Just in time for the Milan Fashion Week crowds, Saint Laurent is reopening its flagship on Via Montenapoleone, which has nearly doubled in size.
The 14,200-square-foot unit at 8 Via Montenapoleone, slated to open to the public on Saturday, also carries a strong Italian accent in terms of materials, furnishings and artworks scattered across the three-story building, which dates back to the 1500s but was rebuilt in 1952.
It’s the first Saint Laurent store in Italy to reflect the new store concept of creative director Anthony Vaccarello, whose penchant for superb materials and strong design statements on the runway are echoed in his intriguing blend of Brutalist and modernist architectural codes.
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Concrete, colorful marbles and dark wood are among the principal materials that made their first appearance in Saint Laurent’s Champs-Élysées flagship in Paris, which opened in 2023.
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In Milan, those materials coexist with a host of other textures, including exposed brickwork and backlit onyx for what the house calls “a dialogue between memory and modernity.”
Visitors alight on a majestic, spacious atmosphere where each collection piece has its own spot. Mirrors throughout the store expand the space further and add to the grandeur, enhanced by the light color palette. The staircase stands out as a focal point, despite not being centrally located.
Floors are covered in a traditional gray stone quarried in Lombardy while other parts of the store are dressed in the same pink and white marble seen at the Duomo. A variation on Venetian plasterwork and classical moldings are among elements that honor the building’s past, while the sculptural staircase in eucalyptus wood, buffed to a high-shine, adds a contemporary counterpoint.
“By carefully preserving and reinterpreting architectural details, Saint Laurent Montenapoleone embraces the unique character of the site, creating a location with a distinct sense of place and permanence,” the house said in a statement shared first with WWD.
A plethora of sofas, chairs, artworks and books heighten the residential feeling, each room tailored to the items on display, much like in a private home. Soft lighting heightens the relaxed, yet chic atmosphere of a living room.
Lighting, from spotlights to radiant panels, enhances the space and creates dramatic shadows on statues, chairs and objects.
The second floor features a small terrace overlooking an internal courtyard, a common feature in grand Milanese homes.
A bespoke table by contemporary Italian designer Vincenzo de Cotiis was commissioned for the store.
The top floor, dedicated to menswear, echoes the same design of the other floors but with a bolder twist, featuring furniture that reflects the classic Milanese style.
Meanwhile, artworks and furnishings date from antiquity to the present day, with original works by important figures of Italian architecture and design including Gio Ponti, the Scarpa family, Osvaldo Borsani, Marco Zanuso, Aldo Tura and Gaetano Pesce.
One of the VIP rooms features a photo by Irving Penn, a still-life of a tomato, mozzarella di bufala and olives, originally produced for Condé Nast. Penn was a close friend of iconic designer Yves Saint Laurent.
The Milan flagship showcases Saint Laurent’s full product offering, including women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, accessories and fine jewelry.
The new Vaccarello design concept can also be found in Saint Laurent’s location on Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris, in New York’s Meatpacking District, the Miami Design District and Toronto.
A new flagship on Avenue Montaigne in the French capital is slated to open before the end of the year.