Independent, design-led hotels are booming in China thanks to strong demand for domestic travel and a growing number of visa-free international arrivals. Many of these properties are next to postcard lakes and mountains but not all require boarding an internal flight or high-speed train.

An hour’s drive from downtown, the 65-key Muh Shoou Zhujing hotel opened earlier this month in Zhujing, a scenic water town in Shanghai’s southwestern Jinshan district. It’s a quiet escape among rice fields, waterways and forest paths, where each room boasts its own garden. It’s a far cry from the country’s commercial hub up the road, with the highest building being a modest two-storey teahouse and a neighbouring flower park sitting beyond the walled compound. 

For general manager Alex Li, a 23-year veteran of Aman, Four Seasons and Hyatt, this is his first time working for a local brand. Why the change? “The project and the owners,” he tells Monocle during a tour. Muh Shoou Zhujing is the second hotel under the Muh Shoou brand. The first, Muh Shoou Xixi Hotel, is in the wetlands of Hangzhou. Both were designed by Group of Architects (GOA), which is headed up by Zhang Xiaoxiao, who is also the co-founder of Muh Shoou.

According to Zhang Xiaoxiao, chief architect on the project and co-founder of Muh Shoou, the design philosophy is a “way of seeing the land”. Replicating a successful template isn’t in their remit – GOA and Muh Shoou want to celebrate the hotel’s unique surroundings. He compares the “wild, cold, seclusion and quiet” of the award-winning Hangzhou property to the “misty rainforest and marshland” of Shanghai’s new outpost.

Zhujing might be distinct from Shanghai’s Bund-era glamour but “the contrast is the charm,” says Xiaoxiao. “It’s the hinterland for a global metropolis – an answer to urban nostalgia.” The architecture at Muh Shoou Zhujing avoids literal Chinese motifs, drawing instead from the classical garden tradition. From the courtyard to the lobby, guests can meander as the architecture conceals and reveals pockets of nature. “Changing scenery with each step,” adds Xiaoxiao.

Private courtyards and standalone bathhouses invite guests to reconnect at a slower rhythm but Muh Shoou Zhujing isn’t intended for the reclusive city dweller. The emphasis here is on conviviality, from the tea lounge and poolside bar to the eight private dining rooms for family and friends to gather. Common areas are deliberately compact, eschewing the expansive lobbies popular in many international resorts. After all, “small spaces bring people closer,” says Xiaoxiao. 

This design ethos extends to service. For the founders, the term “Chinese hospitality” translates to a respectful, equal exchange between guest and host. Service corridors sit alongside guest paths, shunning the stark hierarchies found in traditional luxury hotels, while the restaurant is sunken below the manicured garden to give diners the sense of sitting on the ground. The kitchen’s menu changes with the harvest, drawing on premium ingredients from nearby farms.

Just as independent luxury hoteliers are attracting talent such as Alex Li, they are increasingly enticing China’s wealthy urbanites and international travellers craving a quieter stay.

Known for masterful craftsmanship, high-quality materials and attention to detail, Japan has earned its reputation for having one of the world’s most influential fashion scenes. But while many street-level trends and luxury brands are well documented, the country’s more under-the-radar brands are well worth knowing. Whether you’re looking for minimalist tailoring or streetwear-inspired silhouettes, here are eight Japanese brands that we recommend.

Auralee 

A decade after launching his Tokyo-based brand, Auralee, Kobe-born designer Ryota Iwai is hitting his stride. Auralee has earned a reputation for its masterful use of colour, meticulous tailoring and made-in-Japan quality. This is elegant, modern luxury – all made to Iwai’s exacting specifications – that is a delight to touch and wear. It’s an alluring mix of Tokyo edge with wearable sophistication, crafted by factories that have been working with Iwai from the beginning. With stockists around the world and a flagship in the Japanese capital, the label is now attracting global attention after having secured a regular slot on the Paris Fashion Week calendar.

Setchu 

Japanese designer Satoshi Kuwata expressed surprise at how many people were in attendance at his label’s recent show at Milan Fashion Week, held in his new offices in the Lombard capital. The LVMH Prize-winner is establishing a loyal following for his brand, Setchu, by virtue of his ability to tell stories through unexpected details.

A case in point is his latest collection, inspired by a fishing trip to Greenland. “I planned to visit a long time ago,” he says while styling models wearing quilted pieces informed by Arctic conditions. And, in what is perhaps the most unexpected accessory of the season so far, Kuwata designed a fishing rod to accompany his clients on their next angling mission.

A Presse

Vintage furniture from the 1950s and 1960s captures the spirit of Kazuma Shigematsu’s fashion collections for A Presse, the label that he founded in Tokyo in 2021. “I spent years consulting for larger companies and I was tired,” he says, referring to the ever-increasing pace of the fashion industry.

A Presse’s model is the antithesis of mass manufacturing, with limited-edition items designed to improve with age. Shigematsu believes that fashion shoppers should think of themselves as collectors. When it comes to quality, there’s little distinction between a handcrafted wooden chair and one of his leather jackets or workwear-inspired trousers. Silhouettes are executed to perfection, the stitching is done by hand and even the garments’ hangers are hand-carved. “The market has become too much about marketing and logos,” says the designer. “My concept is about understatement and not dressing for others. These clothes are for you.” 

