Milan by Night

February 8, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Milan by night is all about the people, who seem to be so relaxed and never in a hurry; the scent of bold flowers from the local, street kiosks; the smell of delightful Italian cuisine coming from trattorias and bristros; and the beauty of lit up architecture, which never stops mesmerising. And it’s the city, where trams look always chic – observing elder women who wear their mink coats and tweed pencil skirts entering the old-school public transport is both, a fashion moment and me-after-school defining goal.

Love you, Milan.

Yep, it’s me!

All photographs courtesy of Design & Culture by Ed

Café Marchesi

February 7, 2016July 27, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Let’s praise Miuccia Prada not only for her reality-subverting fashion at Prada and MiuMiu, famous Prada Marfa installation, mind-blowing creation of FondazionePrada, but also for Cafe Marchesi, the newest addition to the visionnaire’s portfolio. Located on Via Montenapoleone, the chicest street of Milan, Miuccia revived the iconic PaticcerieMarchesi into a must-visit spot of every fashion person who is in hurry for the next show. The roots of PasticceriaMarchesi begin in 1824, when a small pastry shop opened inside an elegant 18th century building. The shop quietly evolved in the 1900s when Angelo Marchesi expanded its services to a coffee bar, early evening cocktails and freshly baked pastries, cakes, cookies and candies. The main, sweet aim of this place is still the same – but after the re-opening in 2015, the industry got crowded in here, seeing the Miuccia-selected pastel green silks as wall tapestries and Wes-Anderson-like colour palette delights. If talking of their goods, I confess – I have never, ever eaten a better marzipan cake with strawberries. Additionally, Marchesi is already a sentimental place for me – it’s the place were I had a love affair with coffee. The Marocchino rules.

Via Montenapoleone 9 / Milan

All photographs courtesy of Design & Culture by Ed

Maison Borella

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

During my recent trip to Milan for the pre-fall 2016 re-sees, I’ve stayed at the Maison Borella. This hotel literally makes you feel like at home. The cozy atmosphere of the Naviglio Grande district is already close to my heart – and when I saw the peaceful, all-green patio, I felt instantly that this is my favourite hotel in Milan from all I’ve been to. In a former balustrade townhouse, Maison Borella is kept in a stylish, Italian manner – eclectic lobby filled with beautiful flea-market finds and charming, minimally furnished rooms with original wooden ceilings have this modern “vintage” aesthetic I love so much. In fact, I would love to live in a place like this, having a wonderful view on the patio every morning…

Alzaia Naviglio Grande 8 / Milano

Photographs courtesy of Design & Culture by Ed

Fondazione Prada

October 17, 2015January 7, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Haunted Tower”

Fondazione Prada is Milan’s most exciting place, where curated art meets architecture and its past. The creator of Fondazione Prada is, as the name might suggest, Miuccia Prada, whose love to art is as strong as to fashion. This is not an average, contemporary art museum – Fondazione fuses visual appreciation with intellectual pleasure – everything that happens here, from silent dance performances to temporary exhibitions, feels bonded together. The “Haunted House” covered with gold and the whole Fondazione Prada site is part of a former distillery complex dating back to the 1910s.

Without transforming the original volumes, the architecture project has preserved and enhanced the building by reinforcing the structure and gilding its external surface. As stated by Rem Koolhaas, the architect behind the museum, “Fondazione is not a preservation project and not a new architecture. Two conditions that are usually kept separate here confront each other in a state of permanent interaction–offering an ensemble of fragments that will not congeal into a single image, or allow any part to dominate the others. New, old, horizontal, vertical, wide, narrow, white, black, open, enclosed–all these contrasts establish the range of oppositions that define the new Fondazione. By introducing so many spatial variables, the complexity of the architecture will promote an unstable, open programming, where art and architecture will benefit from each other’s challenges”. Permanently, Fondazione Prada exhibits Louis Bourgeois‘s metaphysical installations, Robert Gober‘s eerie and surreal artworks. As part of the temporary exhibition, it’s essential to see Damien Hirst‘s “Trittico“, which literally presents a gynecologist chair immersed in a huge, fish-filled aquarium.

After few hours of discovering and learning about Fondazione Prada’s treasures, it’s a great idea to have cup of coffee at Bar Luce, which was designed by Wes Anderson, the famous director of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – the pastel green wallpapers and delicious, marmalade cupcakes certainly give the caffè a status of the best museum cafeteria in the world. If you are planning a visit to Milan, then don’t even try to miss Fondazione Prada on your go-to list!

Via Largo Isarco 2 / Milan

Motorcycle Trip. AF Vandevorst SS16

October 5, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

A lineup of 25-strong muscle bikes appeared backstage – Harleys and Triumphs surrounded the Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes a few days ago in Paris. One thing was sure before the show started – this collection will be a fast ride. A.F. Vandevorst and their spring-summer 2016 attitude is literally about the biker girl, her wardrobe and her gang. An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx explained pre-show: “It’s a road trip by a woman who lives in the East and has traveled to the West.” Hence the beautifully embroidered dresses and embellished details, that give an orient-spirited impression. The idea of mixing the hand-made craftsmanship with leather biker jackets and heavy textiles is not only deeply rooted in A.F. Vandevorst’s inspirations, that are brought from their exotic trips – also, it’s their deep love for rock & roll. By looking at this great collection, you have a feeling that the Vandevorst woman is not the one to mess with – however, she is ready for adventures that await her in the future.