Buying Cavalli cheap in Italy. Part 4

My friend Yulia and I are cultural girls. She’s an actress and model, and I write about all-things related to culture. Not too long ago we traveled around Italy buying trendy outfits. Now I’m heading back to Moscow with a suitcase chock full of clothes.

After visiting Italy, I can definitely say that I’m never going to buy clothes again in Moscow. I can just imagine what the inveterate shopaholics are thinking now: “Poor little thing, she’s just discovered America! And we’ve been buying clothes in Milan for ages.” Well, everyone sooner or later has an epiphany. But I really regret that I didn’t find out about Italy’s outlets earlier. I could have bought clothes for the whole family much cheaper than in Moscow either in Genoa or Ferrara — Milan aside. I really love the bluish green dress I picked out for 8 euro. And Yulia is crazy about her chocolate lace top embroidered with beads that cost only 2.5 euro. We could attend nearly any event in these outfits.

So guess what I did as soon as I got to Moscow? I ran around to all the stores to compare Moscow’s and Italy’s prices. I was shocked.

Advice for the novice shoppers

If any of you dream to hear the two sweet words “sconti” (discount) and “saldi” (clearance), then don’t make the same mistake we did. Time is of the essence in Italy. There are only two seasonal clearances — from Jan.7-March 1 for fall and winter wear and July 10-Aug. 31 for spring and summer clothes).

Outlets are a shopper’s mecca. There’s a 30-70% discount on everything. There are also discounts during seasonal clearances. It’s best to get there by train. It’s also cheaper, although the trip takes a minimum of three hours. A taxi is quicker, but costs 150 euro.

Stores

We heard spectacular reviews about The Mall shopping center near Florence in Leccio — an hour’s drive into the mountains. The Mall has Gucci, Pucci, Salvatore Ferragramo, Yamamoto, YSL, Burberry and other leading brand stores. Most importantly, though, Russian dandies haven’t heard much about The Mall. It’s still virgin territory. And there’s a huge selection. However, outlets usually sell clothes from the last season, so if you want the latest trends then outlets aren’t for you. But the newest collections in Milan’s Fashion District will still be cheaper than Moscow’s boutiques, and stores like ZARA, Sisley and H&M have more variety. READ MORE

Buying Cavalli in Italy cheap. Part 3

Day Four: “We bought whole bags of clothes outside Naples.”

We jumped onto the dirty train.

We inched forward and a Vesuvius passed by our compartment window. As the train chugged along, Yulia told me about her friend from Moscow. He had bought a ticket to take a luxury shopping tour of San Marino and Rimini. But when he got to Italy, he was met by a Moldovan who took him to a scroungy hotel. The shower was a rubber hose and a hole in the floor and there were no curtains on the windows. Her friend had been promised free bus trips to outlets, but he ended up having to pay 150 euro in cab rides each day. All his purchases were registered to the Moldovan’s company, who received commission from each buy.

“I know he’s used a lot of people,” Yulia said. “Especially Russians who tried to make Italy their new home. They just wanted to make money. And it’s easier to do so while working for ex-Soviet citizens.”

We were met by a friend of Yulia’s husband Pascal in Nola, 20 kilometers outside Naples. Nola was home to the philosopher Giordano Bruno. Pascal met us with a friend who worked for the Italian Police. We stopped babbling as soon as we saw his thick neck.

“Yep,” Pascal said, breaking the silence as we drove to the clothes factory. “It’s impossible to confuse Russian women with anyone else. It’s a bit the same with Poles and Germans, but Russians stick out the most. They’re always trying to be senoritas. In Italy clothes and shoe factories are everywhere. Mostly they’re small, family-owned places. But we’ve got a big factory, too, that makes silk for countries all over the world. But no one knows where D&G, Valentino and Armani are located. That’s top secret!”

“Underground factories sewing brand clothing?” I said in disbelief. “Now that’s where we need to go!”

“There are lots of factories like that near Naples,” Pascal said. “Mostly Chinese and Italians work there. And they sew fakes that look just like the original. But unfortunately tomorrow’s a holiday and the big Chinese markets are closed where you can buy all the fake brands.”

