Amazing brands, vintage and new clothing, unique stitching patterns, iconic designs, fabrics, and textures, quirky stores, staying on trend, and having a look to die for when you leave the house are factors driving fashionistas’ passion for fashion. Fashion lovers believe fashion is something that helps to truly ignite their creative juices.
Therefore, fashion enthusiasts may want to consider grasping the opportunity to go and live in a fashion-mad city that’s well-catered for them and somewhere they can feel at home. Thankfully, there are many splendorous hip and trendy European cities these days that provide bustling ideal environments for fashionistas to live out their best lives.
Our team of landlord insurance experts at CIA Landlords has carried out research and collected data on different relevant areas to help determine the best European cities for fashionistas. Continue reading to discover more.
Paris is the best European city for those with a passion for fashion
Paris is the birthplace of world-renowned luxury fashion brands such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Lanvin, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton, which are all steeped in high-end fashion history and traditions. Christian Dior managed to generate revenue of a whopping 64.2 billion Euros in 2021, so it’s a Paris-based brand with a rich history that’s still booming and a hit with consumers in the modern day.
Overall, Paris came out on top in our research as the number one European city for anyone with a passion for fashion! Now, let’s discuss a bit more about how it ended up at the top of the table.
Paris came out in first place above the rest of the pack when we looked into which city had the most second-hand clothes shops. Are you a fan of wearing all things vintage and retro? If so, Paris is your go-to European city.
Likewise, if you are looking to improve your skillset and get a good opportunity to work in the fashion sector, you’ll be pleased to learn that our research uncovered Paris to be a great place to study fashion-related courses, with 46 different institutions offering fashion-related courses in the French capital.
London and Milan came closely behind in second and third place in the overall rankings
London and Milan are also fashion capitals that any ardent fashionista should be interested in exploring.
The UK capital came in first place when we looked at data on the metric of the average monthly salary one can expect when working in the fashion industry in the city, with a nice average pay packet of £5,930 a month. In addition, we discovered that living in the UK capital city provides you with plenty of options if you are hoping to study fashion-related courses.
On top of all things fashion, London has lovely stunning scenery to explore while you gaze in awe at everyone’s stylish outfits. Why not go for a stroll around Hyde or Regent Park to stretch your legs and subtly take in people wearing the latest fashions? London is a city that oozes style, class and elegance, and it’s not one for fashion lovers to miss out on.
Milano – the fashion capital of the world?
Milan is often known as the fashion capital of the world. In fact, it’s held in such high regard as a city that’s a jewel in the crown of the fashion community that it has two fashion weeks per year instead of one like in other many other fashion-crazy cities. The research we carried out found that Milan is the third best European city for fashionistas, and being that it is home to prestigious brands like Versace and Armani, it’s not a surprise that it scored so highly.
What’s more, you’ll never be too far away from a shopping centre that you can conveniently pop into when in Milano, since in the data we collected we found that it is home to an impressive 58 of them.
Carry on reading to discover more in the breakdown of the results we found in our research into the top 20 European cities for fashionistas.
| Overall rankings | Best European cities for fashionistas |
| 1 | Paris |
| 2 | London |
| 3 | Milan |
| 4 | Madrid |
| 5 | Rome |
| 6 | Berlin |
| 7 | Warsaw |
| 8 | Copenhagen |
| 9 | Brussels |
| 10 | Bucharest |
| 11 | Hamburg |
| 12 | Stockholm |
| 13 | Barcelona |
| 14 | Vienna |
| 15 | Sofia |
| 16 | Dublin |
| 17 | Munich |
| 18 | Budapest |
| 19 | Prague |
| 20 | Belgrade |
Paris, Berlin, and Madrid are ideal for second-hand clothes shopping
Sustainable clothes shopping is an ingenious way of reducing your carbon footprint. Alongside taking the best choice for protecting the future of the planet, you’ll also be glad that you can get yourself some real corkers when shopping in second-hand clothes stores for your fashion needs and desires.
Everyone loves a fashion throwback. Do you love nothing more than trying on a classic retro garment that harks back to an iconic memorable time period? Well, in that case, you’ll want to find a city that has plenty of second-hand clothing shops.
