Marcelo Burlon has come a long, long way. The Argentine transplant arrived at a young age in Milan where he eventually shook up the local nightlife scene. Burlon initially worked as a door bitch at Magazzini Generali, hand-picking the right party people from the lines in front of this legendary club in the Lombardian capital, but soon after he started to organise the eclectic and highly popular Pink is Punk parties. It was during this time that the Patagonia-born multi-tasker brushed shoulders with influential peeps from the fashion industry, and following a successful stint in fashion PR, he founded the County of Milan streetwear brand with influential fashion pros Davide de Giglio and Claudio Antonioli.
It’s with the latter two. that Burlon co-founded New Guards Group, the fashion conglomerate behind hot brands such as Off-White, Palm Angels, Opening Ceremony, AMBUSH, Heron Preston, and of course County of Milan, signalling Burlon’s inclusion in the Milanese fashion establishment. As if to crown his meteoric rise, a standalone County of Milan boutique has recently opened its doors on the premises of a stately 18th-century building which also accommodates Bally Haus. The store occupies 230 sqm. (2,476 sq.ft.) spread across two floors and features an interior design by Berlin-based architecture and design practice Gonzalez Haase.
A lofty ground floor entrance can be found on street level, featuring a small display and staircase leading up to the main retail space. A striking background of blue-sprayed glass beckons shoppers from afar. Clearly inspired by streetwear, the retail space features a backdrop of large concrete stone tiles which are commonly found in outdoor public spaces. Interestingly, the tiles are paired with a white grout that crosses all surfaces, but never matches between walls and floors, lending them a more artificial look. Given Burlon’s professional background in the music scene and County of Milan‘s strong affiliation with the industry, the retail space comes with a high quality sound system, and specifically the ground floor is designed to host various events.
A suspended metal grid, allows multiple setups on the floor, and lighting has been designed to adapt as well and all fixtures can be rolled out to clear the space. Adding a bold visual dynamic is a large-sized trivision panel billboard which provides footage for each event. One floor up, the full County of Milan collection is presented. Displays made of thick blue-sprayed glass centre stage while sleek galvanised steel clothing racks run along the parameters of the space and tie in with the suspended steel beams overhead. Contrasting large-sized wooden panels add warmth to the setting. The new County of Milan store carries the brand’s full range of men’s and kids apparel and accessories.
County of Milan
Via Bigli 28 (Duomo)
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm
Sun 12pm-7pm
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.