While Japan is known for its commitment to craft, this level of artistry is still unusual. The label has attracted an international clientele of connoisseurs (the US is one of the brand’s strongest markets) and larger retailers are knocking on its door. But distribution remains limited. A Presse has a few global partners, including e-commerce site Mr Porter, but the best way to access its wares is to visit its Shibuya flagship, where concrete interiors meet thoughtfully selected furniture and meticulously crafted wardrobe classics.

Kaptain Sunshine

To those in the know, Kaptain Sunshine is simply one of the best brands to come out of Japan, having mastered the kind of smart-casual wardrobe that Tokyoites are celebrated for. Kobe-born Shinsuke Kojima started the brand in 2013 to indulge his relentless eye for detail and his passion for vintage uniforms. 

Every piece is connected to a different region in Japan. Denim comes from Okayama and Hiroshima, leather purses and belts are made in Tokyo and Kamakura, and hand-finished silk squares are made with fabric from Yamanashi. The detail in the denim is something else: a 13.5oz selvedge, dyed with pure indigo and woven on an old-fashioned loom to give the uneven texture that Kojima likes. “We give the factories highly detailed sewing instructions to ensure a one-of-a-kind line-up that we take pride in,” he says.

Kojima is not in the business of radical shifts between seasons. “We are not seeking dramatic changes; our goal remains to pursue uncompromising creativity,” he says of the new season’s line-up. “For spring/summer, natural fibres such as cotton, linen, silk and wool take centre stage. These are blended with select synthetics to create materials and silhouettes that feel comfortable in Japan’s humid summer climate.” The Kaptain Sunshine look is put-together but effortless and it can go in the washing machine too.

Ssstein

Self-taught designer Kiichiro Asakawa learnt his craft through years of deconstructing vintage garments and running Carol, his multibrand boutique in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighbourhood. More recently, he has been enjoying the success of Ssstein, which he founded in 2016. Japanese customers are well versed in its collections of classics elevated by expert cutting techniques. Now the rest of the world seems to be catching up: the label was on many international buyers’ lists at the latest edition of Paris Fashion Week Men’s.

Highlights from his new collection include oversized flight jackets made from military khaki Olmetex and track jackets featuring a cotton-nylon knitted fabric sourced in Japan, as with all of the label’s materials. “The level of craftsmanship is high here,” he says. Asakawa works with understated colour palettes and silhouettes that look good on both men and women. “I’m always thinking about cuts and fabrics that will feel comfortable,” he says. “We want to create a relaxed elegance that isn’t flashy. It’s about beauty and quality for the everyday.”

Soshi Otsuki

The 1980s get a bad rap when it comes to style: too much hair product, too much shoulder padding – just too much. But there’s another side to the decade’s fashion. Step forward up-and-coming Tokyo designer Soshi Otsuki. “I love the look of the bubble era so the question was how to create the mood and mentality of that time,” says Otsuki. “It was when Japan started importing suits from Italy.” 

The silhouettes and the styling fit the 1980s brief, while being thoughtfully updated. The tweaks are subtle: the shirt with an inner-chest pocket in which to tuck a tie (as salarymen used to do) or the bust darts that are deliberately not quite seamless to create more of a drape. There are oblique references to traditional garments too. 

Otsuki makes his clothes in specialist factories in Japan, is self-financed and wants to continue producing his collections independently. His designs are available for purchase online as well as through about 20 stockists in Japan and overseas. 

Sans Limite

Yusuke Monden started his menswear label Sans Limite in 2012 after cutting his teeth in shirt design and production at Comme des Garçons. His concept is simple: wardrobe classics made well. He began with a tight edit of six shirts, and has since expanded to ready-to-wear and accessories collections. “We don’t try to sell items for a specific season or drastically change fabrics for each collection either,” says Monden. 

Monden is committed to “made-in-Japan” quality. “We do the patterning and planning internally, and then work with domestic factories,” he says. “When it comes to one-off items, such as patchwork shirts, hand-knit sweaters or even rugs, we work on them in the studio and then send them off to the factories for completion.” 

Sans Limite’s Tokyo flagship is on a busy shopping street by the railway tracks that was home to a black market for US goods after the Second World War. It’s a world away from the neighbourhoods usually favoured by fashion brands.

ESC

Before he set up his lifestyle company Elephant Street & Co (ESC), Shinji Komine had been working in brand marketing for some of the world’s biggest corporations, including Apple, Nike and Dyson. “I knew that when I set up my own company, it would have to have a strong ethical dimension,” he says. Four years on, ESC has released its first capsule collection: an easy-to-wear line of T-shirts, hooded waterproof jackets, painter trousers and totes. 

Komine works collaboratively with a small group that includes a fashion-loving doctor, a designer with experience at top brands, and small, Japanese producers. They make garments using natural materials and artisanal techniques. The brand’s core fabric is a traditional Takashima canvas made in Shiga prefecture using unbleached organic cotton, while the dyes come from natural herbs and minerals. Boxy cotton T-shirts are manufactured on shuttle looms in Shizuoka, while the Anthracite nylon collection uses a technical fabric (with a plant-derived coating), developed by Japanese fabric maker Seiren. ESC’s ethical credentials are impeccable but Komine’s streetwear-inspired silhouettes keeps fashion central to the project.

