Valentino’s overhaul of an iconic space on New York’s Madison Avenue not only continues its refreshed design direction for investigating a site’s existing architecture, but incorporates a strong cultural element as well. The new three-floor boutique, which is best known for being the longstanding flagship space for Calvin Klein until 2019, has been transformed into a beacon of Italian style, not least from the soaring fluted columns on its neoclassical limestone facade from 1927.
Valentino Madison Avenue: a beacon of Italian style
Spread over a basement, ground floor, mezzanine and second floor, the mammoth 1,142 sq m boutique is a feast for the senses. Visitors through the grand double doors on the ground floor immediately experience the space’s monumental nature with towering seven-metre-tall ceilings and exposed steel columns juxtaposed by a statuesque green onyx display, trompe l’oeil marble carpets and sumptuous red velvet seating. Here, Valentino’s footwear and accessories are put on full display, while a separate jewel-box area clad with red velvet walls contains a taste of the label’s ready-to-wear offering.
A dramatic staircase constructed from a variety of marbles, including red travertine, white Bottinico and black Marquino leads up to the second floor, where the full women’s ready-to-wear collection is found. Defined by giant red lacquered wardrobes and an eye-catching black and white marbled checkered floor, the second floor is very much a continuation of the existing material palette downstairs for a harmonious atmosphere.
In the VIP areas, which encompass a private sitting room and dressing areas, bespoke chandeliers by Roll & Hill, chairs by the French architect Charles Zana and ceramics by Massimiliano Pipolo help to imbue a residential feel. This also extends to the men’s collection floor in the building’s basement, where a sprawling DeSede ‘Snake’ sofa from the 1970s and Mario Bellini’s Camaleonda sofas and poufs from the same era bring warmth to the space.
The New York flagship’s mezzanine floor has been dedicated to art and will present a rotating roster of local gallery presences, starting with the Magazzino Italian Art. The store’s opening coincides with an exhibition of large-scale paintings by Mario Schifano, to complete the ode to the house’s Italian identity.
-
Eight questions for Bianca Censori, as she unveils her debut performanceBianca Censori has presented her first exhibition and performance, BIO POP, in Seoul, South Korea
-
How to elevate a rental with minimal interventions? Charu Gandhi has nailed it with her London homeFocus on key spaces, work with inherited details, and go big on colour and texture, says Gandhi, an interior designer set on beautifying her tired rental
-
These fashion books, all released in 2025, are the perfect gift for style fansChosen by the Wallpaper* style editors to inspire, intrigue and delight, these visually enticing tomes for your fashion library span from lush surveys on Loewe and Louis Vuitton to the rebellious style of Rick Owens and Jean Paul Gaultier
-
‘If someone says no, you’re talking to the wrong person’: how make-up artist Marcelo Gutierrez created his own universe in New YorkFresh from publishing his first book ‘Nothing Precious’, Marcelo Gutierrez speaks with Mary Cleary about his friends, collaborators and making it as a young creative in New York City
-
Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
-
Kohler plunges into the world of wellness with an ice bath for your homeKohler has teamed up with Remedy Place to design an ice bath for the home, marking the brand’s first move into the wellness space
-
‘Remembering without nostalgia’: Giorgio Armani presents his S/S 2025 collection in New YorkGiorgio Armani returned to New York for his S/S 2025 show, which coincided with the opening of a flagship boutique on Madison Avenue
-
Discothèque perfumes evoke the scent of Tokyo in the year 2000As Discothèque gets ready to launch its first perfume collection, Mary Cleary catches up with the brand’s founders
-
The Wallpaper* S/S 2025 trend report: ‘A rejection of the derivative and the expected’Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss unpacks five trends and takeaways from the S/S 2025 shows, which paid ode to individual style and transformed the everyday
-
The breathtaking runway sets of S/S 2025, from beanbag animals to a twisted living roomWallpaper* picks the best runway sets and show spaces of fashion month, which featured Bottega Veneta’s beanbag menagerie, opulence at Saint Laurent, and artist collaborations at Acne Studios and Burberry
-
Fashion’s favourite bookstore, Climax, opens a ‘sexy, angry’ New York outpostWallpaper* catches up with Isabella Burley, founder of Climax, as she inaugurates a New York outpost of the cult bookstore and showcases a playful new collaboration with fashion label Chopova Lowena
