Store of the Week: 10 Corso Como Milan

This store is neither new, nor is it exactly unknown. 10 Corso Como sits in one of Milan’s more outlying central districts and is a destination for style-seekers from around the world.

The point about the store is that under the guidance of founder and eminence Carla Sozzani, it changes on an almost daily basis. Sozzani says that one of the reasons for this is that the store layout was the outcome of a collaboration between her and American artist Kris Ruhs, rather than using designers or architects. Practically, this means that this is a flexible space where Sozzani, almost 20 years after 10 Corso Como was founded, continues to do all of the buying, moves fixtures, fittings and stock around, almost at will.

Currently, this means that walking through the retail part of this gallery meets cafe meets furniture and fashion store is like walking through a set from a 1960s fashion shoot mixed with a scene taken from Tracy Island of Thunderbirds fame. And the curious thing is that it is a high-gloss pleasure, where standards of visual merchandising are such that there is something to look at at every turn.

Take a look at the website associated with the brand and your attention may be caught by something called “Slow Shopping” - taken, presumably, from the slow eating movement that has gained such traction in this part of the world. Walking around the store, you can observe how this is a reality as almost everyone is taking their time to enjoy the way in which the collections and displays have been put together. It is all very top-end, of course, but you can’t help wishing that more stores were like this.