Confirmed: 05.25 is an ugly number set of numbers – especially when it has “am” tacked on the back followed by the words “boarding” and “time”. That was how the week started in Lisbon. It was an 03.45 wake-up call for mom and me, a last-minute review of three bags to check, a couple of coffees and then down to the car for a 04.15 pick-up. Thankfully it’s only nine minutes to the airport at this time of day and the Air France (AF) handling agents were ready for us. Onboard, mom napped, I stayed on top of emails from Asia and the Gulf and after 90 minutes in the air the captain announced our approach to Paris-Charles de Gaulle – neatly ahead of schedule.
 
At the aircraft door, an AF agent was on hand to meet us with a sunny “bonjour”. She took my mom’s too heavy purse (I thought I did a final edit before we set off but mom has a habit of sneaking at least another five kilos of print, tech and toiletries in her bag before she leaves the apartment), led us along the airbridge, down the stairs and to a waiting car below. “Well, this is quite special,” mom remarked while buckling up. I confirmed that this was indeed special treatment and that mom should savour the moment. “Very spoily-pants,” she agreed. “Thank you.”

After a few roundabouts, lots of passing luggage and cargo containers, and many AF Airbuses (brand new and nearly vintage) we pulled up at the terminal, showed our passports and were taken through to the La Première arrivals lounge. The connection to Ottawa wasn’t the shortest (three-and-a-half hours), so we settled in with the weekend newspapers, coffees, and plenty of retailers and dealers heading home from Watches and Wonders in Geneva. A table of Texans (they seemed to own a group of jewellery stores) gave a full forecast of how they saw the market performing till year-end and I’m happy to report that, at least when it comes to Dallas and Houston, they were feeling very good about things and would be ordering “big” for 2027.

Thirty minutes before departure, our agent returned and said that she was ready to take us to the plane. A trip outside the lounge to stock up on mags meant that mom’s purse now needed wheels and I took charge of her movable library as we made our way to the car. The crowd in the front of one of Air France’s more elderly 777-300s seemed to be a mix of African diplomats and Canadian military types heading back to the nation’s capital. I consulted the menu while firing up the screen and started to scroll through the various films and boxsets on offer. The plan was to catch up on lingering emails and get some marching orders sent while crossing the Atlantic but while in the new releases section I noticed French actress Léa Drucker pop up in a promo for a film that I hadn’t heard of. I was about to click on the description for Dossier 137 but decided it was best to order lunch and get on with my work. Or maybe not? While drinks were being poured I got on with my correspondence but also decided to watch the trailer of Drucker’s film as we crossed what must have been the western coast of Ireland.

Without giving too much away, it’s a gritty cop film about the internal affairs investigation division and the complexity (bureaucratic and otherwise) of a case from a gilets jaunes protest. I hit play and can highly recommend it if you’re looking for something to watch at your local review cinema or on the sofa this eve. As the credits rolled, I was reminded that it has been Air France and not Apple TV, Amazon or Netflix that has offered up some of the best films that I’ve watched over the past three years. Hokkyoku Hyakkaten no Concierge-san (The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store), Novembre and Pas des Vagues (The Good Teacher) should all be on your viewing list if you’ve not managed to catch them yet.

People crisscross the world to attend film festivals, design biennales and art fairs but, if you choose the correct carrier, some of the best in contemporary culture can be found in the seatback in front of you. Happy viewing dear reader.

Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns.

Shanghai remains the primary hub for any major brand with serious ambitions in China’s vast market. The giant ship-shaped space unveiled by Louis Vuitton last year is just the latest example. While much of the attention this century has been on the ups and downs of European luxury, consumer trends in China’s commercial capital are fast moving with increased competition from domestic brands.  

The best in class embrace a broader view of luxury and modern lifestyles to deliver international looks that reference Eastern traditions. They are also investing more in their offline shop windows, notwithstanding the significance of Tmall, Xiaohongshu and other e-commerce channels. 

Shanghai’s retail scene is sophisticated, full of confidence and less shopping-mall centric than other Asian mega cities. Heritage houses are being transformed into monobrand maisons while art deco-era architecture by László Hudec and the like are being restored and put to use as shopping compounds and public spaces (Robert Ho Tung’s former residence at Shaanxi Road 457 has just opened to the public after nearly a century). Zhangyuan’s historic shikumen (traditional stone-gate houses) are opening in stages, a quarter of a century since Xintiandi first opened, setting the bar for developers to better. 

On the eve of our sold-out Shanghai conference (and first pop-up shop and café in China), here is a selection of must-visit addresses across six districts that offer Shanghai’s singular take on fashion, design and the future of retail.

Boutiques  

Icicle
Icicle has been at the forefront of Chinese sustainable fashion for almost three decades, using natural fabrics from ethical sources and incorporating eco-friendly pigments such as pomegranate peel and pu’er tea. Married owners Ye Shouzeng and Shawna Tao continue to run their understated brand, which now operates in two timezones. Global expansion started 13 years ago with a design studio in Paris and the label has since grown to include four shops in the French capital and ownership of couture label Carven. The first Garden Store concept debuted in Shanghai in 2024, combining the two brands with a restaurant and café in a restored 1920s villa.
icicle.com.cn
2 Hengshan Road, Xuhui 

Ficus
Shanghai is known for its heritage tailoring and Ficus is one of several modern ateliers keeping up the city’s clothcutting tradition. The decade-old menswear label fuses Western tailoring with Eastern aesthetics in a direct nod to Shanghai’s “Red Gang” tailors, a school of skilled clothiers in the early 20th century who blended Saville Row silhouettes with intricate Chinese detailing. Its ready-to-wear items include a diverse range of styles including French workwear jackets and linen-knit polos with mandarin collars.
ficusshanghai.com
1F-W18, Infinitus Mall, No. 168, Hubin Road, Xintiandi

