Brioni’s Brendan Mullane and designer Michael Anastassiades team up to dress the house’s new Milan store
Brioni's latest store opening - a magnificent new Milanese flagship that sits in the luxury brand's historical home in Via Gesù - was celebrated over the weekend with an installation created by Greek designer Michael Anastassiades in conjunction with Brioni creative director Brendan Mullane.
Wallpaper* acted as matchmaker for the pair, fusing the two creatives for the magazine's annual Handmade project during the Salone del Mobile. The fruits of that teaser project are now revealed on the ground floor of the store (until 12 July), housed inside the very same building that hosted our Handmade exhibition three years in a row.
Entitled 'Blue Hour', the installation (also documented in our July issue, W* 184) features two chairs, a table and lamp contained inside a 3.2 metre tall, 2.5 metre wide cube. Every square inch of the walls, ceiling, floors and the furniture is covered in Brioni's hand-brushed 150 super fine wool flannel in midnight blue.
'The fabric is very dark, very light-absorbing, and very matte,' remarks Anastassiades, who flew in for the opening of the store. 'There is no sheen or reflective surfaces to it so when you first look at it, you can hardly understand what is going on.'
Indeed, a quick first glance at 'Blue Hour' registers nothing more than a two dimensional flat black sheet. Then slowly, as the eye adjusts, one begins to make out the sharp lines of the furniture and the three dimensionality of the space. 'And when the layers start unveiling themselves, you notice how beautifully tailored each object is,' Anastassiades adds.
The entire installation was painstakingly upholstered in fine suiting wool inside Brioni's factory in Penne, Italy - a high-end laboratory that has only, up until now, produced clothing. The cone shaped lamp is covered in a cotton normally reserved for men's shirting. 'We've given a su misura experience to the [installation] and tailored a beautiful, almost second-skin suit to its realisation,' says Mullane.
In line with Wallpaper's Handmade mission, the project reveals what can happen when talent and know-how is cross-pollinated across various disciplines. 'What was most interesting was that both Brendan and I share the same philosophy and approach even though he comes from fashion and I from design,' says Anastassiades. 'We both have the same appreciation for high quality.'
An obsession for high quality dominates the 1,200 sq m store. Designed by local architectural firm Studio Park Associati, all three floors of the space are wrapped in bronzed brass trimmings, 'cannucciato' ribbed Bahia wood, Eramosa marble and Navona travertine floors. Furniture includes Poltrona Frau armchairs and Ruckstuhl rugs, along with chairs and lamps designed by Studio Park and produced exclusively by Driade.
Six full-time tailors are employed inside the space to offer bespoke services using traditional, hand-crafted techniques. At the same time, Brioni has jumped into the high-speed digital world by launching Virtual Mirror, a technology system that allows Brioni clients to simulate and visualise suits in thousands of fabric and colour variations on a virtual mannequin. Rolling out in three phases, the platform will eventually allow clients to actually view their own image in a 3D mirror, wearing the clothes themselves.
ADDRESS
Brioni
Via Gesù, 2-4
20121, Milan, Italy
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
JJ Martin
-
Remembering Richard Serra (1938-2024), American art’s man of steel
American artist Richard Serra, whose vast sculptures transformed landscapes around the world, has died aged 85
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul
From small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Corfu hotel Domes Miramare redefines beachfront bliss
Make like Jackie O at Corfu hotel Domes Miramare, a property with contemporary luxury and echoes of 1960s glamour in spades
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Milan Fashion Week A/W 2024: Giorgio Armani to Bottega Veneta
The very best of Milan Fashion Week A/W 2024, from Giorgio Armani’s celebration of renewal to the ’monumental everyday’ at Bottega Veneta
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Nick Waplington photographs architect Joseph Grima for Stone Island’s ‘research project’
Marking the latest Stone Island Ghost collection, Joseph Grima is photographed by Nick Waplington against the backdrop of Oscar Niemeyer’s 1970s-built Palazzo Mondadori in Milan
By Jack Moss Published
-
Year in review: top 10 fashion interviews of 2023, as selected by Wallpaper’s Jack Moss
From rare glimpses inside Chanel, Hermès and Jil Sander, to spending time at home with Margaret Howell, these are the stories behind the figures who have defined a year in style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Paul & Shark hits the slopes with a Cortina ski resort takeover
‘Paul & Shark takes Cortina’ sees the label take over the Italian ski resort, kitting out the town’s ski club and Scoiattoli chalet
By Tianna Williams Published
-
At Brioni, Norbert Stumpfl is creating clothes to feel good in
As executive design director of Roman menswear house Brioni, Norbert Stumpfl is using time-honed techniques to reimagine Italian tailoring for today – and finding a slew of high-profile fans in the process
By Jack Moss Published
-
Jonathan Anderson on his new store in Milan, an ode to the city’s design codes
For his second JW Anderson store – and first outside of London – Jonathan Anderson has set up shop in Milan with a space that pays homage to the city’s stylistic codes. Here, he tells Wallpaper* the story behind the opening
By Jack Moss Published
-
Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson on exalting and reimagining the Welsh stick chair at Milan Design Week
‘Loewe Chairs’ saw the designer look towards a longtime fascination – the humble Welsh stick chair, here reimagined in a raft of colourful and inventive new ways by world artisans
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
BOYY unites with Danish artist FOS for an unconventional take on retail in Milan
Opening during Milan Design Week 2023, the flagship BOYY store sees the Milan- and Bangkok-based accessories brand collaborate with FOS on an evolving, unexpected retail space in the city’s luxury quarter
By Maria Cristina Didero Published