A presence in any of the global fashion capitals is crucial for luxury brands. After all, it’s where a large part of the fashion industry has laid down roots, and in turn, the flagship phenomenon is gaining more and more lustre to entice friend and foe. In Milan, circumstances aren’t any different with illustrious fashion houses and leading brands constantly seeking opportunities to raise their profile. The Duomo district is dripping in prestige, and it’s here where Balenciaga has just relocated its flagship store from Via Santo Spirito to around the corner, occupying an even more prominent location on Via Montenapoleone, the city’s undisputed golden mile of luxury shopping. The retail space, measuring 150 sqm. (1,615 sq.ft.) across a single level, features an interior design that premiered last year at Balenciaga‘s flagship store on swanky Avenue Montaigne in Paris. The design codes, as laid down by the brand’s creative director Demna Gvasalia in collab with Berlin-based architecture practice Gonzalez Haase, have obviously been applied here, albeit in a slightly tweaked form. The monochromatic backdrop of grey walls, flooring, aluminium shelving, and suspended steel rods is somewhat counterbalanced by an infusion of colour by patchwork furnishings and carpeting. The new Balenciaga store carries the brand’s full range of women’s and mens’ apparel, accessories and shoes.
Balenciaga
Via Montenapoleone 23 (Duomo)
20121 Milan
Telephone: +39 02 36018250
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
