At the beginning of November 2025, my classmates and I from my university in Madrid attended a seminar trip to Milan. As I think I mentioned earlier, I study fashion & luxury business. With this course they include about two seminars abroad per academic year (yes I know it’s awesome).
The two months before we went to this seminar we studied the history of Italian fashion in class. Our amazing teacher Kaitlin Puccio taught us everything there is to know from the “Made in Italy” label and the laws behind it to the shift of the fashion capital in Italy that went from Rome to Milan after the industrial revolution. This all prepared us to go to Milan for four days with all the necessary info to enjoy the city and its stunning beauty to the utmost.
Anyway,
A little more about the history of Italian fashion.
Italian fashion didn’t truly flourish until around the 1940s and 1950s. Before this time, most European fashion was heavily influenced and interpreted by the French. When the Second World War began, communication between countries was cut off. This meant that Italy had to, for the first time, rely on its own creativity when designing fashion. This period marked the beginning of the Italian fashion we know today.
Not long after this experimental phase, Giovanni Battista Giorgini, a Tuscan aristocrat and businessman, created the first ever fashion show in Florence. These shows quickly became the place to be.
At the time, Europe was still recovering from World War II and was financially and mentally drained. Giovanni knew this and smartly used his strong connections in the USA to help make his fashion shows successful. Americans were relatively well-off during this time because the fighting never happened on their own soil, so factories continued to run and people had jobs and money saved. Because of this, Giovanni saw the potential for his fashion shows to grow through the attendance of wealthy Americans.
Giovanni Battista Giorgini on the far left with numerous Hollywood stars from the time. Dated back to 1951.
As these shows gained prominence and appeal, Italy emerged as a key player among the world’s fashion leaders.
However, not only G. B Giorgini made the 1900s an important time for fashion in Italy. There was some other key players that must be mentioned. One of them (or two of them) are the Bocconi Brothers. Now before I was taught about them in the fashion world I only knew of this name through the very esteemed University of Bocconi in Milan. Turns out this was just one of their major succeses in Italy.
Even before the 1900s the Bocconi brothers already started building their empire. They did this by starting one of the first ever department stores for clothes in Milan in 1877. At that time it was called “Alle Città d’Italia”. After one of the brother's death they changed the name to "La Rinascente" in 1917. This is how many probably know the place now, which is highly likely due to the fact that the La Rinascente is right next to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
You might not know the names of these places so please look at the images here. As you can see the La Rinascente is right in-between the holy triangle in Milan with the Duomo and the Galleria.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - filled with luxury stores
So I think it is safe to say that the Bocconi brothers developed a major empire in Milan's fashion world even though they came from a modest, lower-middle-class background in Lombardy (northern Italy).
This all really shaped the way I went to Milan and perceived the fashion industry there. It has such a mix of incredible people who came from different backgrounds. Either very aristocratic and rich in life like Giovanni Battista Giorgini or working class empire builders like the Bocconi Brothers. It proves that no matter where you come from or what you were given at birth, with great will and ideas you can get to wherever you want.
Milan is an insanely beautiful city and I was surprised at how much I liked it. The people were awesome and the neighbourhoods surprised me piece of piece.
Don't be surprised if you see me living there in a couple years for a fun adventure.
Thank you Milan and thank you Ace Education and EIDM for giving me this chance.
Love, Lola
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