La Maison by Anthology 
Hong Kong’s menswear specialists The Anthology opened its first Shanghai outpost in January. The three storey house in the tree-lined former French Concession opens with the label’s ready-to-wear selection on the ground floor, featuring suits, jackets, knitted T-shirts and denim. The second-floor shoe salon displays original footwear and collaborations with, among others, Crockett & Jones, alongside a wider selection courtesy of Hong Kong shoe specialists Tassells. Custom tailoring takes place under exposed wooden beams in the well-lit attic. 
theanthology.net
193 Wulumuqi South Road, Xuhui 

Multibrand shops 

Labelhood
There’s no better place to take the pulse of China’s fashion-design industry than at Labelhood, an incubator and retailer that has supported independent designers for a decade. Co-founders Tasha Liu and Justin Peng have helped scores of talented fashion graduates from top design schools find firm footing in the domestic market before catapulting them across the globe. Highlights include feminine fashion line Shushu/Tong, cross-cultural label Samuel Guì Yang and quiet luxury purveyor Ruohan. Be sure to also check out Norlha, a Tibetan luxury yak wool brand.
labelhood.com 
796 Julu Road, Jing’an 

Maison Dongliang
Chinese multi-brand retailer Dongliang was conceived by Tasha Liu before she left to focus on Labelhood. Her former partner Charles Wang has continued with the business and opened its Shanghai destination shop in 2024. Maison Dongliang carries a mix of fashion, beauty and homeware items across three storeys of a colonial-era family home. International brands from The Row to Lemaire, Phoebe Philo, Casey Casey and Perfumer H sit alongside Chinese designer Junwei Lin and Jingdezhen ceramist Jingwen Wu. A tea room was added last year in an adjoining villa.
No 174 Villa, Wuyi Road, Changning

Maison Uma Wang
Chinese designer Uma Wang is no stranger to the global fashion scene, having shown collections at London, Paris and Milan fashion weeks. The Central St Martins graduate established her namesake brand in 2009, and currently operates luxury boutiques in every major city along with an international outpost in Milan. Wang opened her first Maison Uma Wang in 2025 in the former French Concession to showcase her full ready-to-wear mens and womenswear collections. Displayed alongside are pieces by brands she enjoys, such as eyewear brand and regular collaborator Rigards, Chen Lu jewellery and French porcelain brand Astier de Villatte. 
umawang.com
299 Fuxing Xi Road, Xuhui

Zzer
China’s leading pre-owned luxury retailer Zzer might have started as an online platform but today the Shanghai-based business is firmly anchored with a handful of giant, IKEA-style warehouses in major cities. Designer handbags (specifically Louis Vuitton) are by far the biggest category but jewellery, clothing and footwear are all growing in popularity. The number of international customers has also exploded in the past two years with the introduction of visa-free travel and an English-language app.
zzer.com 
01-05 B1, No. 52 Shaohong Road, Minhang

Shopping malls 

Jing An Kerry Centre
Made-in-China brands have been moving into Shanghai’s best shopping malls in recent years and the Jing An Kerry Centre is a well-appointed destination to take in this trend. Shanghai menswear label Nice Rice specialises in elevated essentials, with shops across the country. Local fragrance brands are also well represented, including Melt Season, Documents and Handhandhand. Monocle will also be joining the commercial complex’s sharply dressed crowd for a six-week retail and café pop-up – our first in Shanghai. Drop by for a range of limited edition products and prints, including several Made-in-China specials.
jingankerrycentre.com
1515 Nanjing Road West, Jing’an

Columbia Circle
What was once a collection of residential garden villas, and a country club for Shanghai’s American community in the 1920s, has been transformed into a salubrious public space boasting open courtyards, restaurants, art exhibitions and shops. Notable retailers include Shanghai-based outdoor brand An Ko Rau, slow-fashion label Klee Klee and Japanese bookshop chain Tsutaya Books. The compound is also home to Shardaa’s flagship shop and café – a “living room” that celebrates Tibetan culture. Nomadic wisdom is woven into modern innovation for a range of handcrafted products, such as outdoor camping chairs and clothing, all made by Tibetan artisans. 
1262 Yan’an West Road, Changning

Eyewear, footwear, accessories and more 

Songmont 
Founder Fu Song founded leather-goods label Songmont out of dissatisfaction with the dearth of handbag options suited to her lifestyle. The former user-experience designer has created a range of functional and well-made bags anchored in the nation’s craft traditions. The Song bag references bamboo-framed swallow kites while the Luna bag – as its name suggests – draws inspiration from the moon, a motif that holds deep meaning in Chinese culture. Founded in 2013, Songmont has established a retail presence in most major Chinese cities (including four shops in Shanghai) and with its sights now set overseas. 
songmontofficial.com
817-819 Huaihai Middle Road, Huangpu

Pane
Shoe shopping in China has come a long way from the days of buying a pair of Feiyue trainers (a 1920s-era martial arts shoe that was given a French marketing makeover). Pane was established in 2022 by Chen Ning, a finance executive with a decade’s experience in menswear. The footwear brand is grounded in archival styles and refined construction. Its signature silhouette takes cues from the German Army Trainer but with evocative colourways and premium materials. The fact that its online styles are often sold out gives you even more reason to visit its Shanghai flagship.
paneshoes.com
22 Yongyuan Road, Jing’an

