Brioni’s Brendan Mullane and designer Michael Anastassiades team up to dress the house’s new Milan store
![Initially conceived as part of Wallpaper* Handmade 2014](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/v4gk29XDZoLwWdA3wx2ofb-415-80.jpg)
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.
The project united Anastassiades with Brioni creative director Brendan Mullane during the Salone del Mobile and will be on view in store until 12 July
The 1,200 sq m store has been 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
The boutique's bronzed shoe room
A light-flooded stone staircase connects the store's floors
Furnishings include 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
Brioni has also jumped into the high-speed digital world by launching Virtual Mirror, a virtual technology system that allows Brioni clients to simulate and visualise suits in thousands of fabric and colour variations on a virtual mannequin
Michael Anastassiades at Brioni's tailoring workshop in Penne, Italy.
A model of the installation that was painstakingly upholstered in fine suiting wool inside Brioni's factory in Penne - 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.
ADDRESS
Brioni
Via Gesù, 2-4
20121, Milan, Italy
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
JJ Martin
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
‘Things are not what they seem’: Unpacking the S/S 2025 menswear shows
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss explores the trends and takeaways from this season’s menswear shows, from an embrace of ‘irrational clothing’ to couture-level craft and eclectic new takes on tailoring
By Jack Moss Published
-
Martine Rose on her disruptive Milan Fashion Week debut: ’you have to do what you believe in’
British designer Martine Rose speaks to Wallpaper* about shaking up Milan Fashion Week with her disruptive, subculture-infused menswear
By Joe Bobowicz Published
-
‘Yohji Yamamoto: Letter to the Future’ celebrates the designer’s timeless, anti-trend approach
‘Yohji Yamamoto: Letter to the Future’ at Milan’s 10 Corso Como is a rare exhibition of the seminal Japanese designer’s work. Curator Alessio de’ Navasques gives Wallpaper* a tour
By Joe Bobowicz Published
-
Thom Browne shows how to make the perfect bed with theatrical performance at Milan Design Week 2024
American fashion designer Thom Browne makes his Milan Design Week debut with a new homeware collection created in collaboration with historic linen company Frette
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
First look at Moncler’s blockbuster new exhibition, which turns Milan Central Station into an immersive public gallery
Wallpaper* takes an exclusive look at Moncler’s new Jefferson Hack-curated exhibition, which features portraits of an eclectic cast of international creatives, including artist Daniel Arsham, musician Rina Sawayama and make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench
By Jack Moss 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