After seeing a 22,000-euro coat that I did not like and a 3,200-euro shirt I loved, I had to know the price of a pair of denim shorts.
They were 790 euros, or about $858, and so short the inseam couldn’t have been two inches.
Such is the world of haute couture.
Or, in my case, such is the world of a fashion walking tour in Milan.
Last year, I offered my niece Nicole Gooch a trip to Europe. Milan was on her wish list; I asked why. Because it is a fashion capital, she said. Besides, her interest went beyond mere shopping.
A cursory glance across the web turned up tours to ateliers to learn how high-end clothing or brand-name perfumes are created. Another option enabled the client to be a “model for the day.”
But I wasn’t ready to jump. I instead turned to the Italy expert I know best, travel agency owner and Travel Weekly columnist Richard Turen, who referred me to Philadelphia-based Context Travel, which offers walking tours in cities around the world led by scholars and other experts.
And that’s where I booked a private, three-hour walking tour in Milan’s haute couture neighborhood, known as the Quadrilatero D’Oro (Golden Quad) or, alternatively, as the Quadrilatero della moda. The roughly rectangular area is bound by four streets: Manzoni, Montenapoleone, Spiga and Corso Venezia.
Tour guide Federica Roncari, left, and the author’s niece Nicole Gooch feel fabrics at the Loro Piana store on Via Montenapoleone in Milan. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
Fashion forward
We rendezvoused with our guide, Federica Roncari, in front of an establishment bearing the Armani name, the Emporio Armani Caffe, and our first in-store foray was at Emporio Armani on Via Manzoni.
Federica, who has 20 years’ experience in the fashion industry, was knowledgeable, of course, but also personable and enthusiastic about her subject.
Rome was once Italy’s top fashion center, but by the 1970s Milan had taken that crown because, she said, there is more money in the northern city. The Golden Quad became the “golden fashion area” because the rich already lived in the neighborhood.
As we moved from store to store, she showed us how their interiors reflected each designer’s clothing and accessory styles, ranging from the subdued colors and tone of the Loro Piana store to the lively and punchy look of the Fendi shop. Or the combination of baroque and modern elements inside the Dolce & Gabbana store.
She provided background on each designer whose store we visited. She said Armani launched trouser suits for women (bless him). In 1975, he created greige (a gray and beige mix), a color central to his more contemporary designs. These days, we can paint our houses with it — well, not specifically Armani’s greige, but a color with the same name.
And Versace gave us the bondage dress (no comment).
Maybe lots of people already knew these things. Not I.
The Dolce & Gabbana store, which combines elements of the baroque and modern, on Montenapoleone. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
After visiting the Armani store, we legged it down Montenapoleone, which Federica advised is one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. The cars hugging the curbs — Ferraris, Lamborghinis — were a visual affirmation of that.
We made a few stops here, including at the Valentino Boutique, home to those denim short shorts.
But Loro Piana was the place to feel and simply love fabrics because it showcases so much cashmere. Loro Piana produces the cashmere as well as the clothes, Federica said. She pointed to one coat that required the hair from 58 goat kids, hair that is 14 microns thick (compare that to a human hair at around 80 microns).
We were mostly free to touch fabrics and inspect clothes in stores that had very few customers — or at least few customers visible to us.
After combing the Golden Quad for most of our three hours, we walked to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, distinguished by its barrel-vaulted glass roof. Galleria shops include the site of Prada’s first store, opened in 1913.
Finally, the grande dame of Milan’s department stores, the 135-year-old La Rinascente, is a short walk from the Galleria. Its terrace restaurant overlooking the Duomo, on Federica’s recommendation, became our perfect post-tour lunch site.
During their time together, Federica and my niece dived into topics beyond my ken — like, say, who represents Dior scents these days. It turns out Rihanna recently succeeded Charlize Theron as the face of Dior’s J’adore fragrance. The sort of thing I wouldn’t notice.
Afterward, I asked Nicole to review our tour. She loved seeing the store interiors, touching the finest fabrics, hearing about big-name designers. She really dug that ours was a private tour, but our guide Federica, whose commentary was personalized and unscripted, was best of all.
High-end sports cars on Via Montenapoleone in Milan’s Golden Quad, home to the flagship stores of world-renowned designers. Photo Credit: Nicole Gooch
Booking a tour
Context Travel works with travel advisors on a commission or net basis, depending on the seller’s preference.
The firm’s advisor hub can be found at advisors.contexttravel.com, and agents can sign on as Context sellers or arrange a chat with a Context rep by visiting advisors.contexttravel.com/how-to-sign-up.
