Milan Fashion Week, a time to see and be seen.

If you are heading to Milan you may want to brush up on your haute couture before you go because, like it or not, fashion is one of the things that defines Milan. That said it’s a mutual relationship since Milan goes some way towards defining the world of fashion every season. It does this primarily through Milan Fashion Week, a bi-annual event which, along with New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, draws in crowds of fashion editors, photographers and buyers who jet in, attend show after show and jet back out. Extravagant runway events are funded by that small handful of rich patrons who can afford to buy pieces that usually cost upwards of $20,000 and are, to the untrained eye, virtually unwearable.

Born in Milan, Mario Prada is the city's pride and joy

But it’s hardly a wonder that fashion found a stronghold in Milan. As the birthplace of Mario Prada, Milan is central to the Italian fashion industry and hosts the headquarters of Italian labels Valentino, Gucci, Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada. More recently however, Milan Fashion Week has been anticipated more for the newer, more modern Milan fashion designers, designers such as Marni which has been selling as well in the UK and America as it has in Italy. The world of couture has come to rely on Milan fashion for its leathers, looking to it for the season’s key handbags and boots.

Look but don't touch at Versace

What it all boils down to though, is that clean, Haute-Tuscan look that the world loves Italy for. Paris has its chic-in-black look; London, the off-the-wall quirkiness that is expected from designers like Vivienne Westwood; New York does the preppy, Abercrombie look better than anyone else; and Italian fashion is known best for its glamorous but clean-cut designs. We expect endless red evening gowns from the house of Versace and power heels with ladylike power suits from Prada.

For those in search of the holy grail of fashion, the famous Golden Quad (Quadrilatero d’Oro) should be first stop. A square consisted of four streets – Via della Spiga, Via Monzani, Via Sant’Andrea and Via Montenapoleone – the quad houses top designer headquarters in some of the most prestigious fashion showrooms in the world. Obviously the average visitor won’t have a budget for Prada but the Golden Quad is worth a visit, even if it is only to press your grubby nose against the window. Mere mortals can drop by the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship on Corso Giacomo Matteotti which is marginally less judgemental.

In a city so focused on fashion you’ll feel much more comfortable and have much more fun if you dress the part. Leave that baseball cap and your socks and sandals at home, opting instead for well-cut trousers and open-necked shirts for the men and  good jeans, heels, blazers and simple dresses in bold colours for the ladies. The key with Italian fashion is not what you are wearing but how you are wearing it so lift your chin, tuck in your belly and slip on those huge sunglasses and you will glide easily into the daily fashion parade. Ciao bella!