Local activation Milan
Parfoistakes Milan
A cargo bike rides through the centre of Milan giving away a limited scarf illustrated by Francesca Melis. Three days, five stops, and a new store at Corso Vittorio Emanuele 4.
The pieces moving across this page are lifted from the campaign film.
- Dates
- 24 — 26 September 2026
- City
- Milan
- New store
- Corso Vittorio Emanuele 4
[ 01 ]
The scarf
An illustrated tribute to the city, signed by Francesca Melis. It is not for sale: for three days, it is given away.
The artist
Francesca Melis
Recognisable silhouettes and scenes from the Milanese skyline blend with universal icons of Italian culture, in a celebration of colour and fantasy.
Born in Sardinia, she studied Graphic and Creative Design in New Zealand and now splits her time between both hemispheres. Her work draws on vintage botanical and medical illustration and on the bold aesthetics of the '60s and '70s.
Clients Hermès · Bvlgari · Die Zeit · Harper Collins · Thames & Hudson
Limited edition · Milano 2026. Not sold — given away on the street.
[ 02 ]
The packaging
A rigid sleeve with a red cord, made to hang from the cargo bike and to be carried through the street in plain sight. The packaging is the first billboard.
The back of the sleeve carries the whole story in four lines: an illustrated tribute to Milan by Francesca Melis, recognisable silhouettes from the Milanese skyline, and the opening of the store at Corso Vittorio Emanuele 4. Whoever receives it can read why it exists before they open it.
[ 03 ]
The route
A kiosk that pedals. It parks where the people are, and moves on. Five stops between Castello and San Babila.
Find us
Five stops in the centre
The cargo bike works its way along the pedestrian axis, from Castello down to San Babila, with the new store as its base.
Thursday 24
Castello and Via Dante, through the first wave of shows.
Castello · Cairoli · Via Dante
Friday 25
Corso Vittorio Emanuele and San Babila, with the store as the base.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 4 · San Babila
Saturday 26
The whole pedestrian axis, with the weekend crowd.
Castello · Cairoli · Via Dante · Corso Vittorio Emanuele 4 · San Babila
The brief fixes the five stops; the day-by-day split is a proposal. The newsletter also names Montenapoleone as a meeting point.
[ 04 ]
The street tells it
The bike, the stops and the scarf, told by the city itself as it happens.
Campaign film · muted, loops
PARFOIS celebrates Milan Fashion Week and the recent opening of its Corso Vittorio Emanuele II store with a limited-edition scarf designed by Italian artist Francesca Melis, an exclusive window display created by the artist herself, and a city-wide gifting action on September 24, 25 and 26.
The collaboration takes the artist's illustrated world beyond the store and into the city: the scarf, the window, the packaging and the cargo bike all speak the same language for three days.