“How much cheaper is it there?” I asked.

“A Dolce & Gabana suit will cost you around 15-20 euro,” he said.

“Interesting. And what do the police have to say about this?” I said, looking at Pascal’s friend.

The police officer smirked. “We detain the sellers,” he said. “Some are sentenced to community service and others to jail time. But as soon as we let them go they start making counterfeit goods again. It’s really hard to find underground factories in Italy. But we know a lot of goods are sent to Russia.”

A Bukle women’s clothes factory hid in the shadows of the lemon trees. We managed to get hold of the owner Clementy Buona in the warehouse. Someone had just ordered a shipment of 10,000 summer dresses. While they discussed the deal, we snuck off to explore the rest of the warehouse.

We saw hundreds of hangers with synthetic blouses and dresses. The clothes were still fresh, straight off the conveyor. And the prices were shocking — from 5 to 12 euro each. Any local trader in Moscow would be in seventh heaven.

The outfits basically looked like they had been sewn for rappers’ girlfriends. Clementy has his own designers who can catch even the faintest whiff of a trend.

“Let’s say some celebrity turns up on a TV show in a T-shirt,” Clementy said. “And the next day, of course, all the girls run out looking for the same one. We’ve already had them sewn.”

“Are brand names big competition for you?” I asked.

“No, our clothes target mainstream Italians and our prices are much lower than big brands. Not long ago I opened a Bukle store in Milan,” he said. READ MORE

Buying Cavalli cheap in Italy. Part 2

Day Two:

Best outlets on Earth

«Yulia, I’ve got an address here,» I said. «for one of Europe’s biggest outlets — Serravalle Scrivia. They say everything’s cheaper there. Should we go?»

Serravalle is 108 kilometers from Milan, so we took the train at 7 euro per person. When we got off, there was nothing in sight but a plywood bus station. I stood by the side of the road with my hand stuck out hoping to flag down a car. But the Italians reacted strangely, carefully looking me up and down but not stopping.

We went and knocked on the taxi garage around the corner. The owner shrugged. All the cars were at the outlet.

Yulia went into the bar and came out followed shortly after with a dark brunette.

«Get in the car!» he said. «I need to get back ASAP!» We hopped in his white Fiat with a broken spoiler.

«О-о-o, you’re wearing Roberto Cavalli glasses!» I said to him.

«Genuine Cavalli. But not from this outlet. Why do you like this one so much? For us it’s expensive,» he said. «A lot of Russians fly in from Milan in the morning, take a cab here for 500 euro and then fly home in the evenings. I drove a Russian lady once. She has her own company in Russia. I asked her why she had so many sunglasses. She said: ‘I’m going Nice. I need a new pair of sunglasses everyday of the week or they’ll think I have no money.»

We lucked out. He didn’t charge us a cent although sometimes cabbies can take up to 30 euro. READ MORE

Buying Cavalli cheap in Italy. Part 1

It was an assignment made in heaven ― fly to Italy, get all dressed up and search for shops where Russians buy clothes to sell back home in Moscow. I’ll preface my story by saying that pleading professional buyers to pinpoint their discount shops was fruitless. They just wouldn’t do it. And I don’t blame them. Because now I know the real cost of the Italian clothes sold at Moscow’s shops.

Day One: All for the rich

Actress and model Yulia Ferrara came to my rescue. The former Muscovite was living in Chiavari ― a resort town near Genoa. We had met a while back in Moscow at a fashion show for the big and beautiful. Today Yulia stars in European cinema. She’s heading off any day now to shoot the new James Bond flick. I was rushing to catch her while she was still in Italy.

Unfortunately, a customs officer in Riga stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Where’s your return ticket?” he asked, tensing his lips as I searched through my purse. The woman next to me on the flight explained why the customs officer had been so curt. For many Russian women, shop tours are a pilgrimage to a sunny land where they can wait for an Italian husband.

Yulia laughed when she heard about my problems crossing the border.

“Italian women were having a go again at illegal female emigrants from Slavic countries in the local press,” she said. “They complain because their husbands are leaving them for Russian women.” Yulia has been married to an Italian for several years. Clementy had met me at the airport. READ MORE