Affordable Italian Fashion at Serravalle Designer Outlet

I’m so excited to share my favorite shopping excursion with you! The Serravalle Designer Outlet is just an hour away from the city center! In Milan, you will find some stores with “outlet” on the sign, but not all of them are actually proper outlets. Often, the term ‘outlet’ is mistakenly used to mean ‘discount store’ rather than a direct point of sale from a retail brand. You can certainly find some great bargains at these stores, but they are simply multi-brand discount stores.

Some of these ‘outlet style’ boutiques tear off labels or replace them with a generic store label, so you don’t know which brands you are actually buying. If you have a good eye for fashion, you can often guess the brand, but one of the perks of going to a designer fashion outlet is getting a label brand for less.

Disclosure: Some of the photos have been provided courtesy the Serravalle Designer Outlet press office but all opinions and reflections expressed in this article are my own.

Easy to Get to 

There are several outlet shopping villages in Italy, but none offer the variety of high-end brands like Serravalle Designer Outlet which has over 230 brands. It’s the only destination where you can find Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Burberry, and Armani all in one place. Located about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Milan, Serravalle offers a convenient shuttle service that departs daily from Milan’s Central Station and Largo Cairoli. You can leave in the morning and return comfortably in the afternoon—perfect for a shopping day trip from Milan.

Are Outlet Items Lower Quality?

Why Shop at an Outlet?

Prof. Kiran Karande assistant professor of marketing at Old Dominion University and Prof. Jaishankar Ganesh assistant professor of marketing at the University of Central Florida conducted a study on consumer behavior and outlet shopping. The study concluded that there are four main reasons for why consumers shop at shopping outlet malls:

• price/value






• merchandise






• recreational






• time saving

In my opinion, there is no shame in buying at an outlet. In fact, finding a great bargain makes the shopping experience so much more exciting!  I also agree that merchandise and time saving are determining factors for going to an outlet. If I were to go to some of my favorite shops in Milan, I would spend the entire day in transit crossing from one end of the city to another. Having all my favorite stores in one place is a real time saver.

I only discovered Serravalle Designer Outlet recently, but I’ve already been there several times! I have made a short-list of my favorite stores.  What I like the most about Serravalle are the Made in Italy brands but I also know I can get new 501s or a Tommy polo.

Here is a selection of my favorite stores at the Serravalle Outlet near Milan:

Patrizia Pepe

Husband and wife team Claudio and Patrizia started as whoesale resellers in the 80’s until they started their own line of ready to wear in 1993.

The company’s first headquarters was in Galciana, a hamlet of Prato, Italy’s garment and textile hub, and they had a small team of only seven employees. It has since grown to a company of 250 employees still remaining small with boutiques around the globe.  

I like the Patrizia Pepe line because it is simple but edgy. Pieces are easily mixed and matched. They have everything from leather jeans to soft comfy cardigans. Classics like the English trench in Deep Blue brighten up any rainy day!

Fendi

An Italian icon, Fendi is perfect for quality leather handbags and accessories. Their outlet boutique offers both timeless classics and vibrant seasonal colors. I never leave without scouting the new arrivals section—you never know when you’ll stumble upon the perfect purse.

Levi’s

Classic, durable, and cool—Levi’s is my staple for denim. The outlet store at Serravalle always has a wide selection of jeans, jackets, and tees. I recently found my favorite 501s in a new wash I hadn’t seen before—and at 40% off.

Twinset

Twinset was originally founded in 1987 in Capri although very much established in Milanese fashion and retail, the headquarters have remained there. Established as a knitwear company the line and company now have a head-to-toe philosophy.  

Today, the collection is varied and diverse offering jeans, dresses and accessories but it still follows a casual style code. Although the marketing is targeted to young, twenty-somethings, I like the flowing romantic summer maxi-dresses and casual wear which are very feminine and great even for us over-40s!

The Cosmetics Company Store

These are the shops I go to first, but they are not the only shops I love at Serravalle. I also love Adidas for comfort and sport lingerie, Caleffi for home decor and I always take the time to get a salad at Eatly or if I’m in the mood a homemade style lunch at Le Dolce Terre or one of the many other restaurants in the complex.

A shopping day at Serravalle Designer Outlet is a great way to stay up with the latest fashions and spend less.

All these collections can be found with discounts at Serravalle Designer Outlet usually set at 30% – 50% off with additional discounts up to 70% at sales time. 

Article by Celia Abernethy, milanostyle.com

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