World destinations for fashion shoppers

The world shrinks to three or four destinations when it comes to designer- shopping. Though brands of your like are available all over the globe, great charm you experience while shopping in London, Paris, New York or Milan is what you miss in other places. For centuries, these cities have been an all-time favourites for several reasons. Shopping high, spirit and culture you get in these cities are far beyond what words express. These places exuberate in exciting and captivating experiences that appeal to and move almost everybody. What allures visitors and turn them into customers in the shops of these cities are, among others, elegant styling, personalised attention and charm of unique ambience, which have simply no match in the world.

London

London boasts of not only amazing tourist places and monuments, but also of its favourite shopping destinations. The choices of product mix offered by shops in London have the power to entice shoppers. As for major international and British brands, London's main shopping areas tend to center around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Knightsbridge, Covent Garden and New Bond Street (home to some of Britain's most exclusive shops). Designer brands and others available in this city are Chanel, DKNY, Gucci, Diesel, Christain Dior, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, Prada etc.

New York

No matter the kinds of events being held in New York, nothing can beat a day of shopping in New York. The uptown area is known for its designer shops. Saks Fifth Avenue is home to up-market designer labels like Chanel, Escada and Juicy Couture. Then, there is Macy’s, which has something for everyone including well-known brands such as Guess and Esprit. Bloomingdale's and the Century 21 department stores are also worth a visit. For the latest fashion trends, Madison Avenue is home to designer shops and flagship stores like Chanel and Prada. Designers wear from Fendi and Versace are on Fifth Avenue, while SoHo with its Chinatown area and chic fashion boutiques, has a great shopping atmosphere.

Milan

Milan, shopaholics’ dream-city, is a city of fashion and the famous for quality design and shopping is the main activity for many tourists coming to the city. There are lots of places to go for shopping, especially for shopping deluxe viz. via Montenapoleone (Gucci, Versace, Fratelli Rossetti, Prada, Cartier etc.), via della Spiga (D&G, Sergio Rossi, Tod's, Bulgari etc.) via Sant'Andrea (Chanel, Armani, Moschino, Kenzo etc.), via Manzoni, Via Borgospesso and via Santo Spirito.

Paris

Paris is one of the world's premier shopping cities. Even people who hate shopping enjoy shopping in Paris. Paris is well known for its specialist boutiques and designer shops. Best designer shops and boutiques are Mabillion, Odéon, Chatelet, Palais-Royal, Champs Elysées, Boulevard St-Michel, Marais, Bercy Village, Faubourg St-Honoré, Beaubourg, Boulevard St-Germain, Boulevard Haussmann, Avenue Victor Hugo, Passy, St Germain en Laye.

Celebrities’ much-loved destinations

Delhi, Dubai, Singapore, London, Paris etc. - everyone has his favourite shopping destination or destinations based on the comfort level and satisfaction he experiences at this place or places. There can be millions of reasons to return to these all-time favourite places. Ms Shahnaz Husain, well-known beauty expert and leader of herbal care in India, says, “London is my favourite shopping destination.” Ms Samantha Kochhar (daughter of a world-renowned Aroma Therapist and Esthetician Dr Blossom Kochhar), Chief Creative and Technical Director of Pivot Point India, a premium hair and beauty school, specialises in hairdo, make-up, beauty therapy and body-art. Her favourite shopping destinations are London, Milan and Paris. She says, “My favourite destination is, no doubt, London. Any day, because of its eclectic mix, you get all sorts and different kinds of fashion stuff. For real classy stuff, I like to shop in Milan. Apart from this, Paris is also my favourite shopping destination. I pick up everything; I am not just a brand-crazy person. I like brands and ‘mix and match’ them with certain stuff from off beat stores.”  The same goes for Ms Ritu Kumar, the first woman to introduce ‘boutique’ culture in India under the brand name of ‘Ritu’. She says, “My favourite shopping destinations are London and Paris. Milan is also my choice but I do not shop there too often.” And, for Ms Ambika Pillai, a well-known name in the world of ‘hair & beauty’ and the most sought after name for every fashion related event in the capital, the ultimate shopping destinations are Paris and Delhi.

