Milan & the Lake District - Italy - page 404

High Fashion at Low Prices
Inspired by the window displays in the Quadrilatero, you can scour the racks of
shops elsewhere for designer seconds, last year's fashions, imitations, and other
bargains. The best place to begin is Il Salvagente (Via Fratelli Bronzetti, 16, off
Corso XXII Marzo; % 02-76110328; Metro: San Babila), where you can browse
through an enormous collection of designer clothing for men, women, and chil-
dren (mostly smaller sizes) at wholesale prices. Dmagazine (Via Montenapoleone,
26; % 02-76006027; Metro: Montenapoleone) may sit on the boutique-lined
main shopping drag, but its merchandise is pure discount overstock from big
labels such as Armani (I saw slacks for

99), Prada (how about a sweater for
€ 72?), and Fendi (designer scarves for € 44 anyone?).
Italian Design
The top name in Italian homeware design since 1921 has been Alessi (main show-
room: Corso Matteotti, 9; % 02-795726; www.alessi.com; Metro: San Babila; sales
outlet: Via Montenapoleone, 19; % 02-7602-1199; Metro: Montenapoleone),
which just since the late 1980s has hired the likes of Michael Graves, Philippe
Starck, Frank Gehry, and Ettore Sottsass to design the latest in teakettles, bottle
openers, and other housewares.
The 1980s was really part of a renaissance of Italian industrial design. This is
the era when design team Memphis (Via della Moscova, 27; % 02-6554731; www.
memphis-milano.it; Metro: Turati), led by Ettore Sottsass, virtually reinvented the
art form, recruiting the best and brightest architects and designers to turn their
talents to lighting fixtures, kitchen appliances, office supplies, and even furnish-
ings. Italian style has stayed at the very top of the designer homewares market
(well, sharing popularity space with Scandinavian furniture) ever since. Part of the
Memphis credo was to create the new modern, and then bow out before they
became establishment, so they self-destructed in 1988, though you can still find
their influential designs in many homeware shops, and in the main showroom.
Linens
For Milanese design with which to dress the bed, visit Frette (Via Visconti di
Modrone; % 02-777091; www.frette.it; Metro: San Babila). This outlet branch of
the high-fashion linen house offers the line of tablecloths, towels, robes, and bed-
ding that it supplies to the world's top hotels at substantial discounts. They have
other stores at Via Montenapoleone, 21 ( % 02-783950; Metro: Montenapoleone),
Via Manzoni, 11 ( % 02-864433; Metro: Montenapoleone), Corso Buenos Aires,
82 ( % 02-29401072; Metro: Lima), Corso Vercelli 23/25 ( % 02-4989756; Metro:
Conciliazione), and Via Torino, 42 ( % 02-86452281; Metro: Duomo).
The elegant swirling paisleys of Etro (Via Montenapoleone, 5; % 02-76005049;
www.etro.it; Metro: Montenapoleone) have been decorating the walls, furniture
covers, and accessories in some of Italy's richest and aristocratic homes since 1969.
They've since expanded into full lines of clothing and leather goods, as well as per-
fumes and accessories (available at the branch on the corner of Via P. Verri and Via
Bigli, % 02-7600-5450; Metro: Montenapoleone).

€