"Marni 米兰旗舰店 | 艺术工作室融入零售空间的创新设计"

Location: Via Monte Napoleone, 26, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Store Design: Marni

Artist's Studio Design: Brinkworth, Wilson Brothers

Art Installation: Shoplifter

At Marni's newly opened Milan flagship, the luxury fashion brand has incorporated a fully functioning artist's studio into the retail space, a work area for a rotating schedule of creative residents.

Key features

Marni opened the doors of its new Milan flagship store during Milan Design Week earlier this month. The three-storey retail space is located on the city's iconic Monte Napoleone street, home to a concentration of luxury fashion brands. The general design of the store was developed by Marni's creative director Francesco Risso with the brand's in-house architecture team. Signature wavy clothes racks and black stool seating are the main furnishings. Multi-tonal blue carpets cover the floors, while mirrored tile elements line the walls and ceilings along with LED neon bars and silver spotlights studding the ceiling.

The novelty of the Milanese Marni store is found on its second floor, the dedicated artist's studio. Developed by Brinkworth and the Wilson Brothers in collaboration with Risso, the goal was to create a 'vessel for creativity' that functionally operates as a workspace, blurring the line between creative and retail space.

The installation-cum-studio originates on the ground floor of the store and resembles a caravan attached to a car. A vertically hanging vehicle-like structure occupies the first two floors, while the usable studio is located on the third floor. The structure looks like a camping trailer and symbolizes nomadic travel, a nod to the rotating schedule of creatives the store will host. Windows line the structure's walls allowing  patrons to catch a glimpse of the artist's work process and finished pieces. The studio itself is also modular, so artists can modify it to their tastes. A similar intervention will be incorporated into Marni's Shanghai store.

Frame's take

A dual approach to retail has arisen and solidified in the wake of the pandemic's height, we previously reported: the retail and hospitality sectors have converged to increase meaningful foot traffic and, hopefully by proxy, higher revenues. Marni employed the same intention to a completely different approach. By incorporating artist residencies into the space, the brand not only bolsters its connection to creativity and the arts but also provides shoppers with a memorable, interactive experience.

This very connection has already proven its success during Milan Design Week when the store hosted its first resident, the New York-based artist Shoplifter, who creates tactile sculptures using synthetic hair, a material which nods to Marni's origins in wool. Shoplifter also created installations throughout the store. The artist made custom charms throughout the design week for customers to attach to their Marni handbags, clothes and accessories, creating an experience spanning beyond the typical transactional nature of shopping. Of the artist residency intervention, Brinkworth describes: 'this intervention represents a bold new approach to luxury retail. In this digital-first, post-COVID era of shopping, it promises Marni's community and customers something different.'