For university trips to inspire your fashion or textile design students, one destination stands out: Milan. Italy's fashion capital, Milan is brimming with designer labels and boutique stores, and annually plays host to Europe's most famous fashion week. Not only a centre for all things sartorial, it is home to magnificent architecture, rich culture, thriving commerce and colourful characters - in short, every moment spent in Milan is one packed with inspiration and potential. What could be more perfect for students seeking ideas for their own designs? While soaking up the atmosphere will be sure to provide creative stimulation in spades, here are a few of Milan's attractions that should feature on all fashion-related university trips' itineraries.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
A far cry from the average modern shopping mall, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II boasts an impressive legacy. Built in 1867 to provide a shopping space for the city's elite, it is a great starting point for leaders of university trips wishing to give their students a sense of the important cultural role that fashion has played over the centuries in Milan, affecting not only what people wore but inspiring architectural wonders. The mall, comprising of a double arcade, is decorated with opulent mosaics and glass vaulted ceiling, with a spectacular dome whose ironwork is said to have had an important influence on the designs for the Eiffel Tower. Among these grand structures, your students can browse Louis Vuitton and Prada outlets while contemplating the relationship between the city and its fashion industry.
Museo Teatro alla Scala
Another area that fashion is closely associated with is the performing arts. Costume departments rely on the expertise of designers, while many top designers have been known to take inspiration from the theatricality of the performance world. Nowhere is this cross-pollination more splendid than in Milan, and so a visit to the museum attached to the famous opera house, Teatro alla Scala, is a great addition to university trips for fashion students. With a bountiful collection of objects and lavish costumes from the opera house's illustrious past, this is another source of beauty and style that could leave your students bursting with their own ideas.
Moda Costume, Immagine
No trip to Milan to study fashion would be complete without a visit to this fabulous museum of fashion and costume history. Tucked away in the Palazzo Morando, a historic building in the heart of the fashionable shopping district, it offers a comprehensive overview of the history of fashion and costumes. Its collections include paintings and photographs of classic fashions, period costumes, textiles and accessories - alongside fascinating insights into the city's cultural and political history, showing how fashion has always been relevant to the life of Milan.
Robert Emdur works for Equity Student Travel, the UK's leading specialist in group travel for students in higher and further education. We organise university trips to destinations around the world covering a wide range of subjects, as well as conference & event-focused trips.