Est Magazine Issue #14

ISSUE #14 2014

The

Milan Issue

Contents

07 EDITOR’S LETTER

12 FASHION

10 EDITOR’S PICK

Breaking down busy

Monochromatic in Milan

Moody Winter Inspiration

15 TREND REPORT

27 ATELIER

35 ECLECTIC ESSENTIALS

Milan Furniture Fair

NYC artist Shantell Martin

South African Apartment

47 DESIGN + CONQUER

55 FOOD

Taimi Sanders St Kilda Home

‘Slapdash’ Slow-Cooked Lamb

59 TRAVEL A Guide to Milan

HOME IS WHERE THE

ANTIPODES IS.

As well as finding antipodes in some of the world’s finest restaurants, you'll now also find it to take home from selected gourmet stores or delivered to your door from www.antipodes.co.nz/delivery.html.

Suddenly it feels even better to be home.

est ISSUE #14 2014

Editor’s Letter We are just a little bit excited to be publishing Est Magazine monthly as of today. After meeting with readers to discuss what you do and do not like about reading a digital magazine it became glaringly obvious that we just had to publish Est Magazine more often. With this in mind, along with the feedback that Est readers are becoming increasingly time poor by the minute, we made the decision to reduce the magazine page size so as not to overwhelm you with too much content to consume in one hit.

For some receiving a ‘thick’ magazine in their inbox with over 120 pages of content was a little overwhelming, and just another task to put off until there was time to sit down for half an hour to take it all in.

And believe me as someone who has recently bought the book ‘ Stop Being Busy’ but who has

yet to find any time in my ‘busy’ day to read it, I know only too well how hard that half an hour is to find. But we can all manage to find 10 minutes in our day to pour over pages of inspiration. The washing can wait that little bit longer, or that report that needs to be finished can be sent off before lunch, are some ways we manage to squeeze that little bit of time into our day as a reward to ourselves. We have got so much content lined up to share with you - we can’t wait to get it out.

Please let us know what you think.

Sian MacPherson EDITOR IN CHIEF

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NOW MONTHLY Subscribe HERE to receive every issue delivered directly to your inbox every month!

est GLOBAL LIVING WITH AN AUSTRALIAN TWIST

EDITOR IN CHIEF SIAN MACPHERSON sian@estmagazine.com.au

SUB-EDITOR YVETTE CAPRIOGLIO yvette@estmagazine.com.au

GRAPHIC DESIGNER GEORGIE MCKENZIE georgie@estmagazine.com.au

ADVERTISING LYNDSAY HUNTER lyndsay@estmagazine.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITORIAL TRAVEL Robyn Lea. FASHION Yvette Caprioglio.

PHOTOGRAPHY Greg Cox, Mark Lobo, Robyn Lea. PRODUCTION Marina Cukeric, Sven Alberding. WORDS Christine van Deemter, Marina Cukeric

ON THE COVER

PHOTOGRAPHY Mark Lobo. WORDS Sian MacPherson.

LOCATION the St Kilda home of Taimi Sanders. Page 47.

ENQUIRIES

EDITORIAL editorial@estmagazine.com.au PRODUCTION production@estmagazine.com.au ADVERTISING advertising@estmagazine.com.au

CONNECT

UNDISCOVERED #2

by Michael Cook BRAHMAN PERERA Triangle for Chelsea Hing

editors picks Influenced by the dark grey skies above in the middle of this icy Melbourne winter I’m drawn to charcoal tones, soft grey felt and foamy green sofas to join me in my idyll hibernation.

BY Sian MacPherson

est REGULAR EDITOR’S PICKS

CLOCHE PENDANT

by Porcelain Bear

REVELATION

by Martin Azua

WOOLLEN FEDORA HAT

by My Red Lippy

TOM DIXON Hide Tablet Case

HUSK SOFA

by Patricia Urquiola for B & B Italia

HEMELHUIJS Sepia vessels

MSGM

McQ ALEXANDER McQUEEN

Lace pencil skirt

Leather Biker Jacket

COUNTRY ROAD White Tuxedo style shirt.

