Gianluca Longo gives us the lowdown on Riga fashion week.

I was so excited when I received the invitation to Riga fashion week—the Latvia capital sounded like such an exotic destination! You don't hear or read about it much, so this meant a lot of research into its fashion, its history, what to visit, where to stay, and, of course, its food and drink.

The Shows
The shows mainly took place at the Hotel Latvija on Elizabeth Street, the tallest building in the new city. The best, most inventive one was Maria Vlasova (above), who studied at Central Saint Martins. She showed a collection of padded clothes, including a white crinoline skirt for the bride. All the looks were styled with some plastic jewelry. I also liked knitwear designer Anna Led, who presented some lovely pieces with a touch of irony—she's the Latvian Lucien Pellat-Finet. But the most fascinating show was watching the people of Riga: With their original, old-fashioned styles, they were the real winners. I saw air stewardess-style hats on unlikely old ladies, coats with padded shoulders, and many different colored skirtsuits on younger women. Marc Jacobs must've been here to get inspired for his show in February. And I bet young designers from London and Paris would get very excited about it!

The City
The Art Nouveau district in Riga is stunning, and the city has a lot of parks. It also has surprisingly good shopping. My first stop was Overscore on Smilsu Street, which stocks Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, and Junya Watanabe. Palazzo Italia on Barona Street is more predictable, with all the usual Italian and French labels you see in Eastern Europe. For local shopping, Absinte on Blaumana Street has clothes from Riga fashion designers. At Garage, in the Berga Bazaar on Elizabeth Street, I found some old postcards, a beaver fur scarf, and linens from Latvian artisans. Rigans love partying and socializing. Filings, on Smilsu Street, has got live country and western music and delicious little plates like pancakes and salmon. Hedonia, on Dzirnavu Street, is more underground, and the long bar has great cocktails. Sarkans, on Stabu Street, is a bar/restaurant with three floors, and it's for the most sophisticated tastes, with Italian antipasti to accompany the vodka cocktails. But the best drinks and the best view are at the Skybar, on the 26th floor of the Hotel Latvija.