Milan, September 25, 2007 - Since the early 90's, serious shoppers have witnessed the birth of the cult multi-brand store. A variety of such stores have popped up in fashion conscious cities around the globe all purporting to do roughly the same - offer expertly edited collections of cutting edge items ranging from designer clothing and accessories to music, gadgets and water (yes, water) to a fashion forward clientele before it becomes available to the masses. Paris has Colette, New York City has Jeffrey, London has Brown's Focus and Milan has 10 Corso Como.
Hidden behind a traditional Milanese facade in Milan's Garibaldi district, 10 Corso Como lies nestled at the end of a surprisingly rustic looking courtyard. Housed in a complex of modest buildings, the wares are spread out over three floors and include an art gallery, a cafe, a restaurant and a very small, very exclusive bed and breakfast made up of only 3 rooms/suites and aptly named "3 Rooms". Founded by Carla Sozzani (seated on the the right, below), a former assistant to Romeo Gigli and the elegant and influential sister of Franca Sozzani (seated on the left, below), editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, the store's fashion and design credentials are impeccable.
It is the largest and probably the best stocked of the multi-brand stores with a generous inventory as compared to Colette or Jeffrey. In this respect, 10 Corso Como acts more like a very small department store than a boutique complete with women's and men's fashions, housewares, fragrances and cosmetics, books and CD's. 10 Corso Como even has several of it's own music compilation CDs.
10 Corso Como carries a large collection of Roger Vivier shoes (my personal favorite), handbags and accessories, a generous selection of Manolo Blahnik shoes including the harder to find quirkier models and what could possibly be the entire Azzedine Alaie fall/winter collection. This is actually very useful since these designers don't have stand alone stores in Milan. The bookstore is similarly well stocked and includes limited edition art and fashion books and hard to find titles in English, French and Italian. The music section, albeit smaller, is also well edited.
The Galleria Carla Sozzani is also housed at 10 Corso Como with a focus on photography. The gallery has exhibited Helmut Newton photographs and other notable artists. During my visit, the gallery was exhibiting a collection of photographs by French photographer Gilbert Garcin on loan from the Gallerie Filles du Calvaire in Paris.
Although better staffed than the other multi-brand stores, this unfortunately does not translate into better service. I encountered the same haughty attitude one has unfortunately come to expect in these places and which never fails to remind me of my favorite episode of Absolutely Fabulous where Patsy retorts sneeringly to the shop assistant, "You're only a shopgirl you know."
As for Cafe Corso Como, it seems to attract mostly Japanese tourists and the black clad fashion pack (mostly British and American) with only a smattering of locals. So much for interesting people watching opportunities. High culinary pursuits is obviously not a priority, not that you would expect it to be. My plate of fresh pappardella with pomodoro and mozzarella was so-so but the tarta morbida di ciccolato (a soft baked choclate tart) was very good. In contrast to the store, the service at the cafe was friendly and fairly efficient.
Like Colette in Paris, the primary usefulness of such stores is to edit fashion and design offerings and act as a bell weather for trends to come. Although 10 Corso Como is very stylish and cutting edge, it lacks the occasional quirky item that catches you off guard and makes you feel like you've stumbled onto a small treasure. This more than anything remains the strength of Colette's. In short, Colette still rules.
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