Milan is increasingly giving Paris a run for its money as the nerve center of chic — with sky-high prices to match its exclusive retail offerings. In the city's Duomo area, on the Via Monte Napoleone, Via della Spiga and in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, you'll find elegant boutiques and posh cafés housed in romantic Victorian-era buildings. Elaborate displays make window shopping here an event in itself, especially during major fashion shows. In addition to the usual names in fine fashion, the area also is home to La Rinascente, Milan's most popular department store; 9 Peck, a renowned gourmet food store; and Provera, a favorite for its vintage wine selection. If you're not inclined to spend, you can get an eyeful of well-heeled Italians casually modeling the latest fashions.

Milan Shopping News:
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Car Shoe Opens New Milan Flagship

One of Italy's most dynamic brands, Car Shoe, has opened a tony new Milan flagship, underlining the ambitions of its owner, the Prada Group, for the label. More...

This issue of Videofashion is our first look at Milan for Autumn / Winter. We take a shopping tour of some of Milan’s best addresses with ... all » shoe scion James Ferragamo. Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta shows that beautiful luxury is best served logo-free. Donatella Versace reaches new creative levels for Autumn/Winter. At Marni Consuelo Castiglioni made “plainness” seem positively chic; Miuccia Prada said arrivederci to “ladylike” and introduced a new urban sauvage that was simultaneously sexy and serious. Plus, find out why Mariacarla Boscono, one of our favorite brunettes, went platinum this season!

One of Italy's most dynamic brands, Car Shoe, has opened a tony new Milan flagship, underlining the ambitions of its owner, the Prada Group, for the label.

Car Shoe actually shifted its global flagship down the street in one of Milan's key luxury shopping arteries, transferring the boutique from number 50 Via della Spiga to number 1.

Designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, the new space employs precious materials throughout. Briarwood, alcantara and leather are used, as are chromium plating and boiserie, suggesting the ambience of a luxury auto in a clever example of modern sobriety.

Baciocchi is the Italian architect who has been designing Prada and Miu Miu stores since 1982, and has created spaces for shoemaker Church, watchmaker Girard Perregeaux and yachting specialist Spinnaker.

Founded in 1963 by artisan Gianni Mostile, who shared a passion for both racecars and hand-made shoes, Car Shoe is best known for its signature moccasin whose sole boasts tiny rubber nubs. The inventive footwear even earned a patent from the Italian Ministry of Industry and Trade and a following among powerful men known as style icons - Giovanni Agnelli, JFK and Roberto Rossellini, to name three.

Prada acquired control of Car Shoe in 2001, opening flagship stores in Milan and Capri in the next two years and introduced the line into over 200 major boutiques internationally. Spring-summer 2004 saw the launch of its first bag collections.

Its classical driving shoe is now available in a wide range of colours and leathers, and even in a new children's collection.

Under Prada's control, Car Shoe has enjoyed excellent sales growth. Its 2005 turnover of 17 million euros ($21 million) represented a remarkable 180% surge in sales from 6 million euros ($7.5 million) in 2004.

The label is planning more store openings in Italy in the short term and in Europe and New York in the medium term, while considering opportunities in emerging markets. It should. A recent tour of markets in Beijing by FWD confirmed that Car Shoe is one of the half dozen most copied labels in the Chinese capital.