10 Corso Como

Carla Sozzani opened 10 Corso Como in 1991 in a working Milanese garage, where fashion, books and photography initially coexisted with Renaults, oil cans and a trapdoor for lifting cars. Sozzani, formerly an editor at Vogue Italia and Elle, called it a “living magazine”. That idea still works once you are inside: one minute you are looking at clothes, the next at photography books or fragrance, before drifting out to the courtyard for coffee. In 2024 Milan studio 2050+ reworked the interiors as a flexible theatrical machine. Clothes rails hang from winches and can disappear between the ceiling beams; pantograph tables rise and shift as displays change. Raw plaster, steel and broad industrial windows keep the garage history visible, while bags and shoes are given so much space they occasionally look as if they have acquired curators.

The most interesting purchases are the ones tied to 10 Corso Como itself: signature pieces, temporary collaborations and the book and magazine selection. Much of the designer fashion can be bought elsewhere. The pleasure here is in the mix, and in the fact that browsing rarely follows the route you expected when you walked in.