As well as getting your hands on excellent vintage clothes for bargain prices, you can also do some good for the world by purchasing second-hand items from charity shops. Providing charity shops with your custom will mean you’re giving them a helping hand during tough economic times!
Our research found Paris to have 118 second-hand clothes shops in total, so you’ll be spoilt for choice. Berlin, a city well-known for its bohemian liberal urban scene, is home to 117 second-hand clothes shops, a real retro clothing hub. And Madrid isn’t only a great place to eat tapas and enjoy the Parque del Retiro, it’s a city where eager fashionistas will find 116 second-hand clothes shops.
Sustainable fashion is here to stay
At a time when key brands in the fashion industry around the world are thinking about what they can do to operate more sustainably, it appears that second-hand fashion is going nowhere anytime soon.
The data found Belgrade, Serbia on the Danube River to have the least amount of second-hand clothes shops.
| Ranking | City | Number of second-hand clothes shops |
| 1 | Paris | 118 |
| 2 | Berlin | 117 |
| 3 | Madrid | 116 |
| 4 | Bucharest | 111 |
| 5 | London | 110 |
| 6 | Brussels | 106 |
| 7 | Rome | 105 |
| 8 | Barcelona | 101 |
| 9 | Warsaw | 100 |
| 10 | Dublin | 100 |
| 11 | Sofia | 97 |
| 12 | Stockholm | 88 |
| 13 | Prague | 88 |
| 14 | Milan | 87 |
| 15 | Budapest | 87 |
| 16 | Copenhagen | 82 |
| 17 | Hamburg | 68 |
| 18 | Munich | 58 |
| 19 | Vienna | 46 |
| 20 | Belgrade | 21 |
Warsaw is the place to go for shopping centres
Shopping centres, or ‘malls’ as they prefer to call them across the pond, are places many people keen on fashion enjoy going for an entertaining leisurely trip out, with there being much more to the experience than simply buying your favourite clothes and leaving.
Our research found the capital of Poland, Warsaw, to have the most shopping centres, 67 in total. The Polish city also boasts gorgeous architecture including palaces, castles, mansions, and churches from the gothic to the neoclassic era, something else for fashionistas to take in and be in awe of in Warsaw.
Bucharest and Paris also have a fair number of shopping centres to explore
Bucharest has a sufficient amount of shopping centres suitable for fashionistas’ needs, with 63. Average temperatures can climb up to 35C during the summer months, so you certainly need to remember your relaxing summer outfits when preparing yourself for Bucharest.
Paris has 60 shopping centres, including the Galerie Lafayette with its stunning 43 metres high art nouveau Coupole ceiling made from glass and steel. The most reputable international luxury fashion brands have stores in the majestic Galerie Lafayette shopping centre.
| Ranking | City | The number of shopping centres |
| 1 | Warsaw | 67 |
| 2 | Bucharest | 63 |
| 3 | Paris | 60 |
| 4 | Copenhagen | 59 |
| 5 | Milan | 58 |
| 6 | Budapest | 58 |
| 7 | Sofia | 54 |
| 8 | Hamburg | 53 |
| 9 | London | 52 |
| 10 | Vienna | 47 |
| 11 | Stockholm | 47 |
| 12 | Berlin | 44 |
| 13 | Rome | 42 |
| 14 | Madrid | 37 |
| 15 | Munich | 37 |
| 16 | Prague | 37 |
| 17 | Brussels | 32 |
| 18 | Dublin | 19 |
| 19 | Barcelona | 12 |
| 20 | Belgrade | 7 |
Madrid is a top city to study fashion-related courses
Perhaps if it’s truly your thing, you would like to take steps to study fashion in more depth. If so, why not take part in sewing workshop sessions, a jewellery course, learn how to apply make-up professionally, or study a fashion design or textile degree at a university in one of these fashion-transfixed European cities?
Our research found Madrid to be the best European city in terms of the number of institutions that provide fashion-related courses, with a handy 54 providers offering them in the Spanish capital.
The metropolises of Paris and London have 46 and 41 institutions respectively offering fashion-related courses. Therefore, they are cities that also aren’t bad choices if you want to learn all about fashion design and how the modern industry functions today.
