Milan, is a ramp that showcases the Italian fashion to the world. It is the birthplace of many great fashion houses like Armanis, Guccis, Versace , Valentiono etc etc that has redefined modern world fashion scene. So this place in short can be described as ’’Mecca of fashion’’.
The whole city is built and evloved around a great complex architectural marvel called the Duomo, which is told to be a classic example for Gothic architecure, I am not so knowlegable on arhitecural styles, but visually I was spell bound by the sheer complexity of the structure. This cathedral forms the perfect backdrop for major shopping centres , fashion boutiques , designer showrooms, fashion streets that are concentrated around it.
Shopping centres like six-storied La Renascente, perfume shops, designer watches, designer leather accessories, trendy mindbogggling choices of googles (only with designer lables), unbelievable ranges of shoes, expensive fur coats with their price tags , would leave anyone confused as to what to shop atleast as a souvenier.
One should never miss atleast window shopping in the designer streets like Via Napolean, which boasts of only designer showrooms like that of armanis, pradas, louis vouitton.....with latest clothes , fashion accessiories like belts etc ...., displayed on the shelves straight out from the catwalks , and seen in other part of the world like in India only on FTV. I was mesmerised by the spacious showrooms, its ambience, colour combinations and the manner in which things were artistically arranged and displayed on the shelves.
The best way to feel the vibrant fashion culture of Milan is may be to sit in one of the many beautifull side walk cafes around Duomo in one of those fashion streets and sip cappuchionos (now made famous in India by coffee days) or wine whole day long and watch the fashion of tomorrow in front of your eyes in the streets . Coming to night life , there are lots of night clubs and funky , techno discos , which party animals should never miss.
Milan is geographically located on the foothills of Alps and very near to another fashion capital of the world, Paris. All in all , a place to be visited by those who are crazy for fashion , and may not be quite a place for those who would like to visit monuments, historical artifacts , churchs and so on, which Italy is quite famous for. Anyway there is always Rome and Florence for those people!!