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THE SAS MAGAZINE SINCE 1972<br />
WWW.FLYSAS.COM NO.04/2013<br />
SCANORAMA<br />
England’s gardens Portuguese wine Left Bank luxury Smoking cava Gourmet pizza Designer ice cream<br />
ANTIQUES<br />
ROADSHOW<br />
Design spotting in<br />
Copenhagen<br />
10 PERFECT<br />
SUMMERS<br />
From surfing to<br />
wreck diving<br />
<strong>91</strong><br />
INSIDER TIPS<br />
ARTY PARTY<br />
The definitive<br />
guide to Berlin<br />
Shop like<br />
a Milanese!<br />
Follow in the heels of a true fashionista
THE WEEKENDER<br />
La Géode theater as seen from the<br />
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie<br />
in the Parc de la Villette<br />
Cin cin: Toasting a job well done<br />
at enoteca N’Ombra de Vin<br />
SHOP LIKE<br />
A MILANESE<br />
Words by IVAN CARVALHO<br />
Photographs by GAIA CAMBIAGGI<br />
MILAN Italy’s fashion capital has everything la signora could possibly desire, but<br />
where to begin Jewelry designer <strong>Nathalie</strong> <strong>Jean</strong> opens her little black book<br />
SCANORAMA APRIL 2013 83
THE WEEKENDER<br />
Rome and<br />
Venice may<br />
have a wealth<br />
of attractions<br />
built long ago but to see the<br />
treasures Italy is making today<br />
requires a trip to Milan. One<br />
of the world’s leading fashion<br />
and design capitals, the city’s<br />
calendar is packed with runway<br />
shows that parade the latest<br />
trends in clothes, bags and<br />
shoes for both sexes, and every<br />
April more than 300,000 visitors<br />
turn out for the weeklong<br />
Salone del Mobile, the world’s<br />
biggest furniture fair and a<br />
showcase for Italian craft and<br />
creativity.<br />
Yet beyond the catwalk and<br />
big-name boutiques the city<br />
can seem a little standoffish,<br />
its scores of fashionistas taking<br />
cover behind sunglasses. But a<br />
little perseverance goes a long<br />
<br />
Shopping around (clockwise from top):<br />
Trying on looks at Antonia; <strong>Jean</strong> and<br />
daughter Agata at Fioraio Bianchi Caffè;<br />
the food hall at Coin Excelsior<br />
<br />
84 APRIL 2013 SCANORAMA
THE WEEKENDER<br />
way. Just ask jewelry designer<br />
<strong>Nathalie</strong> <strong>Jean</strong>.<br />
The Montreal native moved<br />
to Milan 25 years ago to work<br />
for the industrial designer<br />
Ettore Sottsass and wound<br />
up staying for life. Like many<br />
she, too, found the city drab at<br />
first. “The public facade is very<br />
gray but there are lots of great<br />
places hidden from view,” she<br />
says.<br />
An architect, <strong>Jean</strong> switched<br />
from skyscrapers to store<br />
interiors, dressing up shops<br />
for Alberta Ferretti and others.<br />
In 2000, she scaled down to<br />
necklaces and rings in gold and<br />
sterling silver, selling pieces<br />
to Carla Sozzani’s über-hip<br />
concept store 10 Corso Como<br />
and working with brands from<br />
Versace to Christofle. When<br />
not busy with clients in her<br />
atelier, she indulges in the<br />
popular Milanese pastime of<br />
shopping, sometimes partnering<br />
with her daughter, Agata,<br />
and friends.<br />
www.nathaliejean.com<br />
Shop till you drop<br />
For retail therapy, <strong>Jean</strong>’s first<br />
stop is Antonia, a boutique in<br />
the Brera district run by Antonia<br />
Giacinti with a well-curated<br />
mix of luxury brands and<br />
emerging labels. Next door are<br />
accessories: Manolo Blahnik<br />
and Christian Louboutin heels,<br />
both emblazoned with “Made<br />
in Italy” tags, and handbags.<br />
“She has great taste and there<br />
are always new discoveries,”<br />
<strong>Jean</strong> says. Male companions,<br />
meanwhile, peruse Antonia<br />
Uomo around the corner for<br />
cult Italian brands (Aspesi and<br />
Incotex to name two).<br />
If <strong>Jean</strong> finds herself in the<br />
quadrilatero della moda, Milan’s<br />
ground zero for glitzy fashion,<br />
she pops into Gianvito Rossi<br />
at Palazzo Bagatti Valsecchi,<br />
a shoe boutique housed in a<br />
Neo-Renaissance residence<br />
turned museum. “I love his<br />
boots: knee-high, ankle boots;<br />
you can’t go wrong.”<br />
For a big store experience,<br />
<strong>Jean</strong> bypasses Rinascente next<br />
to the Duomo (“too touristy”)<br />
and opts for Coin Excelsior, a<br />
<strong>Jean</strong> Nouvel-designed department<br />
store inside a former cinema<br />
that boasts street fashion,<br />
wearable pieces from Marni to<br />
Valentino, Borsalino hats, a bistro,<br />
and an immaculate basement<br />
food hall where locals<br />
stock up on South Tirolean fruit<br />
juices, artisanal chocolate from<br />
