A Geordie style invasion of Milan. We’re talking the opening of Newcastle-based retailer END.‘s remarkable new flagship store, its largest to date, in the prestigious Duomo district of the Lombardian capital. Founded in 2005 by entrepreneurs Christiaan Ashworth and John Parker, the retailer manages a popular online store and two homebase retail spaces, in addition to stores in London, Glasgow and Manchester. Two years ago, American investment company Carlyle snapped up a majority stake, laying very much the foundation for the company’s audacious expansion abroad. As it happens, Milan is home to a large number of END.’s online customers, so opening up shop here makes total sense. The END. store occupies 1,900 sqm. (20,451 sq.ft.) set across three floors of a grand 1960s office building with a granite façade that’s situated only a stone’s throw away from the city’s Duomo landmark.
The interior design, created by London-based design practice Brinkworth, sees a palette of marble displays, maple shelving and concrete flooring, complemented by marble terrazzo and Portofino timber as a nod to local aesthetics. The spacious basement section, ground floor and upper floor are centred around a lofty atrium space. Both the basement area and ground floor stock a wide range of curated menswear labels and there’s a sizeable dedicated sneaker section. Additionally, the ground floor is also home to END.‘s equally elaborate lifestyle offerings. The separate area is captured by suspended maple shelving and cabinets, large metal display cabinets and tables with a marble top and matching sales counter, and is brimming with a wide selection of skincare products, fragrances, cosmetics, homeware and thought-provoking publications. The top floor showcases END.’s womenswear collections with curated selection of pioneering labels.
END.
Via dei Mercanti 21 (Duomo)
20121 Milan
Telephone: +39 02 30558356
Daily 10am-8pm
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.
