Vogue World takes over the glass-roofed Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II tomorrow night, opening Milan Fashion Week between the Duomo and La Scala. By then, the city will already have started performing its annual wardrobe change. Garment bags appear in hotel lifts, black cars stack outside palazzi, and people who normally cross Via Montenapoleone without looking up suddenly slow down outside a doorway. Milan has 54 in-person shows from September 22 through 28, then Paris takes over from September 28 to October 6.
Both cities spend those weeks slightly drunk on their own importance, which makes them unusually easy to read from the outside. The shows stay behind a printed list, while the rest of the week runs on reservations. Fashion month spills into restaurants, hotel courtyards, personal-shopping salons, rooftop bars and the pavement outside a venue after the last show lets out, most of it bookable by anyone who plans two weeks ahead. Here’s what it costs.
Moving Through A Fashion Capital During Show Weeks
Keep daytime appointments close together and save the metro stops for longer jumps across town. Around major show venues, taxis spend too much of the day sitting behind black cars and delivery vans. Book shopping appointments before late afternoon and leave some room between the last fitting and dinner.
Around Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris and the Quadrilatero in Milan, the good tables go quickly once the show calendar gets busy. Outside a venue, keep the entrance clear for photographers, security, drivers, and guests. Usually, there’s enough happening from the pavement.
Milan, September 22 to 28
Portrait Milano
Corso Venezia 11, 20121 Milan
The Ferragamo family’s Lungarno Collection turned a 16th-century archiepiscopal seminary into 73 rooms around a 32,000-square-foot public piazza linking Corso Venezia and Via Sant’Andrea. Rooms climb sharply during Fashion Week, while the piazza stays open to the city. At 10_11, the current breakfast menu lists the full Portrait Breakfast at €55 ($63), including the buffet, a hot drink, fresh juice, and one hot dish.
Rinascente Milano Piazza Duomo
Piazza del Duomo, 20121 Milan
International visitors who live outside Italy qualify for Rinascente’s free International Visitor Card, which includes consultations with fashion stylists. Rinascente card holders also have access to an in-store personal shopper with booking. Eight floors beside the Duomo keep several labels under one roof and cut out another cross-town trip.
Bar Basso
Via Plinio 39, 20129 Milan
Bar Basso has been serving the Negroni Sbagliato since Mirko Stocchetto created it there in 1972, and the oversized glass still lands at roughly €12 ($14). The bar has long drawn designers, editors, and other fashion crowds, with much of the action spilling onto Via Plinio once the stools inside fill. During Fashion Week, arrive before sunset if you want enough room to settle in before the pavement gets busy.
Ceresio 7
Via Ceresio 7, 20154 Milan
Ceresio 7 sits on the roof of Dsquared2’s headquarters, with two pools, city views, and an American Bar where cocktails run around €22 ($25). The restaurant accepts lunch and dinner reservations, making it an easy place to anchor an evening once the day’s appointments are finished. The bar itself takes no bookings, so arrive early if drinks on the rooftop are the main plan.
Shopping With Gingi
By appointment, Via Monte Napoleone 8, 20121 Milan
Shopping With Gingi offers a three-hour, artisan-focused personal-shopping experience from €350 ($403), built around selected boutiques, concept stores, designers, and private showroom access, with advice on fit, color, and proportion along the way. A broader image-consulting package starts at €1,200 ($1,380) and adds wardrobe strategy, makeup, hair, and a photo shoot. Montenapoleone 8 is the contact address, so confirm the meeting point when you book.
Paris, September 28 to October 6
Hôtel Costes
239 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris
Jean-Louis Costes opened the hotel in 1995 with 82 rooms and Jacques Garcia interiors that still make the restaurant one of the city’s reliable fashion-week rooms. Expect dinner to clear €100 ($115) a person before wine, while the club sandwich runs around €28 ($32). The restaurant has traditionally opened reservations only a few days ahead, so call close to the date and treat the short booking window as part of the process.
Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann
40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris
The private-shopping service turns a department-store stop into an appointment. One-on-one advice in a private salon costs €150 ($173) when purchases stay below €1,500 ($1,725) and is waived above that spend. Full in-store assistance costs €250 ($288) below €3,000 ($3,450) and is waived once purchases reach that threshold. Fittings, alterations, payment, tax refunds and delivery are handled away from the main floor.
BMK Paris-Bamako
14 Rue de la Fidélité, 75010 Paris
Fousseyni Djikine left consulting in 2017 to cook his mother’s recipes, with his brother Abdoulaye joining him at the restaurant. Chicken mafé and yassa cost €15 ($17), while a meal generally runs €20 ($23) to €30 ($35) per person. The bissap is made in-house. Book through their website.
Grégory Ambroisine
By appointment across Paris
Paris-based stylist and creative director Grégory Ambroisine works across personal styling, image consulting, editorial fashion, and celebrity dressing, with past clients including Stella McCartney, L’Oréal Paris, and Vogue World. His published freelance rate is €700 ($805) a day, with personal shopping and image consulting among the services he offers. Originally from Martinique, Ambroisine has also built much of his work around Caribbean and African diaspora talent. Book through his website.
