In Milan, a city synonymous with high fashion and heritage luxury, Hilary Belle Walker has carved out a different niche. Originally from San Francisco, Walker moved to Italy in 1998 and went on to launch fashion resale business Bivio Milano in 2013. At a time when the secondhand market was still an afterthought in Italy, Walker pioneered a model that brought sustainability, accessibility and a sense of community into Milan’s fashion conversation.
More than a resale shop, Bivio is now a beloved destination with four locations and an online store, where Milanese locals and visitors alike hunt for distinctive, high-quality pieces with stories to tell. Since launching Bivio, Walker has helped reshape the way many in the global fashion capital approach clothing — making fashion not just aspirational, but refreshingly attainable. Italy Magazine sat down with Walker to talk fashion week, life in Milan and how secondhand style is changing the way the city gets dressed.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Hilary Belle Walker on secondhand style and building a business in Milan
Nitika Choraria: Let’s start from the beginning — how and why did you choose to move to Milan?
Hilary Belle Walker: Well, I moved to Italy, I think for a reason that many foreign women move to Italy, which is for an Italian man. Whether or not that’s a good idea, I’m not sure. But I was 23, and I met him in San Francisco at a bar. He was from Bologna and soon enough invited me to spend two weeks with him in Corsica. So I took a flight to Corsica and about halfway through the trip, he said — do you want to move to Bologna and live with me? I said yes. That’s what happened. We then shifted to Milan in 2000 (if I’m not mistaken). But we broke up. I, however, continued to stay in Milan — I had already been living in Italy for two and a half years and by that point I spoke Italian, had made friends and was working. So I thought, well, maybe this was it at that point of time. Now, 25 years later, here I am!
NC: What inspired you to launch Bivio Milano, and what gap in the market were you hoping to fill?
HBW: So I’m from San Francisco, and I started thrifting and buying secondhand clothes when I was in junior high school. That was basically one of my hobbies. Every place I traveled, I always went to secondhand or charity shops. It was just my favorite way of shopping. When I moved to Milan I was really looking, and I found some charity stores — a place where they don’t really make a selection. You simply donate a bunch of clothes, and you have to sort through everything. I saw a lot of really nice high-end vintage pieces, too, here and there, but there wasn’t anything in between. I thought this was strange because Milan was the fashion capital of the world.
Back in San Francisco, there were two resale shops. One was called Buffalo Exchange, and the other one was Crossroads. Instead of consignment they would buy pieces right away, and you could either get cash or store credit for your items. There was nothing like that in Milan.
I thought it was really frustrating that there was no place to sell your clothes because in my 20s and early 30s, I was living in these tiny little apartments, and I was moving almost every two years. Every year or so, I’d be like — I’ve never worn this, I should get rid of it, but there was no place to go. Neither did I want to go all the way across town and leave one skirt and one jacket, and then go back there six months later to pick up the money. It made no sense.
I had been freelancing as a copywriter for a long time for places like Vogue, and a lot of fashion brands were my clients. Eventually I decided I was tired of that; I just wasn’t enjoying it. I wanted to work for myself and open that shop that I was looking for this entire time. I thought that the Milanese were ready for it. I felt like fashion had changed so much, and the Italians had changed their attitude toward used things.
It was 2013. I was confident enough and drew up a business plan — I knew people in the fashion industry who I’d been working with for all those years, and I knew my target customer. After 13 years in Milan, I felt like, okay, I know who these people are, who my consumers are.
NC: How did people in Milan initially respond to Bivio Milano — and how does that compare to the response you see today?
HBW: Initially, people thought I was crazy for opening a brick and mortar shop. Everyone said, oh, you’re going to open an online shop? And I’d go, no, I’m going to open a real store. People were closing their shops left and right in 2013. Nobody was opening a store. But I was convinced that this was going to work. I was working six days a week. Bivio Milano got a good reaction and started doing really well. The time was right for it, and people were into it.
Of course, it was a little hard to explain the concept of it. Having to teach people about what things were actually worth secondhand was challenging. Today, there’s a lot more competition since the market’s opened up even more — but the response is still really good, especially with a huge uptick in tourism to Milan.
NC: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building Bivio Milano?
HBW: They keep changing — challenges now are different than they were before. Back in the day, I was a theater major and wanted to write books. Even though I had no problem learning new things, I had no business experience whatsoever and had never managed a team. Then Covid hit and post-that, the problem has honestly been pricing. The cost of everything has gone up, especially rent!
An additional challenge today has been finding staff. We have four shops now, open seven days a week, and we need at least four to five people in each store. So that’s 20 people, plus the online shop. It’s hard to find people who want to work retail, are available on weekends, and know enough about the product.
NC: During Fashion Week, what’s the energy like inside Bivio? Do things shift, or is it just business as usual?
HBW: We usually do really well during Fashion Week! It’s exciting, there’s good energy, a lot of activity, and lots of people. It’s great. We try to make sure that we have our stores full of good stuff. We recognize that it’s also a time when there are a lot of non-Italians in the shops, who tend to buy really different things than Italians purchase. Design Week is usually a fun time, too.
NC: What’s your honest take on Fashion Week as a concept and as a cultural event in Milan?
HBW: So I love clothes and getting dressed. I really like the creativity and self-expression of clothing. After working as a writer for so long — I love the history and culture of fashion, and I like knowing about the materials and more.
However, I’m definitely more eco-minded. I’m not the girl who’s like, oh, let me look at the latest runways and look at the trends. I’m much more interested in people who are doing their own thing. [And these days] you see a bunch of really cool people who are upcycling things on TikTok or Instagram.
My decision to open Bivio Milano was much more focused around my commitment toward circular economy and sustainable consumption. For me, I just think, hey, instead of having 16 pairs of jeans in your closet, why don’t you keep four and let someone else wear the rest that you don’t wear? It’s about redistributing what already exists and not buying new pieces all the time. That was my motivation.
NC: Looking ahead, where do you see Bivio Milano going — and what are you most excited about for its future?
HBW: It’s been around 13 years now and we have four shops in Milan. I don’t know if this will happen, but I would like to eventually sell most of my shares to my employees. I want to slowly have less and less to do with the daily operations and make some of my business-oriented long-term employees part owners. Obviously, this means that they have to be invested in it and want to stay. I would like Bivio Milano to be an employee-owned company. I hope this happens! That’s my dream.
On her Milan favorites
NC: Your go-to spot in Milan for a quick bite during the buzz of Fashion Week?
HBW: I’m not really rushing from show to show, but I’m a focaccia girl — so I go to Bar Quadronno or any good bread place and get focaccia with green olives. Oh, I love that!
Otherwise, my favorites are Erba Brusca and Pasta Madre. I really love vintage, old-school breakfast places too — Pasticceria Marchesi, Cucchi and Cova.
NC: Favorite place for aperitivo?
HBW: The bar at Park Hyatt! I love hotel bars. It’s fun — you can get all dressed up and you never know who you’re going to meet there. For the last few years, I’ve been going there on Christmas with my friends and having a club sandwich and a gin and tonic! I really like Bicchierino Bar too.
NC: A cultural spot in Milan you always recommend — or go back to yourself?
HBW: Villa Necchi Campiglio, Museo Bagatti Valsecchi and Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
NC: A local shop or boutique in Milan (besides Bivio!) that you absolutely love?
HBW: I love Casa del Bianco (locally owned, classic and the best for pajamas — I buy them with my daughter every Christmas!) and Wait and See.
NC: A Milan hotel you’d escape to for a little me-time?
HBW: Palazzo Parigi.
