This is going to be the second architecture-inspired post for today.
Art and architecture are indeed two of the main things that allow me to keep my sanity in stressful fashion binge situations.
While it can be fun and exciting going to see fashion shows, I think that sometimes you must be able to detach yourself from a glamorously fake environment and find beauty somewhere else.
In the previous post I was still in Florence, where it's extremely easy to find beauty, art and architecture everywhere you turn to.
Now let's move to Milan. Many people may think that its city centre is more about shops than art and, while they are not completely wrong, there are some very interesting details that may provide fashion designers with a few unique inspirations.
If you happen to be in Milan, rather than taking pictures of shop windows (come on, a Prada shop window looks the same in Milan, London, New York or Beijing...), take your cameras out and try to spot architectural details that may inspire you ideas for your fashion designs.
One place where you can start is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the glass-vaulted arcade in Piazza del Duomo that connects the Duomo
and the Teatro alla Scala (by the way, Neiman Marcus' Houston-based shopping centre The Galleria was inspired by this Milanese arcade).
The galleria takes its name after the first king of united Italy.
It was designed in 1861 following the eclectic style that was so popular in Milan at the time and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.
Mengoni actually died in the gallery in 1877 when he fell from the dome during an inspection, though some people say he committed suicide because of the criticism he received about his work and because the king did not go to the gallery opening (Vittorio Emanuele II actually couldn't go since he was ill and died a few days after Mengoni).
Rather than being distracted by the luxurious shops (Prada and Louis Vuitton included...), restaurants and cafes (though it may be worth having a look at the Biffi Caffè, founded in 1867, and Art Nouveau bar Zucca - but please avoid McDonald's...), have a look at the arching glass and cast iron roof as they can probably inspire interesting experiments in fashion and jewellery design.
Another thing that I would suggest you to do if you are into prints is looking at the floor of the gallery.
In the centre of the gallery you will find a mosaic with the Savoy House coat of arm and the coat of arms representing the four capitals of the Reign of Italy, Milan, Turin (they say that pirouetting on the heel of your right foot on the balls of the bull representing this city brings you luck, though, according to the Milanese tradition only walking on the bull at midnight on 31st December works...), Florence and Rome.
Apart from the coat of arms you will also be able to spot further interesting mosaics and metallic details that, if digitalised, blurred and distorted may provide some wonderful ideas for prints.
So, remember, if you ever happen to be in Milan and decide to go to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, look at the ground rather than at the shop windows.
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