EDDIE BORGO JOSEPH

Gold tone tassel earrings

Short Sleeved Wool Sweater

Monochromatic in Milan A quick visit to one of Europe’s style capitals means you’ll be dressing up and down in equal measures to stay on the style radar.

Modern classics like a leather biker jacket and vintage cotton tees and skinny black trousers are offset with a midnight velvet tux jacket and über cool trainers. Perfetto.

BY Yvette Caprioglio

THIERRY LASRY Deeply Sunglasses

J CREW Vintage Tee

est REGULAR SHOP

GUCCI Velvet Singlebreasted jacket

NOBODY DENIM Geo Skinny

NIKE Run Hyperfuse trainers

PHILLIP LIM Medium Ryder Hold All

CREED VETIVER

STELLA MCCARTNEY Black Vivian Trousers

est REGULAR TREND REPORT

The Salone Del Mobile Milan 2014 Edit Est contributors, Robyn Lea and Marina Cukeric, approached this years Salone Del Mobile Milan on a mission to unearth the inner gems hiding off the well beaten, over crowded path.

PRODUCTION Marina Cukeric | WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY Robyn Lea

Continuing the trend of the last five years, Milan’s Furniture Fair 2014 was often the most inspiring away from the main exhibition centre in Rho Fiera on the north-western outskirts of the city. So instead of consuming days at ‘La Fiera’ negotiating the vast, unwieldy beast of the official program we preferred exploring the areas collectively known as the Fuorisalone where many of the jewels were found. The Fuorisalone encompasses select streets in seven different neighborhoods including the Brera, ‘Zona Tortona’, Porta Venezia, the Santa Marta district, Ventura Lambrate, Sarpi Bridge and the newest area known as ‘5vie Art+Design’ around Sant’Ambrogio.

Milan’s trio of female ‘super-creatives’ Gisella Borioli, Rosanna Orlandi and Carla Sozzani still host some of the most interesting events in the Fuorisalone calendar. Ms. Borioli, former Italian Vogue editor-turned-curator gave birth to ‘Zona Tortona’ from her base at Superstudio Più. There she curates a Fuorisalone program of quality and innovation. She also works with the local government to ensure the work of talented young folks is exhibited at the converted factory complex across the road known as the ‘Ex-Ansaldo.’

Paola Lenti

Here is a Prada clutch worth of highlights from this year’s fair.

PAOLA LENTI Queen of colour and shape, Paola Lenti chose to create a multi-space furniture installation for the Fuorisalone at the Chiosti Dell’umanitaria, a 15th Century Franciscan monastery. Restoration of the historic location was commenced prior to the event by Lenti’s team and still continues.

Four Renaissance courtyards and a selection of monastic interiors were decorated with Lenti’s furniture. Her ability to meld her designs to the natural beauty of the surrounding gardens created a feeling of calm and welcome respite from the chaos of the rest of the city. Her love of colour began as a child: ‘I was very, very young, maybe 5 years old, when I received as a gift an album of collage coloured paper. The first pieces I cut were dark orange and dark turquoise, colours that I still like today … each time I start selecting colours for a collection I recall the image of myself cutting those pieces.’

Paola Lenti

Paola Lenti

ROSANNA ORLANDI It’s no surprise to any regular Fuorisalone visitor that one of the most inspiring design collections was curated by Rosanna Orlandi at her mini-empire in Via Matteo Bandello. A guiding force in the design world, Orlandi is attracted to new ideas, driven by meaning and a philosophy of engagement.

Rosanna Orlandi

The creative ladies of Bokja, Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri, transformed one of her rooms into a textured paradise with a garden view. Titled the ‘Good Things Collection’ the Beirut-based duo focused on creating things pieces that made them happy. ‘We are taking time to capture fleeting moments, fast laughs and slow jazz’, they explained and so they created a collection that is an ‘open invitation to rejoice in the pleasures of life.’ On one wall hung an interactive tapestry where visitors were asked to write what makes them happy on little pieces of linen and tie them up. On the opposite wall was a collection of decorative plates designed with simple, poetic images. Stuffed animals sat on the windowsill and painted kites hung from the trees outside, making it all feel like a wonderful childhood dream.