Haus Nowhere Shanghai
Gentle Monster’s founder and CEO Hankook Kim is known for his highly engineered and budget-smashing shop windows. Kim’s new Haus Nowhere concept takes his passion for in-person retail to the next level by combining his three brands – Gentle Monster eyewear, Tamburins perfume and Nudake desserts – in one expansive space. The four storey, roadside Shanghai outpost is one of the clearest expressions of Kim’s vision and the future of retail: surrealist kinetic installations and video art rubbing shoulders with fragrance bottles, edgy frames and kettlebell-shaped croissants. The only non-Chinese shop on this list is worthy of a visit for its sheer scale and eye-opening ambition.
798-812 Huaihai Middle Road, Huangpu

Furniture, design and books

Design Republic
Established in 2004, architecture studio Neri&Hu has become synonymous with Shanghai’s design scene. Founders Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu conceived their retail concept shop Design Republic at the same time as the studio to introduce the Chinese market to an elegant edit of products by the world’s best talents. The flagship opened in 2013, stocking a broad selection of furniture and lighting, ranging from Artek and Maruni to Louis Poulsen. The space is set in a pre-war, red-brick police headquarters and also includes a gallery, restaurant and event space. 
thedesignrepublic.com 
511 Jiang-Ning Road, Jing’an

Stellar Works
Furniture brand Stellar Works moved production to the outskirts of Shanghai last year – a by-product of the city’s continued gentrification. Its new location in the Jiading district, which is about an hour’s drive from downtown, combines the flagship showroom, head office and factory. The Japanese-owned and operated business produces most of its furniture for hotels, restaurants and other high-end hospitality projects around the world. It regularly collaborates with notable designers, including Nendo, Yabu Pushelberg and Space Copenhagen.
stellarworks.com 
1058 Huifu Road, Waigang Town, Jiading

Ziwu 
Ziwu is a three-storey cultural complex housing a towering bookshop, gallery, café and event space. Photography exhibitions and talks, which are regularly held at the restored factory, are complemented by a selection of international magazines and vinyl records. Founder Thomas Shao is a former columnist and publisher-turned-media owner; Modern Weekly is among several titles from his group. Also an art collector, Shao launched the Yuan Link art space last year in Jing’an’s renovated 19th-century shikumen compound, Zhangyuan.
Building 1, 10 Jianguo Middle Road, Huangpu

Milan might be a global fashion and design capital, known for all the new residents that it is attracting – but even its most die-hard fans will admit that it can feel a bit airless after a while. So why not make like a Milanese and get away for a weekend or even a day? One of the city’s major boons is its proximity to great escapes, many of them taking less time to get to than it does to reach the Salone fairgrounds. 

About an hour away by high-speed rail, Bologna offers a striking counterpoint to the Lombard capital. It’s steeped in gastronomy and history, with a lively student population and a distinctly homegrown contemporary scene, far removed from Milan’s more self-conscious polish. Home to the world’s oldest university in continuous operation (founded in 1088), Bologna has long nurtured a spirit of political activism and idealism. It’s a freewheeling city with underground music venues and squats that foster a rebellious air. But this coexists with grandeur: terracotta piazzas, medieval towers and some of Italy’s most revered cooking.

“There’s a boom in interest in Bologna,” says Benedetta Barbieri, who runs Trattoria Montanara with her husband, Filippo Venturi. Their establishment is one of the city’s great culinary destinations, serving what Barbieri calls “home-style slow cooking from another era”. In an intimate dining room dating back to 1929, the couple serve classics such as lasagne, tortellini in brodo (stuffed pasta in meat broth) and cotoletta alla bolognese (pork cutlet with ham and parmesan) on flowered Bitossi dishes.

Such restaurants are the city’s lifeblood and there’s no shortage of casual spots serving lovingly prepared cuisine. Take Da Cesari, a dark-wood dining room featuring the region’s traditional block-printed tablecloths and wine made from grapes grown on a nearby countryside plot. Here, cooks prepare meatballs following a closely guarded recipe. Bar Paolo, meanwhile, founded in 1976 with a rounded steel bar, remains a local favourite, with no sign outside and no menu other than the options recited by the owner.

In a city full of old-school establishments, Ristorante Grassilli stands out for its combination of Bolognese seasonal dishes and imaginative combinations such as pumpkin risotto with taleggio, amaretto biscuit crumbs and pomegranate seeds. Here, a father-and-son team makes pasta by hand using rolling pins every morning; the younger of the two chefs, Jean David Durussel, describes the process as “traditional cuisine as an art”.

Bologna’s commitment to good eating has also kept its central market hopping. Mercato delle Erbe, rebuilt in 1949, is part grocery and part informal dining hall. Among its stalls is Bottiglieria delle Erbe, a market outpost that now has an additional outlet, Bottiglieria Vini Belli on Via Saragozza, drawing residents with small plates and wine from independent producers.

The city has a dynamic cultural scene. Besides live music (more bands stop here than in the larger Milan), film is a citywide passion – thanks, in part, to the remarkable archives of the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna and the stunning Cinema Modernissimo, a Liberty-era theatre restored to its former splendour.

The Quadrilatero district has been a centre of trade since the Middle Ages, with narrow streets lined with fruit stands and artisanal shops. Roccati serves freshly made chocolate truffles; the Aguzzeria del Cavallo, founded in 1783, is one of Bologna’s oldest shops and sells unique goods such as handcrafted bird whistles, knives and pasta tools.

