Sandra Onwusiri Ede and Ravenscroft Travel Scholarship Report

Intro

Thanks to the generosity of Ede and Ravenscroft, I was able to spend three days in , from the 16th to 19th of July 2017. While Milan (Milano) may not be the first city a tourist thinks of when planning a trip to Italy, it has many attractions, not to mention history. For all its workaholic reputation as the money and business centre of Italy, it's a city with an influential past and a rich cultural heritage. As an accounting and finance student in 2nd year, I have really had to thoroughly think about what I’d like to do after I graduate. I have developed a strong love of fashion and retail throughout the past years. I have decided that with my love for fashion combined with my accounting and finance degree, I would like to become an entrepreneur of my own high end clothing brand. Milan being a global fashion and finance district, the trip was perfect for me to gain a greater insight on both at the same time. My aim was to discover what is it about fashion in Milan that inspires such high end prices and how I could translate that to . Overall, the trips purpose was to help me gain further insight into my ideal postgraduate career of being a fashion entrepreneur and aid in my dissertation next year.

Expenditure

Money spent on: Cost:

Return Flights inc. hotel transfer £123

Total train and cab cost throughout stay £40 - £50 Accommodation £179

Travel insurance £40 Food Approx. £100 Approximate total: £490

16th July

I arrived in Milan in the afternoon of 16th July. I primarily did a lot of sightseeing, visiting some of ’ most famous buildings and sites to help familiarise myself with the countrys’ culture. This included the Duomo, the Milan Cathedral and Castello Sforzesco, Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna. Milan as a city itself is so beautiful and such a safe place; everyone was so friendly and welcoming! I discovered that the countries architecture really influences its fashion and high end prices.

17th July

During my second day, I took a more fashion based approach and aimed to focus more on what I had actually came to do. First I visited the famous Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele purveying hot-off-the-catwalk clothes by the likes of , Dolce & Gabbana, and Versace. Then in the afternoon I went on the Milano Fashion Tour around the fashion shopping district known as Quadrilatero della Moda (the Golden Rectangle). The tour guide Antonella was so warm, friendly and spoke great English! It didn't feel like a tour at all but more like a girls day out with your friends. She really tailored the tour to my individual interests and requests and was happy to answer any questions I had. I felt extremely welcome in Milan, and this was absolutely the best part of my trip to Italy. She taught me so much about the fashion industry in Milan and gave me a higher level of appreciation for fashion and the brands I adore such as Gucci and Prada! The best part was seeing the laboratory, where luxury clothes are made and learn how. We then took a walk along via Madonna to admire the architecture of buildings and more design stores. The area of Brera was amazing as it captured the real essence of the city as a mix between history and modernity, where tradition meets innovation which is exactly what I would love my brand to encapsulate.

18th July

I decided I would spent my last full day in Milan conducting research about… based on what I had learnt the previous days from general sightseeing, the fashion tour and the workshop. I had booked an interview with a luxury shoe designer who I had met briefly on the fashion tour so decided to go there first. I asked questions about how prices are set in relation to market competition, the importance and effect of retail exports and imports on profit, types of required brand investments, how as a luxury company with high end priced products does he plan to keep customers and gain new ones, how he remains innovative in such a competitive ever- changing industry etc. The main thing I learnt from him was to focus on consistency and long term, strong branding rather than on short term profits which may lack sustainability. He was so friendly and answered every question I had with such passion and enthusiasm which made me even more excited to use what he was saying for myself in my future business endeavours! After this, I decided to conduct some public research which I thought would be harder as I barely speak Italian and didn’t think many people would want to stop and chat in such a busy shopping environment. However, I was really proved wrong. More people than I expected actually stopped and spoke to me. I made sure to behave ethically by asking for their permission for me to jot down their answers and told them what my research was for before conducting the questions. My questions surrounded the topic of why these designer brands are so influential in Milan despite the high end retail prices and what would make them want to buy from a new luxury high-end company which they have never bought from before.

In conclusion, the trip was an amazing and incredibly worthwhile experience. Not only did I gain a deeper insight into fashion and business processes, I also learnt about Milans’ history and architecture and how that has shaped consumerism and luxury brand success. As my dissertation will be about high-end luxury brand business sustainability, my research in Milan will really prove useful in my literature review. Finally, the travelling helped my planning and organisational skills too, as it required a lot of work to plan out the trip, various expenditures, methods of travel, book all of the hotel and ensuring I got to booked places (Fashion tour and Meeting with exec director of luxury shoe brand) on time and spent a sufficient amount of time at these places. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Milan and again I really appreciate the financial aid from the university and Ede and Ravenscroft that allowed me to undertake the trip