EX-ANSALDO Up the road from Armani’s headquarters, and right in the middle of Milan’s edgy ‘Zona Tortona’ area is this mysterious former factory complex where exhibitions and displays ‘pop up’ then disappear as quickly as they came. New ideas and creations in various exhibition spaces sit happily next door to the enormous set and costume department of La Scala Theatre.

Befitting the former life of this factory complex as an electrical plant, one of the main exhibitions in the Ex-Ansaldo was a display of lights-assculpture. This event with lighting design by artist Ornella Piluso was part of the exhibition titled ‘Globolandia.’ and featured colored lights in the form of invented figures all made from recycled plastic.

Rosanna Orlandi

Rosanna Orlandi

Ex-Ansaldo

Dimore Studio

Dimore Studio

Dimore Studio

DIMORE STUDIO Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci’s velvety touch was spread throughout an 18th century apartment, but also in Milan’s most wonderful new restaurant Ceresio 7. Wandering through the rooms of their Fuorisalone installation felt akin to entering a private Milan of another time. Secondary and tertiary colours created the backdrop for 20th Century furniture such as the Polar Bear sofa by Jean Royère, mixed with baroque and oriental pieces. Occasionally their rooms also include the work of contemporary Milanese designers such as ‘Melted Candles’ by Osanna and Madina Visconti di Modrone.

Universita Statale

UNIVERSITA STATALE One of the most compelling and engaging locations for the Fuorisalone was the Universita Statale which was practically exploding with world-class displays and site-specific installations. Ensuring their position as a centre for innovation, creation and excellence, the interactive art installations, sculptures, lighting displays and furniture exhibitions were created by established and emerging designers from around the world.

In the ‘Designing China’ exhibition we found several highlights. The ‘Tyvek Origmi Sofa’ by Jamy Yang, designed to look like white folded paper, the ‘Nest’ armchair by Gao Yang, made of twigs, and the highly crafted ‘CA Table’ by Ruan Hao with a handsome and timeless beauty to its design to name but a few.

The University cloisters were punctuated with lighting installations in a project organized by Martino Berghinz and produced by Oluce. The display included copper-coloured lamps by Joe Colombo. Francesco Rota then used the lamps to create a chandelier shaped installation titled ‘Kin’, while Angeletti Ruzza created a descending spiral titled ‘Lys’. C&C Milano together with by Ferruccio Laviani created some visual poetry with their multi-shaped fabric balloons titled ‘Virus,’ framing the ancient stairway portals inside the main cloisters.

Universita Statale

Universita Statale

Universita Statale

Universita Statale

Inside the main university courtyard, an oversized 3D installation made of LED screens dominated the scene that seemingly floated above the grass, with the ever-changing screens showing high-tech cityscapes contrasting against the historic beauty of the University’s architecture.

The work, titled ‘U_cloud’ measured fifteen metres in length, and was designed by Russian firm ‘Speech Tchoban/Kuznetsoz’ and produced

by Velko 2000.

YOUNG DESIGNERS: RUXI SACALIS One particular highlight at the main exhibition centre in Rho was the young designer Ruxi Sacalis.

Ruxi Sacalis

Ruxi Sacalis

Befitting her personality, Ruxi’s chairs, lamps and stools had an understated refinement almost begging you to sit and take some quiet time for contemplation. Her collection was titled ‘Stories of Home’ brings an artisan’s wisdom and traditional craftsmanship into contemporary design. A young woman with a strong vision.

She is one to watch.

est REGULAR ATELIER

Shantell Martin Step inside the New York studio of a 33-year-old English artist who uses the medative forms of black and white lines and words to encourage the viewer’s very own personal journey of self-discovery.

WORDS Marina Cukeric | PHOTOGRAPHY Robyn Lea

Bright light pours through the skylight of Shantell Martin’s downtown Manhattan studio. It bounces off the white walls and surfaces inside, each covered with her distinctive black and white artwork. There are floor-to-ceiling murals with no surface sacred: from the teakettle, a model Boeing plane and even the light switch.

What’s instantly recognizable about Shantell’s work and studio is the deliberate lack of colour.

She explains “…if I put colour there, your brain might go to this colour first and then you look.