A short walk will take you to the Due Torri: two 900-year-old towers that are currently undergoing work to address problems caused by foundation subsidence but remain a striking sight. And onwards to Via Santo Stefano, which hosts an antiques market on the second weekend of every month. The pedestrianised street is home to some of the city’s beautiful porticos, which have Unesco World Heritage status.

“Fabulous food is attracting a lot of visitors to Bologna but there’s much more to this city,” says designer Allison Hoeltzel. She recommends making time for contemporary-art museum Mambo and the Museo Morandi, which displays work by the Bolognese artist. The Archiginnasio, a 16th-century Renaissance palace, holds Bologna’s oldest library, as well as an anatomical theatre built in 1637, which is covered in wood and decorated with spooky statues originally made to aid medical students.

Hoeltzel, who designs a line of artisanal bags, shoes and clothes under the Officina del Poggio label, also suggests grabbing a glass of wine and immersing yourself in the city’s vibrant social fabric. Cosy and classic Enoteca Storica Faccioli serves natural wines, while Bottiglieria Vini Belli offers a more modern take. “People value community and like to have a fun time here,” she says. “That’s a big part of what defines the good life.”

Gilda Bojardi is a Milan design titan who seems to know everyone on the scene. A resident of Brera since she graduated from university, she began working for interiors and contemporary-design magazine Interni in the 1980s and has been its editor since 1994.

She welcomes us just outside Milan at the Segrate headquarters of publishing group Mondadori, which owns the magazine. The building, an Oscar Niemeyer-designed palazzo from 1975, was inspired by the Brazilian architect’s foreign ministry building in Brasília. “It was almost an obligation to make you see this place,” says Bojardi on Interni’s editorial floor, which was recently refreshed (including a refit of the original USM furniture).

Bojardi was a key player in the development of Fuorisalone. She has published a guide to its events since 1990 and, at one point, even helped to organise buses to the centre of Milan. Since 1998, she has been putting on her own events under the Interni banner. This year’s showcase, called Materiae, features a collaboration between Audi and Zaha Hadid Architects, as well as installations by the Bjarke Ingels Group, Snøhetta and Milan-based architect and designer Michele de Lucchi, among others. Bojardi’s services to design have been recognised by the city. In 2007 the municipality awarded her its highest honour, the Ambrogino d’Oro. 

How did you start working at ‘Interni’?
After graduating in law, I worked for an important design studio but, after three months, I realised that it wasn’t for me. I then worked for a magazine called IN: Argomenti e immagini di Design and got to know design entrepreneurs, from Mario Bellini to Ettore Sottsass. After that I lived in Mexico City for a year. When I came back to Italy, at the end of the 1970s, I started to work for Artemide, alongside art director Roberto Beretta. I was offered a job at Interni after it was bought by Electa, the most important cultural publishing house in Europe. I started as an apprentice. 

You must have got to know so many great designers.
I had friendships with Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, Ugo La Pietra and Vico Magistretti. And with Michele de Lucchi, Antonio Citterio, Giulio Cappellini, Paola Navone, Rodolfo Dordoni and others. We grew up at the same time. Everyone was either living on, or had a studio around, Via Solferino in Brera. We’re still very close but don’t see each other as much due to everyone’s work schedules.

How has your work changed?
It’s not that it has changed. It’s more that we do so many different things. Now we work with New York, London and Paris. We hold a lot of events with Italian cultural institutions. In January last year we organised an event celebrating the 2025 international edition of Interni at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. Our mission has always been to take Italian experiences abroad.

You have been instrumental in developing Fuorisalone. How did it all come about?
I invented the term. Salone del Mobile didn’t want its name to be used for outside events. I was staying at the Paramount Hotel in New York, just off Broadway and I said to myself, “Off-Broadway, off-Salone: Fuorisalone.” 

Tell us about your work leading up to Design Week.
The April edition of Interni has more than 430 pages. And then there are the events that we organise at the State University and Brera’s Botanical Garden. 

How do you have the energy to keep doing it?
The work is stressful but you also get so many stimuli from the extraordinary people you meet, whether it’s architects, designers or journalists. How will you discover new things without meeting people?

The new May issue of Monocle features our first-ever cover dedicated to watches. I am not sure why it has taken us 20 years but some things take time – slow, mechanical time.

Inside the issue – and on the cover – there’s a very cute shoot of handsome hounds being stroked by elegant watch-strapped hands. We’ve called the story “Watch Dogs” and it’s superb. It’s all the idea of our creative director, Richard Spencer Powell, and it’s so good that now he’s kind of screwed. Where, you wonder, can he go after nice pooches and glorious timepieces all shot by Jess Bonham, plus a very amusing headline? All week he has been suggesting that we should photograph sunglasses on cats and call the story “Cats’ Eyes”. But it was when he proffered that we do “hamsters in hats” that I told him to have the afternoon off.

Also in the issue is an idea of mine. I know, I still have them. It’s a simple story in which writers, designers, chefs, diplomats and divers tell the tale behind a watch that they wear. Creative Yorgo Tloupas was commissioned by the Greek prime minister to design the special edition Swatch that he sometimes sports (he has a lot of watches). Photographer Christopher Anderson bought his Omega Speedmaster because he was perhaps a little jealous of the one that his assistant had – but in the decades since it has become part of his work and also a constant reminder about the value of time. 

I have two nice watches. I will tell you about the first one. My parents had me late in life: my dad was hitting 50, my mum in her mid-forties. They had already raised a large family when I came along. This was not what they had planned. But they rolled with it. Yet, even as a child I could do the maths – unless they lived well into their eighties, I would be parentless in my thirties. I always liked my parents; there was no teenage tension with them. We made the most of things. But as the child predicted, in my thirties my dad died. My mum stayed until I was 44. 

The will was modest but there was a sum of money and rather than take a chip out of the mortgage, I decided to buy a watch as a way of keeping them both close, of acknowledging the passing of time. Today the click of the metal bracelet on my wrist sets me up for the day. The watch’s weight, its sauntering second hand, the way the green dial winks and glints as it catches candlelight, all bind me to a time and a place and to two people who set me on a pretty good path (even if they did head off a bit too soon).

Yet the other good thing about a watch is that it also knows how to let you get on with your day. It’s not a flashing digital display demanding your attention or the awful death march of time that emanates from a ticking antique clock. It’s just there when you need it, marking the seconds, counting the hours and quietly adding meaning to your day.

To read more from Andrew Tuck, click here. 

As early birds in Canada settled in for a leisurely morning with the weekend newspapers last Sunday, prime minister Mark Carney rustled that routine with some headlines of his own. In a pre-recorded video address published online – and out of the blue – the PM took a serious and sombre tone: “I know, from experience, that outside forces can sometimes seem overwhelming,” he began.  

Carney then proceeded, for 10 minutes or so, to elucidate the theme of his surprise address: “Forward Guidance”. This is the name of a practice that he implemented during his time as the governor of two central banks: a series of public updates launched amid the financial crisis of 2008 that unpicked and explained market tumult as it played out. The intention was to guide stakeholders through the measures being made to counter the financial collapse. “And that’s the spirit I’m talking to you about today,” he said. 

While the PM’s surprise appearance at breakfast time didn’t quite jolt the proverbial marmalade from atop the morning toast, it was, well, a bit of a shock nonetheless. Addresses such as these – grave, detailed, thought-out and delivered well – don’t usually arrive unannounced. This was a “fireside chat” for Canadians in the Trump era – a fatherly hand to hold in a complicated time. 

But where Franklin D Roosevelt’s conversational radio addresses to Americans – which elucidated the New Deal in the aftermath of the Great Depression and during the Second World War – were designed to reassure, Carney’s iteration seemed designed to brace Canadians, without stoking overt alarm, for further uncertainty to come. 

“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses,” Carney stated, in what swiftly became the speech’s headline in the blanket coverage by newsrooms across the country. “Weaknesses that we must correct.”

Many Canadians will tell you that they know this already – the national imagination has accepted the US’s upturned status. So why make this kind of speech, and why now? 

“I was surprised by it,” Tim Sayle, an assistant professor of history at the University of Toronto and director of its international relations programme, told Monocle. Sayle tracks political communication styles and their impacts. A straightforward answer is that the address’s cherry-picked nods to historical hurdles that Canada has faced in the past and the national mettle that overcame them are sandwiched between two major announcements – one upbeat, the other less so. 

The first, a landmark global investors’ conference in Toronto in September, which Carney announced last week. It’s a welcome response to the quickening pace of inward foreign investment into Canada, which has sped up since late last year. But the second is the upcoming review of Cusma, as it’s known up here, the renegotiated free-trade agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico – which is likely, once again, to become a battleground. 

“I have, personally, bemoaned the fact that Canadian leaders haven’t spoken to Canadians directly about issues of real concern enough,” says Sayle. “Governments tend to calculate that it’s safer, from a political perspective, not to address major subjects, especially geopolitical and international issues, head-on. Because there’s often little upside, and instead there’s a lot to lose by taking firm and even an explanatory position on things.” 

This, then, is new for a Canadian prime minister. But shifting the way a leader communicates with voters has been evident in Carney’s tenure from the outset – when he opted to reveal his political ambitions in public for the first time, not with a major Canadian broadcaster, but on The Daily Show in the US. From taking to the ice with Finland’s PM to cracking double-entendres at an event for steamy Canadian-made smash-hit TV drama Heated Rivalry and presenting Joni Mitchell with a lifetime-achievement award, Carney is a versatile political communicator. 

“[He is] achieving two things by doing this,” adds Sayle. “There is both a trajectory to his remarks but also what is quite purposeful repetition.” Carney’s star turn in Davos earlier this year, for example, sent a jolt through European capitals. But in its spirit it was a message that he had delivered to Canadian audiences multiple times before. “One is establishing a consistency and continuity in his ideas. But of course, he’s speaking to different audiences, so he’s also using the opportunity to introduce those ideas for the first time to those who haven’t heard his remarks elsewhere.”

That is all in contrast, of course, to the everything-everywhere-all-at-once communications strategy of Carney’s counterpart south of the border. The strategies couldn’t be more different but the goal is arguably the same – to control the narrative before events, or rivals, do it for you. A key to Carney’s success as a communicator is his consideration of who is listening and why, rather than sapping attention spans for the sake of doing so or simply shooting the breeze or shouting into the wind. “Let’s keep going,” said Carney, to sign off his message, the first of more to come. “Thank you for your time. I know it’s precious.”

Further reading:
‘You can’t be truly sovereign by yourself’: Mark Carney talks to Monocle about geopolitical pragmatism and a confident Canada

On film: Monocle in conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney

Milan Design Week comes to a close this weekend but it’s not exactly a neat conclusion. The presence of industries with design adjacencies (namely car brands, hospitality groups and fashion houses) was in retreat for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, with budgets tightening amid economic and geopolitical volatility. No overarching aesthetic emerged to rival last year’s dominance of stainless steel and its seductive palette of deep reds, nor the cream bouclé and soft shapes of the year before that. It seems that the zeitgeist is too elusive, too fractured to be neatly summed up.

Nonetheless, Milan Design Week did its usual sweeping through the Lombard capital, prying open the courtyard gates of palazzos for events and installations. At cocktail parties in church cloisters, DJs became high priests for the night, lording over congregations of characters plucked out of a film by Paolo Sorrentino – feather dresses and shiny suits included. In the streets of Porta Venezia, negronis were consumed until the early hours of the morning under banners blazing “Design is act” – one to ponder on the walk home.

In the light of day, exhibitions offering a more intellectual narrative proved to be the most popular. Visitors to the brutalist Torre Velasca queued for hours to see showcases on Polish modernism and the legacy of Jorge Zalszupin, the Poland-born designer associated with Brazilian modernism. It was a soft-power coup from the Visteria Foundation – the Polish cultural institute dedicated to the global promotion of the country’s design and craft scene. The Triennale Milano, meanwhile, explored the legacy of design across three exhibitions: one chronicling the history of Danish furniture company Fredericia; another about British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby; and finally an inside look at the Eames House – now being developed on by Spanish manufacturer Kettal.

Elsewhere, intellectualisation went a step further by removing design completely from the equation and focusing on ideas. This was most apparent with the fashion houses partaking in Milan Design Week – and perhaps a hint at the deeper existentialism pervading the industry as it recalibrates after a period of change. Jil Sander’s creative director, Simone Bellotti, launched the Reference Library, an exhibition of 60 titles chosen by the likes of Swedish singer Lykke Li and American film director Sofia Coppola. Miu Miu returned with its book club, which explored the politics of desire through the writings of French novelist Annie Ernaux and Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo. Prada’s annual symposium, Prada Frames, looked at the role of image-making as a feature of our contemporary culture.

This all coincides with the rise of collectable design, be it of one-off marvels, rare antiques or objects that blur the line between design and art. Even the week’s anchor event, Salone del Mobile, a bastion of industrial and contract design, is getting in on the action with Salone Raritas, a new section of the fair reserved for collectable work.

Ultimately, there is some irony that the design world – an industry preoccupied with form and aesthetics – is seeking to transcend itself. But as brands compete for buyers and try to make sense of the times, it’s perhaps unsurprising that their first instinct is to search for a deeper meaning – in whichever shape or form it might appear.

Grace Charlton is Monocle’s associate editor of fashion and design. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

At Portuguese construction and engineering group DST’s sprawling hub in the northern city of Braga, a landscape of factories and warehouses is punctuated by site-specific artworks by the likes of Pedro Cabrita Reis and Miguel Palma. Workers in hi-vis vests and trucks move through the grounds, which also host open-air poetry readings, theatre performances and philosophy classes. It is an unusual convergence of worlds: the hardy, industrial reality of construction, and the utopian terrain of art and ideas. Yet DST’s CEO, José Teixeira, has placed culture at the centre of the business his father founded in the 1940s – first as a quarry, and today comprising more than 60 companies, from telecommunications to renewables, and about 4,000 employees worldwide.

“Architecture, art, philosophy and the search for beauty play an instrumental role in the products that companies create,” says Teixeira, who has amassed one of the country’s most significant private art collections and moves seamlessly between speaking about prefabricated homes and Susan Sontag quotes. Now, Teixeira is extending his ambition beyond the company grounds with the opening of Muzeu, a contemporary art museum in Braga’s historic centre. 

If DST’s campus brings art into the everyday lives of factory workers, the museum brings something of the factory floor to its visitors. Housed in a former courthouse adjacent to the town hall, the building’s five floors have been reworked with an industrial language of exposed steel beams and concrete, conceived by local architect José Carvalho Araújo. Other elements – such as sculptural bronze doors by Portuguese artist José Pedro Croft and ochre brick roofs – reference Renaissance Florence. Teixeira seems to embrace the role of the art patron. “I would like DST to be seen as a renaissance figure of the 21st century,” he says. “A patron in the sense that artists, poets, novelists, musicians shouldn’t have to wait for the state to step in.”

The inaugural exhibition, Sejamos realistas, exijamos o impossível (Let us be realistic, let us demand the impossible), brings together works by major international names, such as Alex Katz, Nan Goldin and Annie Leibovitz, alongside leading Portuguese artists, including Ângela Ferreira, Pedro Calapez and Ana Vidigal. Other pieces by both emerging and established artists in Teixeira’s 1,500-strong collection also feature, while there are also a series of planned conferences, performances and workshops. A permanent space on the top floor is dedicated to works by Anselm Kiefer. “It’s the only one of its kind – if you want to see it, you have to come to Braga,” says Teixeira.

As Portugal’s third-largest city, Braga has long drawn visitors to its historic centre and baroque churches. The city also has one of the country’s highest birth rates, along with a young and dynamic workforce in engineering and technology. Yet its cultural programming has remained understated, until now. With Muzeu, Teixeira hopes that will shift. “We aspire to the Bilbao effect,” he says. 
muzeu.com