MODES OF TRAVEL THAT

Project Runway NZ judge Benny Castles and show mentor Andreas Mikellis on the destinations that inspire their style

Paris

It’s an obvious choice, but it is where I enjoyed one of my most profound fashion experiences.

While there for Fashion Week, each morning and evening I would strap into the subway from our rented apartment and act like a proper Parisian on my way to work. Slightly disaffected, with a croissant in my hand, I felt I looked the part but would clearly have been identified as a tourist by any real Parisian.

Each evening I would take the shortcut through Dior to the Metro stop, and pay special attention to the elongated dress room where the prices of dresses extended beyond any salary I’ll ever earn.

Without thinking, I dismissed it as only for show or for just a privileged few but on our penultimate day, I was wandering through the store and I found the dress room in complete chaos. There was a riot of sophisticated women treating luxury as it needs to be treated — things to be worn, loved and enjoyed — dresses being fought over, tossed aside and squeezed into. It changed my perception of shopping and my appreciation of how luxury can be enjoyed.

Milan

A few years ago, we made our first journey to Milan to visit Esxence, the leading international event in Artistic Perfumery.

Walking from Via Mont Napoleone to the Duomo takes you past the Fashion Design School (which is more of a catwalk than a school) and many Italian and global fashion brands, as well as independent fragrance boutiques. It is a walk through the real interpretation of Italian fashion.

The gorgeous Duomo provides magnificent views. Enjoy it with a Negroni.

The magnificent structure is endlessly rewarding and hides behind it modern luxury super-store Excelsior, housing everything and anything that sits out in front of fashion-forward sensibilities.

The local Milanese are the real treasure. They saunter and stroll with an abundance of elegance and charm, stopping to window shop and look each other up and down — without any of the negative judgmental connotations that we would think of. They are simply interested in style and love to discuss it openly among friends, who all seem to be from completely different worlds. It makes their fashionable promenading so inspiring to watch and be part of.

Hong Kong

Travelling back and forth to Europe meant choosing a stopover point and Hong Kong has always been the choice for a night or two of dumplings, high tea and highintensity shopping.

Get the MTR train to Ap Lei Chau and get off at exit A, codename Exit Prada. As soon as you walk off you’ll find the Space Warehouse, which holds end-of-line and old-season Prada and Miu Miu. A short walk (or cab) away is the Lane Crawford and Joyce Warehouse, in a seemingly innocuous office block that holds any and every brand under the sun. It’s like being Cinderella — if it fits, it should it be yours. And even if it’s not quite right, you might buy it anyway, like I did with a Missoni vest that may as well be painted on.

Melbourne

Often regarded as a shopper’s paradise, it is in Melbourne’s suburban strips I think you can find the special experiences. A good sniff around the vintage furniture stores, mixed with niche artisanal stores like men’s dress shoe store Double Monk on Smith St, should always end with a sandwich at Alimentari. Or if you are feeling the grunge and want the world’s best burger, stop at Huxtaburger.

But perhaps my favourite is a little jewel in Hawthorn called Peony — a haute perfumery store of hand-selected scents from around the world, curated with a wonderful eye and retailed with elegance and thoughtfulness. It is a testament to the understated sophistication of Melbourne, where small independent boutiques still exist. Tokyo My one, very odd, trip to Japan was a breath-taking experience.

The city itself is a microcosm of design and thoughtfulness, each element of the buildings, roads, people and culture is littered with intelligent design decisions — even the burgers have a way of looking just that little bit cooler.

The journey from the Herzog de Meuron Prada store down Omotesando, along with all the side streets, down to Harujuku is about as alluring a walk as a fashion victim can take. Make sure you arrive at the park just in time to see the dancing Elvises start battling, both on the concrete dance floor and with fisticuffs.

Tokyo has the conventional elegance and playful eccentricity that no other city quite matches. The people offer no judgment, just a kind and understanding realism that you are living with 28 million others who all need their own strangeness and space — even if that space is being squashed like a sardine into a JR train by a nicely uniformed man with white gloves.

Benny Castles is director and designer for NZ fashion brand WORLD.