Turin, and biscotti.<br />
Another hideaway off the<br />
main thoroughfare is retailer<br />
Wait and See. “It’s for wealthy<br />
Milanese women who want to<br />
keep a low profile,” <strong>Jean</strong> says.<br />
Inside an 18th-century convent<br />
on a quiet cobblestoned street,<br />
owner Uberta Zambeletti<br />
sells everything from Italian<br />
knitwear to Spanish ballet flats.<br />
To keep tabs on interior<br />
design trends, <strong>Jean</strong> heads to<br />
Spazio Rossana Orlandi.<br />
Presided over by Rossana<br />
Orlandi, the local doyenne of<br />
On a mission: <strong>Jean</strong>, Agata and<br />
their friend Louise check out<br />
fashion and home accessories<br />
at Antonia ( left) and Spazio<br />
Rossana Orlandi<br />
Studio line: <strong>Jean</strong>’s necklaces<br />
<br />
86 APRIL 2013 SCANORAMA
THE WEEKENDER<br />
Between shops: (clockwise<br />
from left): <strong>Jean</strong> with design<br />
maven Rossana Orlandi;<br />
lunch at Pisacco, plus dolce<br />
design, the store occupies an<br />
old necktie factory and features<br />
ceramics, glassware and furniture.<br />
“It’s a wonderful shabby<br />
chic space. Again, hidden from<br />
the street in a courtyard. So<br />
very Milanese.”<br />
Antonia<br />
1 Via Ponte Vetero.<br />
www.antonia.it<br />
Gianvito Rossi<br />
7 Via Santo Spirito.<br />
www.gianvitorossi.com<br />
Coin Excelsior<br />
4 Galleria del Corso.<br />
www.excelsiormilano.com<br />
Wait and See<br />
14 Via Santa Marta.<br />
www.waitandsee.it<br />
Spazio Rossana Orlandi<br />
14 Via Matteo Bandello.<br />
www.rossanaorlandi.com<br />
Affordable luxe<br />
For a stylish stroll, <strong>Jean</strong><br />
wanders through the Galleria<br />
Vittorio Emanuele II, a grand<br />
shopping arcade with an ironand-glass<br />
roof that houses<br />
Gucci, Tod’s and Prada, the latter<br />
about to add a second boutique<br />
at this coveted address.<br />
Heading toward La Scala, she<br />
window-shops at Valextra,<br />
the local luxury goods maker<br />
known for pricey, no-logo<br />
purses and calfskin briefcases.<br />
For bargain hunters, <strong>Jean</strong><br />
recommends the company’s<br />
outlet, out of sight in a little<br />
downtown alleyway, to pick up<br />
a beauty case or wallet.<br />
<br />
88 APRIL 2013 SCANORAMA
THE WEEKENDER<br />
Bags down: Aperitivo at N’Ombra de Vin<br />
D Magazine Outlet, meanwhile,<br />
carries a wide range of<br />
labels and habitués have been<br />
known to come away with<br />
brand-new Dolce & Gabbana<br />
boots for next to nothing.<br />
Valextra<br />
3 Via Manzoni (store); 11 Via<br />
Cerva (outlet).<br />
www.valextra.it<br />
D Magazine Outlet<br />
44 Via Manzoni.<br />
www.dmagazine.it<br />
Chic eats and drinks<br />
Before any shopping excursion,<br />
<strong>Jean</strong> and her daughter begin<br />
their day at Fioraio Bianchi<br />
Caffè with a cappuccino and<br />
brioche. Originally a florist, this<br />
small boho eatery is part bistro<br />
part café and still sells flowers<br />
on the side.<br />
<strong>Jean</strong> never says no to lunch<br />
at Pisacco, a restaurant opened<br />
last fall by a team backed by<br />
Michelin-starred chef Andrea<br />
Berton. In place of tasting<br />
menus, the kitchen turns out<br />
delectable, and affordable,<br />
dishes of grilled calamari with<br />
avocado purée, oven-roasted<br />
ribs, and a dessert waffle with<br />
vanilla gelato and apricot<br />
sauce. “They have super-fresh<br />
ingredients and an exceptional<br />
wine list,” <strong>Jean</strong> says, sipping a<br />
glass of Vitovska, a dry Slovenian<br />
white.<br />
To round out the day, any<br />
self-respecting Milanese goes<br />
for an aperitivo, the locals’<br />
version of happy hour. One<br />
of <strong>Jean</strong>’s preferred watering<br />
holes is N’Ombra de Vin.<br />
From the outside, the enoteca<br />
is un assuming but venture<br />
downstairs to the cellar – a<br />
90 APRIL 2013 SCANORAMA
THE WEEKENDER<br />
refectory once used by<br />
Augustinian friars – and you’ll<br />
find 3,000 vintages from<br />
Barolo to Bordeaux lining the<br />
walls. In the evenings, sophisticates<br />
sip robust Italians reds,<br />
prosecco and champagne – the<br />
house bubbly is sourced from<br />
the family of former French<br />
prime minister Dominique de<br />
Villepin. <br />
Fioraio Bianchi Caffè<br />
7 Via Montebello.<br />
www.fioraiobianchicaffe.it<br />
Pisacco<br />
48 Via Solferino.<br />
www.pisacco.it<br />
N’Ombra de Vin<br />
2 Via San Marco.<br />
www.nombradevin.it<br />
GO TO MILAN Book your trip at<br />
Flysas.com. Use money or EuroBonus<br />
points, or both.<br />
SCANORAMA APRIL 2013 <strong>91</strong>