Balenciaga Opens Flagship on Milan’s Via Montenapoleone
FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY: Bare industrial interiors contrast with wildly colorful fabric furnishings in Balenciaga’s new flagship in Milan, opening on Friday.
The two-level store on Via Montenapoleone comes with industrial lights, exposed pipes, cables and conveyor rails, in line with the warehouse-inspired concept originally unveiled at its Paris flagship on Rue Saint-Honoré last year.
Selling both women’s and men’s collections, it sits near Buccellati, Baldinini and Swatch, and opposite Alberta Ferretti and Malo. French luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns Balenciaga, operates several stores on the luxury thoroughfare, including Gucci and Pomellato.
The ground floor features a gray logo-embossed carpet, aluminum walls and glass display cases for accessories, creating a range of tonal variations on gray. On the first floor, a carpet by artist Cayetano Ferrero, featuring repurposed prints from closed American casinos, provides an unexpected burst of color.
Though the store might present an almost uniform appearance, the brand noted that each wall and shelving unit is different, creating textural depth.
Creative director Demna Gvasalia has championed a lo-fi aesthetic at the brand, including an e-commerce site featuring a bare-bones menu inspired by an Excel spreadsheet.
The French luxury house will open a store at 610-620 Madison Avenue in spring 2019. The 7,300-square-foot store includes the space that until relatively recently housed a pop-up shop for Mansur Gavriel, and two adjacent spaces.
Launch Gallery: Balenciaga Store on Via Montenapoleone in Milan
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