I’m not giving you that information. I want you to find it out for yourself. You add in your own colour. You add in your own narrative.”

“When things are black and white, I’m not telling you where to start - you can look at this drawing in different places as a starting point and you discover different points from your own perspective.”

As a child, Martin would draw faces and characters, and dreamed of one day being a cartoonist. The work she displays today on paper, walls, cotton and even skin, received its jumpstart while studying at the prestigious Camberwell College of Art before continuing at Central Saint Martins in London. After studying, a change of pace beckoned her to Japan where she immersed herself in the culture that had enchanted and inspired her throughout her education. While the move offered the opportunity to eschew expectations following her graduation and an ostensibly clean slate, it wasn’t a seamless one.

“It was a huge culture shock – first time living alone, first time living abroad,” she explains. “But I think it was good because no one knew me and I didn’t know anyone, so I had this blank canvas and I could slowly learn who I was and who I wanted to be without anyone’s projections on me.”

It was here she started doing live projections and installations, accompanying avant-garde noise bands and was exposed to live drawing, which remains a fundamental part of her work.

“When things are created in real time, then it becomes an experience and if it becomes and experience there’s a connection…drawing to music that I wouldn’t typically draw to made me

feel uncomfortable but made the final result really different which was great.”

After years on the superclub circuit in Japan, “creatively flat-lining” as she puts it, she moved to NYC. And like Japan, the move was not without it’s challenges. The nature of her projection work meant that very little physically existed, which complicated meeting dealers and breaking into the cluttered art market and scene. So, in an effort to take control of the situation, she created her own opportunities she changed her approach.

And started to draw on everything she could.

MoMA quickly took note, as did the producers of Gossip Girl. In a New York Times feature about her work they photographed her bedroom in Brooklyn, every inch of which was covered in her drawings. “If you become one of those people who are doing it and doing it well, other people will talk about it. And that’s your press. That’s your PR. And that’s what I’ve been doing really.”

Since then, she’s had multiple collaborations with brands like NY-based fashion label Suno, installations at Viacom and Young & Rubicam as well as teaching at NYU. And it’s this exploration and evolution of the self that is at the heart of Martin’s work. Whether it’s subtly weaved into her character’s adventures or literally slapped across others – like the large neon piece, also within the studio alight with the words YOU ARE WHO – she encourages the viewer to be a part of her creative process, holding back from any kind of confirmed meaning or message and letting it speak for itself. Though when pressed to explain her approach she is clear “What is art if it isn’t about self-exploration and identity and trying to connect yourself with people in the world?”

And as for what’s next, as an avid anti-planner she can’t really say. Though, she does throw one pretty obvious clue. “I don’t know where it’s going to take me but it’s taken me on a journey and I don’t know where it’s going to go. I just follow my pen.”

est REGULAR HOME

MODERN MONOCHROME A small city apartment is given a contemporary facelift with the clever use of space, strong colours and a touch of minimalism.

PRODUCTION Sven Alberding | PHOTOGRAPHY Greg Cox WORDS Christine van Deemter

When you put two creative people with big plans in a small space, the result is guaranteed to be interesting. Couple Janine Mollentze and Ruan Vermeulen’s one-bedroom dwelling in Tamboerskloof, on the cusp of Cape Town’s CBD fit their vision perfectly.

Janine, a production manager and digital content producer, has a keen eye for interiors, while Ruan is no stranger to design either, as the cofounder of Am I Collective, a creative solutions company where he works as animation director.

In the year and a half the couple have lived in the flat, they’ve made substantial improvements to what used to be a crowded, limiting space.

“We moved in with the idea of renovating, but wanted to live here first before deciding on a plan,” Janine says. “We haven’t spent much money on the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom areas, but we will eventually open up the ceiling for a loft conversion.”

The couple enjoys cooking and entertaining, but the kitchen with its tiled white walls, white cabinets and a big brown island bench was a concern.

