15 June 2015
The Louis Vuitton City Guides are small cult objects: lightweight and beautifully made books, they first made their appearance in 1998 and were targeted at typical customers of the French fashion house, curious globetrotters in search of special places. Now, on the occasion of Expo Milan 2015, LV is launching the series in Italian in collaboration with L’ippocampo. Five destinations have been chosen: Paris, London, New York, Shanghai and of course Milan. The volumes cover the traditional categories (hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, objects of quality, art and culture, urban walks), but they do it in a fresh and unexpected way. Thus, Milan takes on the dimension of a multilayered place, in which you can find Michelin-star restaurants and old local hostelries, designer clubs and open-air dance floors, flea markets and art galleries. The look is enhanced by the photographs of the French studio Tendence Flou. But the real attraction is the presence of an exceptional guide, Giovanni Gastel, fashion photographer and nephew of Luchino Visconti. It is him we can thank for the description of a city that is at once down-to-earth and refined. Thus, for example, browsing through his suggestions for shopping, we come across: “I’m not ashamed to say that I wear my brothers’ castoffs. That’s how it used to be, even in the richest families: the youngest inherited the wardrobe of his brothers.” One after the other, reminiscences alternate with secret addresses, sketching a portrait of a lively and unfamiliar metropolis.
