Merchants of Venice: Dolce & Gabbana opens a splendid store in Palazzo Torres
![A new two-floor boutique in the historic Palazzo Torres in Venice](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MJqs6mtCss4QkibmNJ3rcT-415-80.jpg)
Last autumn, Dolce & Gabbana announced its abandonment of a homogenous approach to retail, and embarked on evolving its global stores worldwide, with each one featuring unique design. We’ve had eyes on the brand’s Via Montenapoleone flagship in Milan, designed by Gwenaël Nicolas, which opened last September, and its Steven Harris designed St Barts boutique which debuted three months later. Now we’ve had a look-see at the newest store on Dolce & Gabbana’s roster: a majestic two-storey boutique in the 19th-century Palazzo Torres in Venice.
‘In the past, we’ve done different things with elements of stores, like facades or layouts, but to say everything is different in every [Dolce & Gabbana] store, is very radical,’ explains the Carbondale founder Eric Carlson, who designed the Venice boutique. Reflecting the house’s own multifaceted aesthetic – one that blends Sicilian baroque with flourishes of humour, and cartoonish prints with sensual silhouettes – its design reflects a play on details from history and modernity.
‘One of the things we learned about Dolce & Gabbana, was its approach to striking contrast: the clashes of ideas and colour, and the modern with the baroque,’ says the US-born, Paris-based architect. The entrance to the boutique is a celebration of Venetian mercantile craftsmanship. Its floors are paved in multi-coloured inlays of ancient marble, while the walls are adorned with wooden bas-reliefs depicting scenes of the city’s artisanal and commercial life during the late 19th century.
The store makes use of Venetian materials, including marble, Murano glass and damask
Like a tunnel through history, the modern part of the store (designed entirely by Carbondale) is entered through a 20m long hallway, lined with splendid 24ct gold glass mosaic and marbled Venetian stucco. It houses the label’s accessories – which are placed on floating brass shelves – and leads to the men’s, women’s and fine jewellery rooms. Upstairs, more rooms house formal and evening wear.
Each section of the modern part of the boutique is signified by its flooring; red Lepanto marble mosaic for the women’s area and mint green marble for the men’s. The fine jewellery room features a floor mosaic in black Marquina marble, with the walls decorated in mosaics of dark blue glass with gold leaf stars. Nodding to Venetian heritage, they evoke the details on St Mark’s Clocktower, a short walk from the boutique.
‘We've taken this idea of the Italian villa, of different rooms, each with its own personality,’ Carlson explains. ‘We've created these personalities using Venetian materials - so mosaic glass walls, marbles, Murano glass, damask'. Upstairs, floors are crafted in terrazzo, while fabrics by studio Bevilacqua cover the walls. Custom pieces crafted from Murano glass, including chandeliers, sit alongside furnishings designed by Carbondale. ‘It is inherently Venetian, inherently contemporary and historical, and it is inherently Dolce & Gabbana.’
The store takes inspiration from Italian villas, with each room designed with its own personality
The boutique has been designed by US-born Paris-based architect Eric Carlson, founder of studio Carbondale.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Dolce & Gabbana website
ADDRESS
Dolce & Gabbana
San Marco, 2188
Calle Larga XXII Marzo
30124 Venice
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
-
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
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025 highlights: Prada to Zegna
Wallpaper* picks the best moments from Milan Fashion Week Men‘s S/S 2025, from 15 years of MSGM to Prada’s celebration of youth, and an appearance from Mads Mikkelsen at Zegna
By Jack Moss Published
-
Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2025: what to expect
Beginning this weekend, everything we know about Men‘s Fashion Week S/S 2025 so far, from Dries Van Noten’s final show in Paris to an intimate Craig Green presentation in London
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Best in shows: Wallpaper* picks S/S 2024’s standout looks
As part of Wallpaper’s Design Awards 2024 issue, we select the winning S/S 2024 runway collections – and their defining looks – at the start of a new season in style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Dolce & Gabbana continues its new chapter with a London space devoted to beauty
Dolce & Gabbana opens a new beauty corner inside its lavish Old Bond Street store
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Unconventional men’s tailoring to make an impression this winter
This winter’s men’s tailoring is defined by razor-sharp reinterpretations of classic silhouettes, designed to make you stand out over a celebratory season ahead
By Jack Moss Published
-
How to be an impeccably dressed wedding guest
Up the drama and dazzle at your next autumnal nuptial celebration. Divorce that dialled down dressing. Ostentation and elegance are a match made in style heaven.
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
AlphaTauri’s Salzburg HQ is a science fiction fantasy
Browse in-store, buy online: the future-focused mentality of AlphaTauri
By Simon Mills Last updated
-
Manu Atelier's first boutique nods to Le Corbusier in Istanbul
The cult Istanbul-based label introduces bold, sculptural expressionism into this first bricks and mortar store
By Laura Hawkins Last updated