IMAGES © MUUTO

“It looked terrible and while we didn’t want to spend too much on renovations, we also didn’t want to compromise on aesthetics,” says Janine. The cupboards were all pulled out and the tiles got a slick of matt black paint, with a simple wooden dado rail dividing the walls into a monochrome palette. The couple wanted freestanding kitchen counters with an industrial feel, so had it custom-made by a friend. With its solid poplar wood table and French doors opening up to a small balcony with panoramic views of Table Mountain, it’s no wonder the kitchen is Janine’s favourite spot in the house.

The open-plan living and dining area echoes the monochromatic tones of the kitchen, with grey and white walls, a light-grey floor and a charcoal corner couch. “My decor style can best be described as Scandi vintage,” Janine says.’ The moody grey wall is the focal point of the room and is filled with artworks, botanical prints by Vicki Thomas, photographs of their travels, and sepia pictures of Janine and Ruan’s grandfathers.

The decor was chosen to fit with both the grey painted floors and an eye-catching pair of art deco armchairs, with the sofa an affordable find from a retail chain. Similar shelving to the kitchen provides generous space for the couple’s quirky collections of retro desk clocks and typewriters, as well as various pot plants that add pops of green.

The room is filled with special pieces, books and images from their travels, with a prized pair of etchings by Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Fedorenko still waiting to be framed. The couple regularly hunts for vintage treasures to add to their collections; “any antique market or vintage shop is the death of me, I can’t walk past without going in and I can’t leave without buying something!” says Janine. The imposing dining room table and imbuia sideboard were inherited from Ruan’s grandfather and the history of the pieces imbues the dining area with a sense of provenance.

The couple’s clever maximising of space is evident again in the bedroom. The awkward placing of the bathroom entrance hampered plans to make the layout more practical, but by transforming a corner into a small office space, the room becomes multi-functional without looking contrived.

The desk and shelving repeat the motifs of solid monochrome colours used with wooden accents, while the most striking aspect of the bedroom is the papered wall behind the bed, inspired by an idea Janine saw on Pinterest. “We had to scavenge every second-hand bookshop to find vintage world atlases to use,” Janine says.

The bathroom had similar white tiles to the kitchen, which also swiftly disappeared under a fresh layer of grey paint. The Boskke hanging planters above the bath add greenery while strategically placed mirrors give the impression of more space and add character.

Janine says the secret to maximising a compact space lies in choosing furnishings and decorative elements that are functional. “When you live in a small space, each room tends to have more than one use. Built-in storage nooks also help you utilise every available corner,” she says. With plans to open up a loft and add more bedrooms, this unassuming little flat is full of surprises just waiting to happen.

GET THE LOOK

Create an art installation in your very own living room by hanging your favourite artworks, both prints and originals for maximum effect.

est REGULAR GET THE LOOK

KIRRA JAMISON Still Point

SOPHIA SZILAGYI Settling

ZENDRAWING Banana Pencil Drawing

JOSEPH JURRA TJAPALTJARRI Patjinna

DAVID ISBESTER Streetscape

COULSON MACLEOD Imagination

est REGULAR HOME

Design + Conquer Finding the perfect family home in the perfect location can often mean a compromise has to be made, but for interior designer there was no question that this compromise would ever involve style.

PHOTOGRAPHY Mark Lobo | WORDS Sian MacPherson

As you can imagine, or may well know, working from home can be both practical and challenging.

For Taimi Sanders, one half of Melbourne-based interior design duo Sanders & King, finding a family home that could serve as both office and home proved most challenging of all.

With three teenage daughters and a husband to consider along with a desire to move into a very specific area within a tightly held suburb, it is little wonder it took Taimi nearly two years to find a place to fit her brief.

Over the past three years this 1920’s, two story double brick home in the Middle Park side of St Kilda has grown on Sanders. While not perfect its eclectic ‘St Kilda feel’ suits the family’s love of this vibrant area that they have called home for the past 11 years.

Referred to as a ‘Californian bungalow on steroids’, the home was originally a dark, compartmentalised block of rooms. In a renovation turnaround time of 9 weeks, Sanders managed to open up the home by knocking openings in walls, installing oversized windows, removing ornate fireplaces, painting out peach sponge-treated walls and refinishing the Baltic pine floors.

Working within the existing footprint, the hero of the renovation’s design is the large oversized room at the back of the house that hosts both the kitchen and informal living area, while also acting as quasi boardroom for Taimi and design partner Elissa King’s weekday work meetings.

