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Milano Fashion Library, Italy – from La Mode Illustrée to contemporary publishing

Born in 2021, from Mr. Valisi’s collection, Milano Fashion Library goes back to the nineteenth century to the first ever fashion magazine

From the dawn of fashion publishing to digital issues

In the early nineties, Mr. Valisi began its magazine collection, focusing primarily on fashion, design, and photography. He can count on more than seventy-thousand copies raging from the mid-nineteenth century to today and thus opened Milano Fashion Library. Among these, he was able to own the complete collection of La Mode Illustrée and some trend notebooks dating back to the nineteenth century.

The former is the first weekly publication dedicated to fashion – Mr. Valisi was able to collect each edition. While the latter is the notebooks realized in the nineteen-century by couturiers who foresaw the following trend collection, including fabrics and colors.

In addition, he has worked with a variety of fashion editors for more than thirty years. Thanks to those experiences, he started building a network of collectors and merchants of fashion publications. A turning point occurred at the beginning of the pandemic when Mr. Valisi decided to open his collection for public sale via e-commerce and eventually, a store.

The establishment of the Fashion Library

In 2021 Milano Fashion Library’s website was ready to go public, selling both vintage copies and contemporary ones through its newsstand. Taking over a former expo hall with a strategic position for couriers and fans worldwide, he paired a plant with an industrial park in the suburbs of Milan, in Pregnana Milanese.

The physical store has a double function as a shop and a library. As a result, they are a staple of industry companies, fashion operators, and individuals looking to purchase a magazine. Along the newsstand part, Milano Fashion Library offers consulting services such as iconographic research, rare volumes research, hire publications, and brand positioning. 

A website with a double soul: a vintage market and a newsstand

Mr. Valisi decided to build Milano Fashion Library’s website to offer a new type of service compared to other libraries. They offer three macro categories: the first dedicated to vintage comprehending magazines, books, catalogs, and fashion lookbooks. The second is the newsstand with contemporary publishing. It is not just related to fashion but comprehends every magazine that comes in handy for fashion inspiration – and lastly, the digital issues. 

This latter section is a format that Milano Fashion Library is implementing. Thanks to the editors’ collaboration, they offer digital copies in less than one hour. This is for those looking for a magazine that sometimes has high shipping costs and waiting times.

Mr. Valisi understood the lack of physical experience in libraries’ e-commerce. They added the possibility to see a preview of each copy before purchase to their website. Concerning the vintage copies, every collector can ask for the quality of each magazine they are interested in and book a personal appointment in Milan.

Milano Fashion Library’s customers

It has always been a part of Mr. Valisi’s strategy to understand the composition of his audience and segment his offers accordingly. He realized the digital issue section was dedicated to those business operators that need an agile format and to hold it in a short period of time. Paper magazines, on the other hand, are targeted at the enthusiast and collector market.

They provide their visitors with different memberships that allow direct access to their library whenever needed. A specific membership was designed for fashion businesses because they usually visit Milano Fashion Library in teams and want to use the library as inspiration, but cannot afford all the magazines they will need.

Private appointments can also be scheduled. They are usually dedicated to collectors that see the vintage magazines scouting as a hobby. For them, Milano Fashion Library’s staff will show the products they are interested in and their condition.

Consequently, paper is a fragile material that needs special maintenance to stay in a good condition. If an accident happens to the pages, action has to be taken immediately. Mr. Valisi has brought his experience and taught the staff to carry out ordinary restoration works on vintage magazines. 

Discovering the rules of magazines’ vintage market

Mr. Valisi has more than thirty years of experience in the vintage magazines market. What distinguishes one in this market is to be niche. There are few realities in this market segment, and thanks to the connection Mr. Valisi has established over the years, collectors can reach out at such realities, asking for a specific piece. It is becoming usual for libraries to share their magazines between each other. This is intended to create a network of help and support.

Milano Fashion Library is more than a library

Within Milano Fashion Library, Mr. Valisi had built a section devoted to consulting services. In the beginning, he offered iconographic and brand research services. The former is about companies working on a specific matter and are willing to do a historical focus. The latter is related to the research of brands that are no longer in business. Since Mr. Valisi is the only one who knows the contents of each piece in the collection, he will make an initial selection, then entrust a collaborator with the materials and proceed to create the dossier for the customer. 

They have started offering a rental service for their magazines. By using this service, production companies remaking historical films can insert authentic historical material. It is not uncommon to see movies with magazines that are also available at Milano Fashion Library. 

The future of Milano Fashion Library

Milano Fashion Library has only been open for a year, but it is already thinking about expanding. The first project that will be launched is Biblioutique, a corner both on the website and inside the store. Fashion lovers can find unique and vintage accessories, clothes, and designs here..

The location in Pregnana Milanese will remain the headquarter for Milano Fashion Library, but Mr. Valisi is looking for a new venue for its concept store that will be located in the city center of Milan. Here, people will find a selection of vintage copies, their newsstand, and some products that will be part of Biblioutique.

Milano Fashion Library is where vintage magazines can get a new life, instead of ending up in ruins. In Mr. Valisi’s vision, fashion editorials will become art pieces and people will appreciate them for their value – making them collectible objects. 

Milano Fashion Library

Via I Maggio, Pregnana Milanese 

Founded in 2021 by the magazines’ collection of Mr. Valisi since the early nineties. He has reached over seventy-thousand pieces sold both online and in his store. Mr. Valisi has added a list of consulting services directed to both private and fashion agencies.

Fabiana Boglione

Milano Fashion Library

The writer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article.

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