Milan Fashion Map: Armani/Silos

Milan is considered to be one of the key fashion capitals of the world, and I couldn’t agree more but why is that exactly? Is it the fact that the Italians are famous for its unique sense of style, and every second Italian woman that I pass by on the street has a luxury brand bag? Yes, but not only. Milan is one of the richest Italian cities, where life is, unfortunately, not the cheapest, and I witness it every day, wondering its streets, sometimes in a hurry, sometimes deliberately getting lost in its corners. Everywhere I go, I see countless boutiques with clothes, haberdashery, and accessories. Clothes shops are definitely easier to find than grocery stores, which can be sometimes quite funny because it’s easier to buy a new dress here than, for example …a pack of pasta. The shops are everywhere, even on the less popular streets or neighborhoods.

Nevertheless, Milan has its own charm: beloved by great designers is one of the top three alongside with Paris and New York cities, where twice a year there is a veritable fashion craze known as “Fashion Week”. What is more, here it is one of the oldest and most beautiful shopping arcades, which today serves as a model for modern shopping malls.

“Milan Fashion Map” are the places chosen and encountered by me, strongly associated with fashion, not always with shopping. There are galleries, museums, tiny, vintage shops or outlets, where you can find real gems, associated with high fashion, where you can look at it as art, a kind of monument, which added to the things to see, would fulfill the characteristics of this city, where are more than happy to admire the Duomo and the Sforza Castle.

”I decided to call it a silos because this building used to store food, Which is, of course, essential for life. For me, just as much as food, clothes are also a part of life.”

Giorgio Armani

This museum is nothing more than 40 years history of the brand Armani. The huge, elegant space impresses with its simple design and amazingly contrasts with the diversity of the costumes. Four floors represent the most beautiful achievements of the Italian art of tailoring, moving in time and enchant. But there is no question of any chronology, nearly a thousand costumes and accessories are grouped thematically, floor by floor, revealing more and more charming artistry.

Space made a big impression on me, it is designed with a far larger scale than the Gucci Museum in Florence. I felt great surrounded by this great fashion house. Besides the costume exhibition, there is a projection room where you can watch the advertising campaigns, fragments of interviews and fashion shows, the space with touch screens and computers where you can browse through digital archives, see different costumes and collections.

The walk from the Duomo to the Museum will take about 35 minutes, you can instead take the metro: MM1 red line to Cadorna station, then change to the green line MM2 Porta Genova station, from there it is only 5 minutes walking distance.

Length of the visit depends on personal preference, I spent about 2 hours there.

A little piece of advice: Before visiting the museum is worth checking the news on the website as there are days in which admission is free for all! Also in August, you have to be careful, because most institutions are closed for about three weeks. There is no need to buy tickets in advance, no queues and not too visitors so that you can really enjoy exploring.