Built and installed with a budget- friendly cost of thirteen thousand dollars, this front cover worthy kitchen is a far cry from the overcrowded room with high gloss cabinetry, textured glass and steel accents that Taimi was determined to rip out as soon as she set foot in the door. In its place, the kitchen has now been opened up and redesigned using stained black timber floors and marble-topped matte white cabinetry.

Having built a reputation as ‘tastemakers’ way back before the term was created, Sanders & King was a homewares store and interior design practice on the radar of every design-discerning woman within a 100km radius. Renowned for their signature style of classic, contemporary interiors,

Taimi and Elissa who have been successfully working together for the past 20 years, developed a cultlike following before giving the retail game away.

It was juggling the demands of retail, together with design commissions and coordinating six children between them that soon saw the lustre of retail wear off. Now Taimi and Elissa take turns at whose house they work from, depending on where the nearest client meeting is that day. As for most modern working mothers, the boundaries between family and work-life are becoming increasingly blurred as kids’ itineraries become busier, resulting in longer workdays.

Teaming up to conquer these challenges together is proving a winning combination for these two.

Whether it’s whipping up a slow cooked lamb for a Greek souvlaki feast for an entourage of children, finalizing plans and documenting drawings, specifying furniture or attending client meetings, the team behind Sanders & King manage to pull it all off while having fun at the same time. And to us, that is the ultimate sign of success.

ELISSA’S ‘SLAPDASH’ SLOW COOKED LAMB 1.5kg boned shoulder of lamb 1 x fennel 1 x onion 2 x lemons 1 bunch rosemary 6 x garlic cloves – whole/roughly chopped Salt & pepper to season

Set oven to 110°C. Season and brown lamb in pan. Place in Le Creuset casserole dish on bed of chopped onion, fennel, lemon, rosemary and garlic. Cover lamb in 1½ cup of wine and 1 cup of water. Place lid on casserole dish and cook for 3 hours. Remove lid to brown for last ½ hr at 175°C. The lamb should just fall apart.

Serve with freshly warmed pittas, hommus and tzatziki dip, lettuce and chopped tomatoes.

est REGULAR TRAVEL

Travel Robyn Lea, photographer and author of the recently released book ‘MILAN, Discovering food, fashion & family in a private city’, shares her favourite Milanese discoveries.

PRODUCTION AND WORDS Robyn Lea

SHOP 1. SPAZIO ROSSANA ORLANDI Rossana has transformed the inside of a former tie factory building into an intriguing jigsaw puzzle of spaces housing a gallery, design store and café.

2. FOSCARINI Foscarini is an important pit-stop for designers and architects interested in the stunning collection of lighting by leading Italian and international designers.

3. LUISA BECCARIA Luisa Beccaria’s creations are loved by Milanese women and their daughters for their quality fabrics and exquisite construction.

4. OSANNA VISCONTI DI MODRONE More akin to a sculptor than a classic accessories designer, Osanna Visconti di Modrone’s atelier is one of the city’s bestkept secrets. Her intimate store has no sign on the street at all and is only accessed with permission from the doorman. Osanna herself often plays hostess as her designs are bought out by a stylish assistant. Ossana’s daughter Madina recently joined the trade and has partnered with her mother in the studio.

5. ANTONIO MARRAS BOUTIQUE The ‘poet of fashion’, Antonio Marras combines art and design in his magical collections. This beautiful boutique is found in a narrow street that feels like an extension of Antonio’s studio.

Rosanna Orlandi

Foscarini

Antonio Marras Boutique

Luisa Beccaria

CULTURAL 1. SECRET TUNNEL TOUR - CASTELLO SFORZESCO The Castello Sforzesco hides a series of secret tunnels, some of which were designed

by Leonardo da Vinci for the House of Sforza in the late 1400s. Many of the tunnels were created so that the royal family coul–d move around unnoticed, including Duchess Beatrice D’Este, who apparently visited da Vinci while he worked on ‘The Last Supper’.

Bookings essential and children under 8 years not permitted.

