This weekend I had the opportunity to go back and visit Milan. My last visit was not the most exciting, as I was super jetlagged and stayed near my airbnb for two nights. This time around, I did more exploring with a few classmates, and discovered new areas where I blended in well with other tourists from around the world.

Fashion Walk-Through

With our FUA guide Guiya, we met another guide in Milan who brought us through different streets directly off from the train station that showed different Italian retailers not available in the US, along with well known designers that had not one, but two or three locations within walking distance in Milan. Some of these known designers inlcude Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Versace, Chanel, Burberry, etc. Many of these up and coming designers I found to be interesting as they take inspiration from these top designers. One store developed neoprene purses to withstand rain. The style of the bags reminded me much of the Hermes birkin. Other stores implemented on trend styles and colors that many other retailers accomoplish themselves, but its more about the exclusivity to Italy.

Architecture

Many of the buildings here in Milan are housed to fashion brands based off the walk we had. Few places showed any signs of greenery as we were in the heart of Milan. Similar to Florence, I notice a lot of places dual as both retail shops and what I assume to be homes or other businesses above.

Other Places

Some other places I walked to after the tour include Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is the outdoor, roof covered shopping mall that houses high end fashion brands, and of course the cathedral. I decided to venture off to what I thought was going to be a brick and mortar location of my job as a stylist back in Massachusetts at AllSaints, however I put to waste a solid 45 minutes to find a small setup inside of a Coin department store of the brand. Prior to these excursions, we shared coffee, finger food and a delicious tiramisu shown way up above^.