Preferred brands and products

Products are available everywhere, yet, items and places of purchase vary from individual to individual. There are personal choices that make way for choosing different items from different parts of the world. Ms Pillai, stating about items she buys, says, “I shop for clothes, bags and shoes. If I do find something interesting items relating to makeup, I pick them up instantly.” Ms Kumar loves to buy shoes, jackets, casual western wear and winter clothes. Ms Kochhar has a different set of items in her choice. She says, “If I pick up accessories, top or pant from abroad, then, I like to mix and match with an Indian designer wear for this gives a real twist to the entire outfit.” Priya, a college goer, loves the fit of Lee and does not buy any other jeans brand. She says, “I just love the fit of Lee and whenever I buy a pair of jeans, it has to be Lee. Though I have tried other brands, Lee fits me best.” Liking or preference for a specific brand is mainly due to style, fits and comfort. Then the brand becomes the most favourite one and we look forward to that brand’s upcoming launches. Ms Kochhar’s favourite brand for shoes is Christian Dior and for bags, it is Ferragamo.  She says, “In mass retailing, I like Sara and Max Mara for tops and T-shirts. In Indian designer-wear, I like designer Pooja Sahu Talisman for everyday office wear and Sunita Shankar for silk wear and Hemant for sherwanis.” Ms Kumar says, “ I prefer going to Harrods in London, but mainly for shoes. I go anywhere for Joseph and Max Mara but I go to streets of Milan for bags that do not have too much hardware on them.” Talking about the products she likes to buy abroad, Ms Husain says, “I mainly shop for cosmetics, fabrics and artifacts and decorative items at Carnaby Street and Convent Garden in London.”

Best times to buy best brands

Lots of efforts go into planning a tour for shopping abroad. If you do not plan it wisely, all the funs of shopping and travel get spoiled and, most importantly, the weather and sales or discount season has to be kept in mind while preparing a journey to across the seven seas. Ms Husain says, “I like going during July, August and holiday seasons.” Swearing by the cold weather, Ms Kochhar says laughingly, “I would say, the best time to shop is late September or autumn and summer as the weather, then, is nice and you can shop more!” Ms Pillai too feels the same. She says, “The best time to shop is in June – July in Europe as the weather is pleasant. I can go for long walks without being too tired and shop with ease and convenience.”

Indian and global shopping experiences

What distinguish shopping in India or aboard are basically customised attention and experience. Talking about her shopping experience, Ms Kochhar says, “ When I shop in India, I prefer going to my designers who are Pooja Sahu Talisman and other upcoming designers. I hate shopping in shops. In foreign countries, when you are just trying out stuffs, you get a personalised attention and I like that. I hate picking up stuffs from racks. I would rather like to have five people to tell ‘that’s ok, this is nice, this is not nice etc.’ We get this kind of experience abroad when we go to top stores and, in India, I get this kind of experience from my designers.” While talking about different kinds of clothes available in India and abroad, Ms Kumar says, “Abroad, clothes are really traveling clothes and winter wear, difficult for me to pick up anything suitable for a glamour Indian evening or wedding. In India, I find clothes that are climate and occasion friendly.” Commenting on her own shopping experience, Ms Husain says, “I have found, shopping aboard, more variety and choice. But, I also favour shopping in India for our beautiful traditional handicrafts. To showcase our products in London, we have, in fact, used many of our handicrafts like ornate boxes and Khurja pottery. In India, malls and huge stores are catching on as shopping destinations and there are more and more quality products available.”

India’s stand in global fashion

With new Indian fashion designers making it big on the global front, India is, no doubt, soon to become next fashion hub. The opportunities are huge and Indian designers are leaving all stones unturned to make Indian fashion industry rise up in the global arena. Encouraging Indian designers, Ms Kochhar says, “I favour Indian designers more than I do international counterparts because I feel India has emerged with a great and much talent.” Of the same opinion, Ms Pillai supports and clarifies the point, “India has no dearth of leading brands and street wear fashion. With globalisation, India is on a par with any of the leading shopping places in the world.”

Memorable moments

When you travel miles away from your country, you surely return with at least one memorable moment of your tour, which remains as one of your most cherished ones in future and is worth penning down in your personal diary. Recollecting such a moment during one of her shopping tours, Ms Pillai says, “Well, I was walking down Champs-Elysées, one of the most famous shopping places in Paris, and bumped into Oprah Winfrey. I introduced myself and spoke to her for a couple of minutes. I have been her biggest fan and it was one of the most memorable moments when I did meet her on one of my shopping days.” For Ms Kochhar, one of her cherished moments came last February; she says, “While I was in Milan, I bought shoes and boots. And, when I came back, I was, in fashion, ahead of everyone in India and it was really great.” Sharing her memorable shopping moment, Ms Kumar says, “Strangely, my last trip to Kuala Lumpur opened up a really cool shopping experience at a store called British India. I got great stuff to wear in the Indian summer, a right mix of day and casual wear.” Ms Husain tells her memorable moment, she says, “During one of my visits to Venice, I was fascinated by various types of decorative masks, which are very light in weight. But after my shopping spree, I ended up buying so many that the volume was too much. In Venice the main mode of transport is by boat. While going to the airport, I had to get all the masks loaded in one boat and I had to travel in another boat. It was a most stressful ride! The boat was wobbling so much that I thought my precious cargo of masks would all get drenched in the water. There was such a sense of relief when we reached the end of the canal, as if I had sighted land after sailing the seven seas!” Shopping makes people travel around the world. And, when it comes to designer wear, no one can forget to make a trip to London, Paris, New York or Milan. These places are important to be included into the itinerary of any fashion-loving person.