Milan has prestigious world-famous fashion courses
If you’re an avid fashionista, why not try to study fashion in Milan, a city that’s a buzzing hotspot for the fashion design industry? The Istituto Marangoni provides courses on contemporary fashion that students from all over the world can apply to take part in. As a whole, Milan is home to 35 institutions providing fashion-related courses.
| Ranking | City | The number of institutions offering fashion-related courses |
| 1 | Madrid | 54 |
| 2 | Paris | 46 |
| 3 | London | 41 |
| 4 | Milan | 35 |
| 5 | Rome | 33 |
| 6 | Barcelona | 29 |
| 7 | Warsaw | 28 |
| 8 | Dublin | 23 |
| 9 | Hamburg | 20 |
| 10 | Munich | 20 |
| 11 | Berlin | 19 |
| 12 | Vienna | 17 |
| 13 | Budapest | 16 |
| 14 | Sofia | 15 |
| 15 | Stockholm | 15 |
| 16 | Brussels | 14 |
| 17 | Bucharest | 14 |
| 18 | Copenhagen | 13 |
| 19 | Belgrade | 4 |
| 20 | Prague | 2 |
The highest average monthly salary for working in the fashion industry is in London
If you’re a lifelong impassioned fashionista, then why not take it upon yourself to turn your passion into your profession and work in fashion on a day-to-day basis? You know how the saying goes, you won’t work a day in your life if you can do what you love for a living!
We looked at the average monthly salary that individuals working in the fashion industry can expect to earn in European cities. It turns out that people in London working in the fashion industry earn on average £5,930 per month or £71,160 per year, considerably more than any elsewhere. But let’s not forget, London is an all-round pretty expensive city to live in nowadays.
Of course, ‘working in fashion’ can cover a broad scope of things. It may mean working full-time as a fashion designer, shop assistant, a ‘buyer’, someone manufacturing and making garments, or selling clothing from a brand you’ve created by yourself.
You can also earn a good living working in fashion in Brussels or Copenhagen
In Brussels, personnel in the fashion sector earn on average the equivalent of £4,721 per month, and in Copenhagen £4,266, both just behind London. So, if London doesn’t take your fancy, our research shows that you could also get decent wages working in fashion in either of those cosmopolitan European cities.
| Rankings | City | Average monthly salary of people working in the fashion industry (in GBP) |
| 1 | London | 5,930 |
| 2 | Brussels | 4,721 |
| 3 | Copenhagen | 4,266 |
| 4 | Paris | 3,665 |
| 5 | Milan | 3,480 |
| 6 | Vienna | 3,310 |
| 7 | Stockholm | 3,249 |
| 8 | Rome | 3,141 |
| 9 | Hamburg | 3,115 |
| 10 | Berlin | 3,088 |
| 11 | Munich | 3,061 |
| 12 | Dublin | 2,751 |
| 13 | Madrid | 2,360 |
| 14 | Barcelona | 2,325 |
| 15 | Prague | 1,963 |
| 16 | Sofia | 1,751 |
| 17 | Warsaw | 1,592 |
| 18 | Belgrade | 1,158 |
| 19 | Bucharest | 1,113 |
| 20 | Budapest | 941 |
Methodology
The goal of this research was to use various metrics pertinent to helping CIA Landlord Insurance determine the best European cities for fashion enthusiasts (‘fashionistas’).
Firstly, in order to narrow down and focus our research, we selected the top 20 most populated European cities.
We then focussed on finding data for each of the 20 most populated European cities across four different areas related to fashion
- The number of second-hand clothes shops
- The number of shopping centres
- The number of institutions offering fashion-related courses
- Average monthly salary of people working in the fashion industry (in GBP).
We obtained data for the first three areas by searching the terms ‘second-hand clothes shop’, ‘shopping centre’, and ‘fashion course’ in ‘nearby’ in Google Maps for each of the 20 cities. This also meant we had to translate these terms into each language. For example, for ‘shopping centre’ in France, we searched the term ‘centre commercial’ in Google Maps and tallied up the number of shopping centres in the city.
To get the average monthly salary of people working in the fashion industry in each city, we used a salary finder tool and looked at average working wages in the ‘fashion and apparel’ section for each city. Since the salaries were only provided in the national currencies used in each of those cities, we had to use a currency converter tool to be able to present the information in British Pounds.
Find out which sources we used for our research below.
Sources
We used the following sources during our research process: