I’m standing at the intersection of Corso Venezia and Via Senato, near my house in Milan. It’s a summer evening. People are walking or riding their bikes home from work. Each corner offers a different backdrop: People drink Campari spritz outside Princi bakery. The sun shines on the beautiful old facade of Palazzo Serbelloni. Across the road is Armani/Casa, a darker, modern building where they know me so well that they invite me inside whenever it rains. I come to this corner a lot. It has started to feel like my office.

I’ve been doing street-style photography as The Sartorialist for 20 years. Usually, I will get four or five successful shots on a really good day. But when I started shooting at this corner, by chance, while waiting for a light to change, in June 2023, I was surprised. I got two good shots in quick succession, then eight more within two hours. It helps that there is a lot of movement here, with so many people biking. The wind in someone’s hair as they cycle makes for a great image, and in the summer, when everyone is tan, there are many summer dresses. Italy is very seasonal. It’s about eating the right food at the right time. This is a summer corner.

Milan always struck me as somewhere romantic and mysterious when I was growing up in Indiana in the 1980s, falling in love with fashion from afar. Later, I got the chance to work here and I was wowed. It was much more livable than I had expected. When my kids were older, a little after the pandemic, I decided to move here.

The architecture says so much about this city. I’m working on a book about Milan with Taschen for fall 2025, which will capture the beautiful buildings as well as the style. There are incredible villas, tiny Versailles hiding behind plain facades; so many beautiful metal gates, which sit behind the huge wooden doors that conceal the famous Milanese courtyards. It is very Milan: When the wooden doors are open you can see the courtyards, but you still can’t get inside.