10 Corso Como

The mind behind '10 corso como' is a petite golden-haired woman named Carla Sozzani, she owns and is constantly reinventing her unique and ever-expanding mix of selling spaces grouped around a beautiful courtyard, which is closed off from the traffic and brouhaha outside, in the off-center neighborhood in Milan, Italy.

Customers can make a day of it in the 13,000-square-foot complex, which includes the Galleria Carla Sozzani (a photography and design gallery), a bookstore (design books from all over the world), a boutique for men's and women's clothing and accessories, hard-to-find imports, and must-have luxury goods. Sozzani was influenced by oriental bazaars. She was also inspired by 'Biba', the unforgettably atmospheric London boutique that mushroomed, briefly, into a department store on Kensington High Street in the early 1970s. '10 corso como' was founded in 1991. Carla Sozzani started out with an initial investment of only $200,000. With the help of her boyfriend, Kris Ruhs, an American artist from New York City, who has designed the logo, some corners of the shop, the 10 Corso Como café and the restaurant, which opened in 1999. Another big help comes from her look-alike sister, Franca Sozzani, who has been for more than a decade the editor-in-chief of 'Vogue Italia' - a magazine that has made it to one of the most revered fashion and style forecasters in the world. A lot of fashion trends you see in the magazine you can find at '10 corso como'. http://www.galleriacarlasozzani.com

Carla Sozzani 10 Corso Como bookstore

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