Space, located at Montervachi, is Prada's outlet in Italy. Situated just outside of Florence, Space is likely to be one of the reason why women return for fashion pilgrimage every year.
This entry will cover directions to Space and also the basic survival skills you would need.
Train tickets could be bought at the Firenze (Santa Maria Novella) SMN station. Don't bother buying your tickets over the counter unless you can speak Italian. Generally, Italians should be nicer than the French but from my own experience the older generation Italians can be quite a pain in the arse. It was funny how the woman behind the ticket counter claimed she speaks no English but when I told her "Fuck you" , she suddenly knew just enough English to fuck me back. To put it simply, I was on the verge of leaping over the counter to (literally) punch the woman behind it.
Anyways, there are quite a number of auto ticket machines in the station. They are fairly easy to use although I would recommend that if you are travelling with your partner, do have 1 person keep a watchful eye of your belonging. As Florence is relatively small, we simply checked the schedules to Montevarchi on our first trip to the station on the auto machines so that we could grasp our schedule the day after and not run like headless chickens. Do also take note of the time you will reach Montevarchi as this is important if you want to be the first in line or at least the first 100 shoppers let inside Space. See below for opening hours*
Once you reach Montevarchi, if you are Asian, you should run to exit the station and to look out for the taxi stand (which is not really a stand) but it is on the left side of the road if you are exiting the station. There will not be many taxis there. When I was there last November, there were only 3 taxis and I was lucky to get into one because some dumbf asians ran out on the main street thinking they would be able to stop taxis physically and therefore (I presume) missing the 3 taxis on the left. If you could not get a taxi, you should consider sharing a taxi with someone who has as Montevarchi is quite a quiet town and there are not many strolling taxis. Vice versa, if you are the one who managed to get hold of a taxi, you would be asked if you wish to share. I did share my taxi with a Korean girl since this would mean I do not have to bear the EUR20 taxi fare to Space.
Please do remember to either fix a time for the taxi driver to come back to pick you up or if you do not mind making roaming calls, you could pick up a name card from the taxi driver. You would need this because Space is located in the industrial side of Montevarchi which is super quiet and secluded. Therefore, if you do not book a taxi beforehand or have a taxi number in hand then you would just have to chance on taxis dropping off at Space (which is not advisable since this is not within your control).
Once you are there, press for a queue number and start physically lining up. There is a cafe just right next to Space where you could grab a quick breakfast. You are likely not to be the first one there but just make sure you are within the first 100. There will be heaps of bargain inside you would not want to risk not being in the first 100. Generally, Asians being Asians would grab everything they see once in there. So there is a reason why being in the firsts 100 is important. You will find many Koreans grabbing bag as if they are priced in Wons but the staff would constantly remind that one can only hand hold 4 bags at a time Alternatively, you could have them kept at the counter in which you would be told you are obliged to pay at the end.
For ladies
For Prada & Miu Miu bags, expect prices within the average range of Eur 200 to Eur 600. For shoes, they are priced from as low as EUR50 (but this would usually come in very limited sizes). Do also keep a watchful eye for bags on "Special". These are usually bags which are slightly damaged. However, they are only priced from as low as 1/3 fraction of the retail price. The on "Special" bags are randomly brought out by the staff and snatched up in no time by the Koreans. So keeping a watchful eye is of paramount importance.
For men
Generally, the mens' clothings and shoes are much relatively cheaper compared to the ladies for some unknown reasons. My husband bought a pair of Prada khaki for EUR50 and jeans for EUR70 while Prada polo t-shirts are priced from EUR50 and shoes are averagely priced within the range of EUR100- 150 per pair.
* * * * *
Happy shopping ladies!
Opening hours of Space
Screen shot of the auto machine showing the train schedule to Montevarchi-Terranuoava
This is how Space looks like on the exterior
The best bargain bag I bought from Space. This was the very same Prada bag I wanted to buy for retail price in Italy and it is also Prada's most wanted bag for 2 seasons now- The "Saffiano Lux Tote". I was surprised to have found only 1 piece of this bag on special- Eur 300. Reason it was on special was because the bag was slightly damaged. I certainly do not mind paying just 1/3 fraction of the retail price since wear and tear are inevitable anyways. This bag still retails at EUR 900.
