The Mysterious Art Museum

Moments later, as the car stopped and I stepped out onto the street, I was astonished.

'What is this? The entire city looks like an outdoor department store.'

My first visit to the Sanctuary of Fashion felt like a dream. Especially striking was a district with five huge buildings arranged in a star shape, covered by a transparent, arch-shaped roof. It was almost shocking.

Not a single building lacked an artistic design, and each store seemed too luxurious for a mere mortal like me to step into. After closing the car door and sending the driver to a nearby parking lot, Monica stood next to me, gazing at the street.

"The Quadrilatero district encompasses areas like Via Montenapoleone, Spiga, Sant'Andrea, and Borgospesso. This way," she said.

Monica had not been pulling me along, I would have stood there with my mouth agape for at least 30 more minutes. Then, a fly would have probably flown right into my mouth.

As we walked toward the potential site for her store, Monica pointed out and explained various signboards we encountered.

“When you go to Borgospresso street, there are stores of famous luxury brands and local Italian brands. It's not really a place to buy clothes, but rather for kitchen utensils, dishes, small accessories, and high-end household goods.”

Ah, is it like the international market in Busan? No, that's not quite a fair comparison.

Monica continued her explanation.

“Over there is Spiga street. It’s an emerging luxury brand street. When you want to visit stores like Colombo, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Benetton, and Moncler, you go there.”

Oh, the very brands famous for their first birthday parties. I've heard of them too.

Monica gestured towards another direction and said,

“On Sant'Andrea street, there are chic select shops and big brands like Chanel and Prada. Especially Prada, it’s famous for having a wide variety of products that you can't find in their other stores.”

Wow, Prada. The Devil Wears Prada. I've seen that movie.

Then, Monica pointed out the last street.

“This is Via Monte Napoleone street. It's a 500-meter street connecting the subway stations, lined with flagship stores of the world's top designers. And my store will be right there.”

Wow, the entire long street connecting subway stations is a fashion street?

I followed Monica towards Via Monte Napoleone, glancing around. The luxury stores she had mentioned on the other streets were also here. Alberta Ferretti, Versace, Armani, Prada, Etro, Dolce & Gabbana, and more.

Are these all flagship stores? Amazing.

“I should buy a gift for Youngju when I come to work here.”

Of course, I will also buy something for Mom.

Mom is a woman too. She might seem uninterested in luxury goods, but that's probably because she never thought she could have them. I've seen her glance at the displays in luxury brand stores while walking with her.

This time, I should buy her a proper bag.

Youngju has been so grateful for various things; I want to buy her something.

What should I buy for my brother? I'll have to think about that.

Following Monica through the numerous fashion stores, we reached the center of Milan. Before Monica even explained, I recognized the potential site for her store.

Unlike the bustling stores around, there was one large store standing empty in the middle.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes.”

“It's quite spacious, isn't it?”

“Yes, it was originally used as a flagship store by an emerging Italian designer.”

The store looked over 200 pyeong (about 660 square meters) by Korean measurement. Moreover, it was spread over two floors. Renting such a store in the heart of Milan must require a lot of money.

Monica took out a key from her bag and opened the closed store door.

There are still stores that use old-fashioned keys? Ah, I’ve noticed a few stores around here that don't use electronic locks. Well, there are shutters on the outside of the door, so it should be fine.

Entering the store with Monica, I saw an empty white space.

“It seems like nothing has been done yet. I’ve only removed the previous interior.”

“Did the person here leave because they were successful?”

One particularly important thing for Koreans.

When moving to a new place, if the real estate agent says that the previous occupants moved to a bigger house because they were successful, it makes one's heart flutter. It's like wanting to receive some sort of energy from the house. The same goes for commercial properties. If the previous business owner was successful and moved to their own building, it makes one more inclined to choose that place.

Monica grinned and shook her head.

“No, the owner and designer expanded the company too fast and then everything collapsed in an instant. Now, they’re running away from debts.”

“................”

Wow, is it okay to do business in such a store?

Damn, I shouldn’t have brought it up. It feels ominous.

I quickly changed the subject.

“So, you want me to take charge of the store design? You mean, like murals?”

“I want to entrust you with everything - walls, floors, ceilings, and the exterior.”

Wow, this is bigger than I thought.

“Just with paintings?”

“I’ll leave it entirely to the artist’s judgment.”

“........................”

Although I’m a bit worried, it’s actually easy to decide the design direction. Every fashion brand has a logo. The ultimate goal of store design is advertising, so the logo of the fashion brand becomes the main symbol.

"Have you come up with a brand logo yet?"

Look at me, I don't even know Monica's brand name, let alone the logo.

Monica catches the hidden meaning in my question and says with a smile,

"Yes, but we don't have any prototypes yet. The factory isn't operational, so we only have the design."

"Can you show me?"

"It's on my laptop, I'll show you later."

"Oh, then can you just describe it roughly for now?"

"Ah, I hope a wonderful painting comes out with my brand logo!"

Monica clasped her hands together and spoke earnestly.

"My brand logo is 'Water Lily'!"

"···············."

Darn, Water Lily... Lotus flowers?

The brand logo is the flower I least like to draw? Why of all things, sigh...

Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi

.