2. STUDIO MUSEO ACHILLE CASTIGLIONE Renowned architect and designer Achille Castiglione left his studio in the care of his family who have opened it as an intimate museum to his work. A rare glimpse into the private space of one of the 20th Century’s most influential creators. Bookings required.

Tours of the space are conducted detailing information about his work and legacy.

3. CIMITERO MONUMENTALE This is more like an outdoor sculpture museum than classic cemetery with many treasures hidden among the 245,000 square metres of graveyards. Works of art by some of the Italy’s greatest artists adorn the gravesites of Milan’s most eminent citizens. Post impressionist sculptor Medardo Rosso is buried here and his grave is marked with one of his own works.

Cimitero Monumentale

Studio Museo Achille Castiglione

WHERE TO STAY 1. HOTEL STRAF Great place to mingle with the Milanese at aperitivo hour in the warmer months with locals spilling out onto the tiny street just off Piazza del Duomo. The sixty-four room hotel feels part contemporary art and design space, part high-tech crash pad.

2. SEVEN STARS GALLERIA An extraordinary hotel - incredibly private, totally hidden and tucked inside one of the most beautiful arcades in the world. Boasting seven stars, each room comes with its own multi-lingual butler who assists your every need.

3. VERDI’S ROOMS, AT THE GRAND HOTEL ET DE MILAN Just steps from La Scala, composer Giuseppe Verdi lived at the hotel for over 20 years until his death. His former rooms have been restored and you can actually book to stay in them.

Hotel Straf

WHERE TO EAT 1. CERESIO 7 Ceresio 7 is the best restaurant to have opened in Milan for many years. With interior design and décor by Dimore Studio, outdoor terraces that book-end a space with two vast pools, handsome and charming Milanese at front of house and an exceptional menu by Elio Sironi, it’s no wonder this has become the most difficult restaurant in town to get into.

Chef Sironi produces culinary gems such as Charcoaled Artichokes and Pecorino; Ravioli, Sage and Norcia Black Truffle and Raspberry, Chestnut and Orange Tart for dessert. Book four weeks in advance.

Ceresio 7

Grand Hotel et de Milan

2. AL FRESCO ‘‘Al Fresco’ in via Savona hides a beautiful courtyard garden behind a curated interior that feels more like Paris than typical Milan.

With an excellent, low-key seasonal menu and a friendly approach, this new café/restaurant is just what Zona Tortona needs more of.

Al Fresco

3. IL SALUMAIO DI MONTENAPOLEONE A combination of an up-market delicatessen and a very Milanese restaurant which, despite its name, is no longer found in via Montenapoleone. Instead you’ll find it tucked away in a courtyard between two tiny cobblestone streets, Via Gesu and Via Santo Spirito, in the historic centre. The restaurant is the perfect setting for a discreet lunch for wealthy Milanese or people shopping around the ‘quadrilatero della moda’, which flaunts many of the world’s major fashion houses.

4. DOLCE & GABBANA – GOLD The Dolce & Gabbana bistro, bar and restaurant

Dolce & Gabbana Gold

Pasticceria Marchesi

has a luxurious interior and specializes in contemporary Italian cuisine. The restaurant is tucked away down a quiet lane and dinner reservations should only be made for after 9pm, or you may be there on your own.

WHERE TO DRINK 1. TAVEGGIA MILANO Taveggia is one of the most elegant historic bars and aperitivo time is a stylish affair amongst the chandeliers and a decadent deco interior. The tiny handmade nibbles that line the bar are made each afternoon and include piccolo pizzas.

2. IL GIARDINO AT THE BULGARI HOTEL At the Bulgari Restaurant in Milan a low key exterior manned by discreetly dressed doormen opens to an exquisite, private internal garden. The bar overlooks the garden and in the warmer months the tables spill outside and you can reserve as special spot in the garden for aperitivi.

3. PASTICCERIA MARCHESI A Milanese institution with a history that dates back to 1824. Go there in the morning and stand at the bar for a coffee and brioche, or in the evening for a ‘Milano-Torino’ cocktail. The panettone or pasticcini you choose to take home will be wrapped traditionally in paper and ribbon.

Il Giardino At The Bulgari Hotel