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Moncler in Milan

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Written by Roma Publications

Moncler flagship launches in Milan

A breath taking new flagship store for Moncler – its largest single brand boutique in the world – has opened at Via Montenapoleone 1 in Milan, celebrating the brand’s close relationship with the city.

Fifteen years ago, Moncler embarked on a journey to circumnavigate the globe; setting out from its Milan home to explore all continents. Now Moncler returns to Milan with a new, greatly expanded presence.

The brand’s close ties to Milan resonate in the flagship store, located at the heart of the city’s fashion epicentre.

Main contractors for the project to create the store was Arredoquattro.

The 800 sq m store occupies an entire four storey building, with 550 square metres of floorspace given over to sales alone.

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“The renovated flagship store on Via Montenapoleone is today Moncler’s largest single-brand boutique in the world, and it highlights the brand’s ongoing commitment to the city of Milan. It also adds an important building block to Moncler’s presence in the Italian market”, states Remo Ruffini, Chairman and CEO of Moncler.

The architectural concept of the new store is the work of Moncler’s long-time partner French studio Gilles & Boissier, with whom the brand has created a signature code of design and style which has come to represent the Moncler interior aesthetic around the world.

The new store marks an important evolution of this aesthetic, as the decorative vocabulary of the boutique expands to include new elements drawn from a variety of cultural and artistic sources, inspired by the genius loci, the guardian spirits of Milan.

This can be seen in a heightened use of symmetry, as well as geometric references drawn from the rationalism and classicism of the ’30s and ’40s, a period in which Milan was a hothouse of design innovation.

Patrick Gilles of Gilles and Boissier said: “Remo Ruffini wanted a palette of various materials ranging from brutal to sophisticated, including rough metal, wall panelling with gold engravings, black rough wood and leather.

“The store entrance is a main feature, designed on the theme of an Italian grotto covered with calades on the floor and walls.

“Another key element is the store’s oval staircase. Made in rough metal and linking all floors, this is an outstanding sculptural piece and was very complex to create.”

The ground floor of the store features a hallmark technique, known as Risseu, in which stones worn smooth by seawater or flowing rivers, are laid in a geometric pattern. A technique widely used in the grottoes of Lombardy’s lakeside villas during the Mannerist and high Baroque periods, this extraordinary technique is used on floors and walls utilising textured small, smooth black and white pebbles.

The store’s furnishings feature a combination of finishes, blending luxury materials such as leather and marble. With its powerful visual and spatial impact, a spiral staircase linking the four stories combines black metal with Montecristo marble, with its sophisticated and nuanced play of black and brown.

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Boiserie panelling – a key leitmotif which runs through all Moncler boutiques – gets its own special treatment, taking this signature element to a new level. On the first floor, where the women’s collection is housed, honey-coloured oak wood panelling is punctuated by gilded picture frames, evoking old-world charm while at the same time transforming the perspective.

The atmosphere on the second floor where the men’s collection is located is, in contrast, entirely masculine: a space with depth and intimacy, created by alternating areas of shadow and light.

Black is the common denominator, evoking the mysterious metropolitan charisma of Milan. The boiserie panelling is also black, in crisp contrast with the camel-coloured tailoring- effect ceiling, as is the mosaic of smooth black stones used in the Risseu decorative effect. The overall effect ensures that the garments on display are the unrivalled protagonists of the show.

Dorothée Boissier concluded: “Moncler is a passionate adventure for us and we have witnessed its evolution and adapted out designs for each store in line with the growth of the brand. It is very impressive to see how Remo Ruffini has conceived his brand with an incredible vision which has led to it now being one of the most successful in the fashion business.”

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Roma Publications