WORDS BY ALEXANDRA RHODES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRIS FRAGKOU
Milan fashion week might once the reserve of long-serving industry stalwarts, but thanks to Alessandro Michele’s new Gucci and the host of rising young designers doing things differently, the tides are turning. Here’s what’s really exciting us right now in Italy’s fashion capital…
On the catwalk
Attico
Chances are you already know Attico via its two impossibly chic founders, Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini. These street style mavens-cum-designers founded their label - which takes its name from the Italian for penthouse - after reimagining what stylish women wear at home (read: luxurious robes and a whole lot of chinoiserie).
La Doublej
As a self-confessed print lover and vintage collector, it was a logical step for journalist JJ Martin to start her own line. La Doublej raids the archives of Italian silk experts and reforms these vintage fabrics into punchily patterned dresses that will have you dreaming of your next trip to Como.
On the street
On your radar
Shop: 10 Corso Cosmo
The original concept store, 10 Corso Cosmo has been a fashion favourite since the nineties when Carla Sozzani, a gallerist and former Italian Vogue editor, started the cult shop/gallery/restaurant/hotel hybrid. We challenge you to leave empty handed.
Eat: Bar Luce
When Wes Anderson opened the doors to Bar Luce in the Fondazione Prada – the new art and culture complex from the fashion behemoth - Instagram went into overdrive. Pastel colour palette? Check. Cakes that look like they’re straight out of one of the director’s picture-perfect movie sets? Check. Step aside @accidentalwesanderson, this is the real deal.
Only the natives know: La Biblioteca della Moda
Bibliophiles and fashion fanatics alike head to magazine heaven – AKA La Biblioteca della Moda - in the Navigli-Savona-Tortona area of the city. Originally the home of ex-Condé Nast staffer Diego Valisi's private archive, it now houses over 46,000 fashion magazines and tomes and is the place for anyone with an enquiring mind about the world of fashion.
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