Anatomy of Luxury. A Walk Along St. Petersburg's 'Golden Mile'

Our walk will start on Nevsky Prospekt at the Merten's house — the founder of the fur empire. The house will surprise us with its architecture, history, secrets of the Merten family, and the mysterious emblem of the company. We will walk along Nevsky Prospekt to Bolshaya Morskaya Street. We will find out which stores and jewelry firms were located in close proximity to the Imperial residence, where Emperor Nicholas I chose Christmas gifts for his family. We will talk about St. Petersburg 'dandies' and their style code. We will walk a little further along the city's main thoroughfare and see where the most expensive legendary atelier of the 30s of the 20th century was located. Then we will return to Bolshaya Morskaya Street, where each house hid behind its walls either a fur workshop, or a luxurious hairdressing salon, or a jewelry treasure trove. At the intersection with Gorokhovaya Street, we will see the house where A.S. Pushkin rented an apartment. He was not only a regular visitor to fashion stores near his home, but also drew inspiration from this place while working on his works. Nearby are the iconic symbols of the city, the prototypes of the houses in the works of the Russian poet. Next, we will see the place where the fashion house once was, which ruined husbands in the 19th century, compare prices, get to know the regular visitors of this salon, and its enterprising owners. Our walk will end on the embankment of the Moika River, where we will admire the luxurious department store 'Esders and Schefals', look inside to enjoy its interiors carefully restored after the renovation.