LUCIANO BARBERA flagship store, Milan.

LUCIANO BARBERA flagship store, Milan.

📅28 Settembre 2015, 12:40
TESTO ITALIANO

Luxury architects GALANTE-MENICHINI forge the essence of LUCIANO BARBERA in the “Gentleman’s Thoroughfare”

Luciano Barbera has chosen “La Via dell’Uomo” (Men’s Street) and architects Galante-Menichini for the boutique which will launch its future global concept.

luciano-barbera-milan

To design its first international flagship store in Milan’s Via Gesù, the sophisticated Biella-based brand and committed supporter of Italian-made products appointed the architects who have brought Brioni’s luxury to the streets of the world’s great cities for the past ten years.

As they affirm:“The challenge of interpreting the values of authentic brands like Luciano Barbera in luxury shopping districts over the past decade is something we’re proud of; interviewing the great visionary Luciano Barbera was a fundamental part of the process.  Not only so we could grasp the essence of the brand, but also to place the focus back on men themselves rather than the superficial façade of fashion. In doing so we found the perfect way to showcase a complete wardrobe in one of the smallest doors on ‘Men’s Street’, No 9 Via Gesù.”

luciano-barbera-milan

The concept is a film with which customers can identify in terms of space, colours and tactile experiences, like a fabric fashioned by Luciano Barbera. It all starts with a spotlight on the store windows in Via Gesù, a key to the features and materials which make Luciano Barbera stores unique world-wide.

In addition: “Having created over a hundred stores by seeking empathy with the end users as well as our clients, we focused once again on the details. The secrets and virtues of a well-made house are only visible to the person who designed it and lives there every day alongside his guests.”

Against this backdrop, the architects have drawn on expertise which turns every construction site into a factory of Italian architecture. First and foremost is the lighting provider, Flos: Galante-Menichini’s partner for exclusive projects, custom-made pieces designed not only to light each space but also to reflect the product’s authenticity.

luciano-barbera-milan

“We never overlook the genuineness of a product in our work: we are luxury specialists because we design spaces to show off real quality while remaining as discreet as possible.”

Details include the angled window set into the store front, which is finished off with a grille-style door decorated with a warp and weft motif. Or the clever use of mirrors in a long, narrow space which brings to mind a courtly gallery in modern-day miniature: from the Palace of Versailles to the Royal Hunting Palace of Venaria in Turin – the quintessence of Piedmont-style elegance epitomised by Luciano Barbera – the emphasis was placed on pared-down functionality instead of spectacular design statements in order to double the space.

Steel-edged Basaltina stone paired with brushed blond Oropa oak follow the same principle: the nonchalance of Luciano Barbera which the gentleman experiences day-to-day, making him impeccably dressed in town and country alike. There are eye-catching original 1930s furnishings: a woven Viennese-style chair by Bonacina with wooden arms and cast iron base with wheels, or a pair of wood and iron filing cabinets, a stool with “whale-tail” backrest and six suspended enamelled metal lamps sourced from an old laundry.

STUDIO GALANTE+MENICHINI ARCHITETTI
The Studio “Galante+Menichini Architetti” is located in Milan and operates in the field of interior and retail design, along with various architectural projects. The team’s work is the result of the strong empathy of the two principals, Ignazio and Niccolò, who, with complementary attitudes and talents, respond to the client’s requests with a working process characterized by three essential phases: analysis, identification of exigencies and issues and resolution of both.

IGNAZIO GALANTE
Was born in Milan in 1968. He studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano where he graduated in 1995. From 1998 to 2000, he collaborated with Omikron Design. Since 1999 he has been working with Niccolò Menichini, with whom he founded the studio, Galante Menichini Architetti.

NICCOLÒ MENICHINI
Was born in Milan in 1967. He studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano where he graduated in 2002 with his thesis “A city founded on the Po” which received an honorable mention from the Premio Mantero. Since 1999 he has been working with Ignazio Galante, with whom he founded the studio, Galante Menichini Architetti.

by AN shopfitting magazine ©


Share this article: