Experience
From the loom to the shop window
Four days following a luxury supply chain from the thread to the shop window, and working out where the margin sits along that chain: in the loom in Como, in the design studio, in the Montenapoleone boutique, or in none of the three.
On this page
Fact sheet
- Days
- 4
- Cities
- Milan and Como
- Recommended season
- 8 January to July and September to December
- Group
- 15 to 20 participants
- Language of the visits
- confirmed at the time of booking, site by site
- Schengen days used
- 4 out of 90, counting the day of entry and the day of exit
- Price
- Quotation on request
→ Request a quotation · Download the itinerary in PDF
Write which institution is bringing the group, how many participants there are and two possible dates. The head of international programs answers within two working days.
Itinerary day by day
Day 1 — Milan. Who decides what counts as design
In the morning, the ADI Design Museum. The Compasso d'Oro collection is the record of seventy years of judgements: who awarded what, and on what criteria. The museum closes on Fridays.
In the afternoon, the Triennale. You look at the difference between a museum that displays objects and an institution that builds the discourse around those objects, because that is the difference between having a product and having a sector.
Day 2 — Como. Where cloth turns into price
In the morning, the Como Silk Museum. Inside are the looms, the sample books and the tools of a craft that turned a Lombard lake into the place where the silk of the European houses is printed. You work on the technical side, because that is where you understand why a print costs what it costs.
In the afternoon, Museo Mazzucchelli, on the materials side: how a company producing a plastic for frames and accessories kept chemistry and fashion together.
A two-hour working session: reconstructing the final price of a garment starting from the meter of cloth.
Day 3 — Milan. The shop window as a pricing tool
In the morning, the Quadrilatero d'Oro, with a guide and an observation sheet in hand. It is not shopping: it is a survey. You count the windows, you measure how much space the product takes up against the empty space, you record who goes in and who only looks.
In the afternoon, a two-hour working session on the data gathered that morning.
Day 4 — The comparison and the closing
In the morning, team work. The chain is rebuilt, from thread to shop window, and one single question is answered: at which point of this chain would you put your money, and why.
In the afternoon, eight-minute presentations and discussion.
What you visit
| Place | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ADI Design Museum, Milan | Museum of the historic Compasso d'Oro collection, closed on Fridays | Bookable |
| Triennale Design Museum, Milan | Exhibition institution for design | On request |
| Silk Museum, Como | Museum of silk work, with looms and sample books | On request |
| Museo Mazzucchelli | Company museum on materials for fashion and eyewear | On request |
| Quadrilatero d'Oro, Milan | Guided survey of the luxury retail district, not a company visit | On request |
What this experience does not include today, and we write it ourselves
The two sites that would complete this chain are a visit inside a working Como silk mill and a visit inside a Milanese fashion company. Today we have no booking channel for either of the two, so we do not promise them and they are not in the price.
We write it here instead of letting it be half understood, because a group arriving expecting to walk into a mill has the right to know before setting off. When one of those two doors opens in writing, this page changes and says so with the date.
In the meantime, this experience is sold for what it is: the chain told through the museums, the materials and the market, not through production.
What is included and what is not
Included: admissions and guided visits to the confirmed sites, the booking and coordination with whoever receives the group, the guided survey in the retail district, three working sessions totalling six hours, the materials, one person from the Istituto with the group throughout the experience and the certificate of participation in the experience.
Not included: flight, transfers to and from the airport, trains between Milan and Como, lodging, meals, urban transport, personal travel insurance.
The season, and why
It starts from 8 January: before that Italian companies are closed for Epiphany. It is an urban route and indoors, so winter is no obstacle.
The window with the most content is April, in the days of the Salone del Mobile: the city fills with events and with people from the sector. It is also the week when Milanese hotels cost the most, and we say so beforehand because it weighs on a group's budget more than any other line of the route. August is avoided.
Logistics and capacity
Como is reached from Milan by train in under an hour, and the Como day is done without changing hotel. No site requires a private coach.
The recommended group is 15 people: it is the size that reaches the group rates without going over the access limits of the visits, which at these sites go up to 25. Above 20 the guided visit stops working as a single group, the itinerary splits into two slots, the day gets longer and the cost per person does not go down.
Cover
The program includes an accident and public liability policy for the whole stay. The sums insured, the insurer and the policy number are published once it is taken out and are attached to the contract; until then they can be requested in writing, with an answer within two working days.
Do you want it to count as training, with a certificate? This experience can be built into an Istituto program, with classroom hours, a piece of work to deliver and a certificate of attendance. → For groups
Related experiences
Design as an industry, not as taste (2 days, Milan) · A craft with a balance sheet (4 days, Florence)
Let us talk about this route
We answer within two working days with the dates, the day by day program and the quotation.