MAISON MOSCHINO, MILAN:12, Viale Monte Grappa, Milan
Tel: 0039-02-29009858, maisonmoschino.com
As with the other two fashion designer hotels here, the creators of Maison Moschino – in a former railway station – wanted to combine cool with fantasy. The design, as with catwalk shows, excites the pulse but isn’t the sort of thing you would probably want to live with permanently. As with the runways, this is about fantasy and pushing possibilities. In this hotel Rossella Jardini, creative director of Moschino, aimed for a cross between homely and fairytale. Reality includes a child-like roses room with a bed adorned with red petals; a sweet room with a chandelier made from candy and biscuits; and an ivy room with vines on the wall.
Poodle-shaped lamps blaze above the sleek main staircase and the restaurant chairs are dressed in various outfits. The fashion theme continues at breakfast, which comprises a mix of seasonal dishes served in a white lacquer shoebox.
Rooms: The 65 bedrooms are designed across 16 fairytale themes, including Alice's Room, Little Red Riding Hood, Forest and The Shadow (fairytales have their dark side). Rooms cost from €180.
HOTEL LE BELLECHASSE, PARIS
8 rue de Bellechasse, 75007, Paris.
Tel: 00331-455-02231, lebellechasse.com
This hotel was created by fashion designer Christian Lacroix, who wanted to make more than just a fashion statement: he once pointed out that, in French, mode doesn’t just mean fashion, it means a way of life. Lacroix wanted to be a set designer before getting sidelined into fashion, and entering this hotel feels like walking onto the set of an opera or into a classical painting. It is in the old bohemian area of Faubourg Saint-Germain in the heart of the left bank and Lacroix designed the hotel to reflect the ’hood it is in. Here, he could draw on the nearby Musée d’Orsay and neo-classical buildings. Frescoes on the walls range from those you would find in historical scientific and nature books, to extracts from paintings, using rich colours and textures found in local antiques shops. Lacroix describes it as a journey through neo-classical gems of the 19th century.
RoomsThere are 34 rooms decorated in a mix of cheek and tradition, in seven themes: patchwork (using primary colours with Persian motifs), St-Germain (gold leaf, frescoes and photos), Tuileries (upper middle-class rustic), mousquetaires (rich fabrics and old paintings), Jeu de Paume (primary colours and playing cards), Avengers (swinging London) and Quai d'Orsay (classical style and astrological frescoes). Rooms from €290 to €490.
HOTEL MISSONI, EDINBURGH
1 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Tel: 0044-131-220-6666, hotelmissoni.com
Prints are in this season, not that it matters to Missoni, whose prints are always in. The fashion house is known for its vibrant, busy patterns so it’s no wonder the interior of its hotel in Edinburgh creates a buzz. It was designed by Missoni’s creative director Rosita Missoni, who went for drama but set the vibrant bursts of colour against a black-and-white base; bringing a mix of pizzazz and cool that is what the fashion house is all about. She added furniture by her favourite designers such as Marcel Wanders, Eero Saarinen, Arne Jacobson, and Hans Wegner. This being Scotland, there are Charles Rennie Mackintosh ladderback chairs too.
The hotel itself is well positioned between Edinburgh’s old and new towns, on the Royal Mile near Edinburgh Castle.
Rooms: There are 136 rooms and suites; ask for one with good views of the city, such as over the Royal Mile. The bedlinen is from the Missoni home range. There are espresso machines and films in every room, and the contents of the minibar come free with rooms, which cost from £210 a night (€253).