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Retail’s paradise found
The perfect mixture of produce, place and people combine to form retail heaven in one very special place in Northern Italy. So says self-confessed "international shopper extraordinaire" Suzanne Tosh who took a look around the famous Milanese boutiques to try to pin down just what sets it apart from international rivals.
I'm a lucky girl -this I know. In the last year alone I have visited and shopped in Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Bangkok, New York and Toronto. Apart from acquiring a fabulous wardrobe, what have I learnt from this experience? Well, most notably perhaps is the way the cultures of these very different cities in very different countries shape the shopping experience. In short, the way in which people of different nationalities buy stuff is peculiar and particular to them.
Most recently I have been wooed and seduced by the charms of the Italian approach to retail. On a recent trip to Milan I was really educated into the fine art of la dolce vita. To the Milanese, shopping should be fun, a pleasurable way of parting with one's cash, rather than some stressful trawl to be endured. Customers are enticed into making purchases and cajoled into parting with hard earned Euros. "Really, it's only right", the shop assistants seem to be saying, "that you give me a lot of money for this beauteous and bewitching pair of gloves". How can you resist?
A typical Italian gentleman shopping in Milan for shoes, for instance, will discuss (at long length) the various advantages and shortcomings of the style, the construction and appearance. Needless to say, all conversation is conducted in frantic, urgent tones and with great passion - after all we are talking shoes here! He will parade up and down the length of the shop - often the size of a large pizza - ostensibly to admire the product but really so that his companion can view his long lean legs, lack of hips and shock of black hair (I didn't notice him at all). After at least 15 to 20 minutes discussing all of the above with a) the shop staff; b) his girlfriend/wife and c) anyone else who speaks the language, he may or may not purchase the items.
How far removed from a similar trip in London. But then us Brits are of a more conservative nature. No parading, rather hiding in the changing room. If we have to emerge to check mirrors, it's more of a skulk than a flaunt. If we do engage with the shop staff, it's frequently to apologise for our failure to either like the product, walk in/fit into the product or purchase it. Very polite, very calm.
Consumers venturing to the Big Apple to take advantage of the fabulous exchange rates are likely to witness something different again. In shopping terms New Yorkers are somewhere between the two extremes of Milan and London. Vocal yes, passionate no. Maybe a small parade but only to a friend/spouse/boyfriend or girlfriend to show the fit. Never to flaunt. The Americans are far too modest for that.
My Milan expedition also brought to mind just how different are the look and feel of the stores themselves. The same brand names in different cities look completely dissimilar. To illustrate, let's look at an upmarket brand like Moschino. In Milan the shop fit is a work of art. In common with the London and New York branches, you have the heart on the front door in gold (a recurring Moschino motif). However, inside we are talking a different level of elaboration and theatre. Across the floor are beautifully etched silver hearts. The central display is just lovely, consisting of a marvellously dressed mannequin sitting on a park bench covered in autumnal coloured fabric leaves. These leaves are strewn across the shop floor and the mannequin. The effect teeters on the brink of being a little odd but actually it's absolutely stunning. Whilst you do have the show cases in the shape of rings and handbags in London and New York, the rest of the store concept is sadly absent.
In fact, you get the impression that some brands view Milan as the place in which to let their visual merchandising juices flow unchecked. Another upmarket brand, Viktor & Rolf (who recently designed a range for H&M) has its one and only store in Milan and it's upside down. Yes, you read that correctly. First of all, the doors to get in are upside down, so the pushing bit is at knee level. Inside, the light fixtures on the wall are upside down, the mirrors and the plasma screen with the latest catwalk designs are upside down (as in you are looking at the models' feet), the wardrobes housing the clothes are upside down. In fact, the only thing that is the right way up is the clothes. It's a bit like an Alice in Wonderland experience. Really bizarre. This is the only Viktor & Rolf boutique in existence and it's in Milan. And upside down.
Even the Prada stores, which in London and New York are quite nice to look at but no great shakes in the design department (in my humble opinion) are really outstanding. To be fair, the Prada store in New York's Soho is wonderful but the shop in Milan is just extraordinary. In New York, while the store concept is amazing - a huge wooden ski slope structure that shoppers traverse via marble stairs - the actual products are hard to get at and housed in small boutique-sized spaces. Having gone to the trouble of building this elaborate setting the actual merchandise is not presented well enough to do it justice. However, in Milan it's quite different. The clothing is shown as art, on rails, lit appropriately. The shop is stuffed full of the most covetable and beautifully designed clothing I have ever seen, either in -tore or in magazines. Quite different to the merchandise on show in London and New York. I was truly prepared to sell my husband and buy a frock. No buyers, though.
And shop staff are completely different in Milan. I don't care how much money you have, shop assistants the world over are the same (well, mostly). Little or no greeting followed by nothing. In Milan, the shopper is king. Huge numbers of shop assistants are on hand to really drive sales. If you see what's on offer, you are much more likely to buy. What is the point of having a large number of beautiful cashmere scarves available, as in Dior in London, but not displaying them? Can they sell themselves in a drawer? Unfortunately, it's very much the same in New York and Paris. But in Milan, everything comes out of the stock room, even the most unsuitable item. And it comes out with a flourish, beautifully pressed, and with passion for the garment, inviting you to see and admire. How can you not be seduced by that kind of fervour for a garment? It's infectious!
People often say that London is the shopping capital of the world. Or sometimes it's New York. Well, in my limited experience I would say that for mid-priced quirky clothes with a little something else in the equation you really can't beat London. For girls, that is. Guys don't fare as well. However, it has a huge range on offer and many shopping areas to visit. For the mid-priced more classic, and more 'American' clothing for both men and women (as in the ever-sexy Abercrombie and the like), New York has a huge range of merchandise with very, very keen prices. But for upmarket, 'designer' clothes, and particularly men's fashion, it's Milan all the way. The range on offer is fantastic with many boutiques part of Italian chains that you never see in the rest of Europe.
But what I particularly enjoyed about the whole Milan experience is the attitude of the other shoppers. Saturday afternoon on Bond Street in London - unless it's Christmas - is pretty desolate. Yes, there are a few shoppers. Saturday afternoon in SoHo in New York - packed with shoppers with push chairs, very stressed. Saturday afternoon in Milan on the Via Montenapoleone - absolutely heaving with shoppers with big, big bags of purchases, beautifully dressed and parading. Yes, parading and flaunting their beautifully groomed selves, and sometimes their dogs, down the main drag. It is a sight to behold! Never so much fun in such a small area.
Clearly, regular shopping trips to Milan are not possible for most people - myself included. The damage that would be inflicted on the bank balance would be pretty catastrophic. And of course there are great retail experiences to be had all over the globe. But if you are lucky enough to be in that hallowed hub of Italian fashion, make sure you soak up the amazing retail atmosphere. The people love shopping, the shops love selling and everyone and everything loves flaunting just how beautiful they are. Marvellous...