Back in London, for the last few months, there's been a lot of talk of "credit crunch" and of a pending economic crisis. House prices are dropping at an alarming rate apparently, while the number of redundancies is on the up. The situation is far from rosy, I am told by those who know more about these things than I do. I can't say I've noticed a big difference myself, but then I'm not one to pay much attention to shifts in the general economic situation. I'm only just beginning to learn how to handle my money. For a long time I thought that every single penny that I earned - and quite a lot more that I didn't - was there to be spent without even batting an eyelid. It's only now that I'm beginning to think that some day it could rain, and that I might need to save some money for it (and even then, I can't say I'm doing too well).
Here in Milan, where I'll be spending the next two weeks, it really does feel as if things are not very good. Even if the driver hadn't spent the whole drive from the airport to the city centre giving his own view on the crisi economica (a combination, he says, of the escalating price of fuel, combined with everything from the number of illegal immigrants depriving hard-working Italians of their jobs - these are his words, not mine - to the greed of a handful of people who want it all for themselves) we would have clicked that something was not quite right upon our arrival in the city's much famed Golden Triangle. This time last year, at Dior Homme, I had to wait in a queue for about 15 minutes to pay for a stupidly expensive pair of jeans (which by a funny twist of fate I ended up getting practically for free) and the shop was heaving with people. It was the same at each one of the never-ending number of Prada shops. Yesterday, at around 5 p.m., I was the only person in every single shop I went into on via Montenapoleone. Oh, and I should tell you, every time I've picked something up, it's gone back to the shelf. The price tags are just crazy! It'll be sale time when I get back to London, so if anything, I'll shop there.
Even in the lobby of the posh hotel, which is always a hive of activity, there are nothing but empty tables. The space behind the concierge's desk - usually heaving with shopping bags dropped off for residents by the surrounding boutiques is empty but for one bag - an Armani Jeans one at that. "There are no Americans'" moaned the Maitre d' in the restaurant, which was barren except for the table I was on and another one of three at the other end. "Nobody is spending any money," he continues. Not good for someone who usually makes hundreds of euros a day in tips.
Hopefully things will perk up a bit next week, when Planet Fashion gets to town for the menswear shows. "They're all on OPM (Other People's Money)," says the Maitre d', "so at least there'll be some money spent," but I wouldn't hold my breath. Rumour has it that a lot of fashion companies are cutting back on expenses, so there might be a lot of undrunk €20 cocktails left behind the bar.
So does this mean the party's over?
Here in Milan, where I'll be spending the next two weeks, it really does feel as if things are not very good. Even if the driver hadn't spent the whole drive from the airport to the city centre giving his own view on the crisi economica (a combination, he says, of the escalating price of fuel, combined with everything from the number of illegal immigrants depriving hard-working Italians of their jobs - these are his words, not mine - to the greed of a handful of people who want it all for themselves) we would have clicked that something was not quite right upon our arrival in the city's much famed Golden Triangle. This time last year, at Dior Homme, I had to wait in a queue for about 15 minutes to pay for a stupidly expensive pair of jeans (which by a funny twist of fate I ended up getting practically for free) and the shop was heaving with people. It was the same at each one of the never-ending number of Prada shops. Yesterday, at around 5 p.m., I was the only person in every single shop I went into on via Montenapoleone. Oh, and I should tell you, every time I've picked something up, it's gone back to the shelf. The price tags are just crazy! It'll be sale time when I get back to London, so if anything, I'll shop there.
Even in the lobby of the posh hotel, which is always a hive of activity, there are nothing but empty tables. The space behind the concierge's desk - usually heaving with shopping bags dropped off for residents by the surrounding boutiques is empty but for one bag - an Armani Jeans one at that. "There are no Americans'" moaned the Maitre d' in the restaurant, which was barren except for the table I was on and another one of three at the other end. "Nobody is spending any money," he continues. Not good for someone who usually makes hundreds of euros a day in tips.
Hopefully things will perk up a bit next week, when Planet Fashion gets to town for the menswear shows. "They're all on OPM (Other People's Money)," says the Maitre d', "so at least there'll be some money spent," but I wouldn't hold my breath. Rumour has it that a lot of fashion companies are cutting back on expenses, so there might be a lot of undrunk €20 cocktails left behind the bar.
So does this mean the party's over?