eyed rats. Prices start in the hundreds of euros, but check out your reflection in the graffitied Ettore Sotsass mirror and pretend you’re not impressed.
reviewed
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Dmagazine
Given you usually have to schlep out of town for deeply discounted designer threads, what’s up with this perversely central outlet? Yes, all the major labels are here, but tend to be the stranger of their kind. Plus the tawdry jumble of oddments still going for many hundreds of euro and a barely contained atmosphere of frenzy can make even the most dedicated fashionista sick at heart.
reviewed
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Venetia Studium
Get that ‘just got in from Monaco for my art opening’ look beloved of bohemians who marry well. The high-drama Delphos tunic dresses make anyone look like a high-maintenance modern dancer or heiress (Isadora Duncan and Peggy Guggenheim were both fans), and the hand-stamped silk-velvet bags are more arty than ostentatious (prices run from €25 to €120).
reviewed
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Il Salvagente
As you scurry down through the grim courtyard to this basement shop, it can all feel a bit below board. Don’t worry, it may be cash only but the stock is legit, if so tightly jammed together on rails that you’ll wish you’d done a few upper-body workouts in preparation. Brands include giants Prada, D&G, Versace, Ferretti and Armani, and more unusual labels such as Teo Erre.
reviewed
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Biffi
Retailer Rosy Biffi spotted potential in the young Gio and Gianni long before Armani and Versace became household names (more recently, she got Milanese women hooked onto US cult-brand jeans). She has a knack for interpreting edgier trends and making them work for conformist Milan; check out her selection of international fashion heavyweights for both men and women.
reviewed
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3856
Venice is usually more casual and warmer than visitors expect, so 3856 comes in handy with breezy, effortlessly hip boat-neck tees, casual printed sundresses and shapely cotton jackets for women and kids. Priced like sportswear but resort-collection style, these pieces are good to go from day to night with the addition of a Murano glass necklace.
reviewed
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Hibiscus
Blend right in at the Biennale with Venice’s creative crossroads style, layered piece by distinctive piece at Hibiscus: easygoing Italian linen sailor pants, one-of-a-kind jackets with vintage silk embroidery panels, Japanese watercolour-patterned socks and a Maria Calderara ring that looks like a coral reef wrapped around your finger.
reviewed
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Vintage a Go Go
Mix and match decades into a signature look in this walk-in closet of vintage, which packs a solid selection of romantic ‘50s vintage cashmere cardigans, psychedelic ’60s’ Pucci loungewear, ‘70s leather trenches and screaming ‘80s turquoise pumps. Prices are above thrift, but below eBay resale values.
reviewed
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Pot-Pourri
Unexpected invitations to high tea on the Grand Canal call for an emergency run on Pot-Pourri, where unerring fashionista shop-assistants will suggest a crisp Italian-made baby-blue linen jacket, or shapely white jacquard silk shift that whispers when you walk. High-end service and excellent alterations at off-the-rack prices.
reviewed
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TAD
This ‘concept store’ could have done with a few less of those concept thingies; its mishmash of styles is so desperate to please it’s hard to get to the Proenza Schuler, Balenciaga and Hussein Chalayan without wanting to slap someone. If you can grin and bare it, there’s also a hairdresser, homewares department and cafe.
reviewed
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Boule de Neige
Such a small, wonderfully edited selection of shoes, accessories, separates and dresses makes pulling out the credit card too easy. Emma Hope’s distressed metallic runners and/or Boule de Neige’s own brand of cashmere cardies and patterned silk smocks? In which colour? Staff are sweet and utterly unfazable.
reviewed
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Viativoli
Well-cut trousers might be a prosaic claim to fame, but this Milanese stalwart’s simple suiting for women comes with enough interesting twists to keep customers faithful. Any hint of stuffiness is dispelled with stripy tees and mix-and-match bikini separates in smartly white-sprigged navy and red.
reviewed
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Aspesi
The size of this Antonio Citterio-designed shop is a clue to just how much Italians love this label; Aspesi outerwear is de rigueur for mountain and lake weekends. The arty industrial sprawl is ironically at odds with an essentially practical marque: sportswear at its most understated.
reviewed
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Asap
Locally sourced, recycled jersey, cashmere and leather are the base materials of asap (as sustainable as possible). The pieces are not just gorgeously detailed, cool and unique; they question fashion’s endlessly recurring cycle of excitement and oblivion. What else would a smart girl wear?
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Paul Smith
Smith’s pink palazzo is a wry mix of clothes, accessories, jewellery and exquisite vintage objects. There are echoes of his Westbourne House HQ, while nodding to Italian tastes. His eclectic vision and high colour is an energising counterpoint to Armani’s beige beacon across the street.
reviewed
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Zazu
Be Ms Marco Polo of the fashion world, with forays into Italian-designed tapestry bags, one-of-a-kind dresses from Barcelona and chic Japanese wrap tops. Prices are above sportswear but below couture, and the sale rack in the back usually has great pieces for €50 to €100.
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Promod
When lagoon mists catch you without a cardigan on a Sunday afternoon, Promod offers a range of options, right by the Rialto. A snappy continental comeback to H&M and Topshop, this womenswear chain offers similar prices, with more intriguing colour combinations and richer fabrics.
reviewed
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Galleria Rossana Orlandi
Super stylist Rossana Orlandi’s fashion choices are no less inspired than her interiors. Clothes here depart from the OTT Milanese norm with some pieces paired back, smart and pretty, others totally left of field. Dare we say it feels a little French?
reviewed
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Agua del Carmen
Fornasetti faces appear to signal their approval of the great mix of ultrawearable clothes, shoes and bags. Orla Kiely totes, Pedro Garcia flats and Sylvie Quartara flip-flops are sensible (and sensibly priced) but have eye candy appeal too.
reviewed
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Suede
A rare chance to fill out your wardrobe with fun directional dresses and separates at rock- bottom prices (without the hovering panic attack of the Zara or H&M change rooms). Shoes don’t skimp on style either and come in rainbow shades.
reviewed
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Atribu
If brands that advertise on billboards are not your thing, Atribu features a host of young Italian designers (including the Japanbased Rossella Carrara), interesting labels from Sweden, Belgium and Japan and the odd oneoff treasure.
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Henry Beguelin
Softly unconstructed coats, strappy sandals and earthily decorated bags are handmade using leather that’s been tanned and dyed using traditional techniques. The haute-hippy look is also carried through to linen separates for summer.
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I-Milano Tortona
The clothes here are all about kicking back and looking like you’ve not made any kind of effort (an unusual concept in Milan). Earthy tones and natural fabrics reign, paired with plastic jelly shoes or Bensimon plimsoles.
reviewed
