Discover the latest from design capital Milan , with our city insider, Diana Lee

We track the optimistic mood, with collaborations across creative industries and new concepts cropping up across the city. Boosted by the Fuorisalone design fair, stores are full of weekend shoppers, and bars and restaurants are buzzing along the Navigli canals – notably more than pre-Covid-19.

In fashion, innovation and collaboration drive new ideas, moving established retailers such as Gucci radically forwards, with its pop-up store, Circolo, the place to be. Its recently launched online concept store, Vault, highlights emerging talent from around the world.

Family run Candiani Denim celebrates sustainability while informing customers about the environmental and social costs of fashion. Innovating in its field, the fashion brand uses new material Coreva, a denim used to fertilise the soil of mint plants that also decorates the industrial-vibe store.

Homeware brand PalermoUno‘s new store in the Brera Design District features cheeky matchboxes, colourful trays and jewellery, with a focus on young, international designers who fill the compact boutique with an eclectic mix of pieces.

Food and drink trends focus on community concepts and offer welcoming spaces. Mercato Centrale has become a foodie destination. Located in the long-abandoned space in Milan’s Central Station, it features 29 stands from the city’s most celebrated stores as well as a cooking school, radio station and cocktail bars.

Continuing the collaborative approach, two young entrepreneurs have created collective cafe, restaurant and kitchen META. It brings together five food brands and invites chefs, restaurants and innovators united by the same ethical approach, with flexible participation and reduced initial investments, and also offers zero-impact packaging and delivery.

For trends in culture, checkout online inspiration from Hangar Bicocca's Maurizio Cattelan - Breath Ghosts Blind, a solo, site-specific exhibit exploring existential concepts through the eyes of the provocative contemporary artist. Also online, find Fondazione Prada: Finite Rants, a series of visual essays analysing current social, political and cultural issues.

If you’re a WGSN subscriber, travel virtually via our Milan Virtual Guide 2021. Live now on the site.