MILAN — Tiffany & Co. inaugurated its largest retailer in Europe right here throughout Milan Design Week — which can also be the flagship that shows the biggest number of distinctive archival items from the model.
Positioned within the Neoclassical Palazzo Taverna inbuilt 1835 on By way of Montenapoleone, the hanging retailer was designed by Peter Marino and opened after greater than two-and-a-half years of works.
References to Milan stand within the first entrance corridor, with CGI pictures on screens that undertaking photos of Leonardo Da Vinci’s winery within the storied Casa degli Atellani — reportedly acquired by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault, and of the By way of Palestro backyard. Tiffany’s signature Birds on a Rock are superimposed, “flying round joyfully carrying valuable jewels,” mused Anthony Ledru, president and chief govt officer of Tiffany & Co., of the fairytale scenes.
“A New Starting”
Tiffany’s earlier retailer in By way of della Spiga has closed and Ledru prompt individuals “neglect another retailer we had up to now in Milano, as a result of it is a actual new departure. I don’t wish to be destructive about what we’ve performed up to now, however I imagine it’s a brand new starting. It’s the primary time we’re in Montenapoleone and we had a little bit of luck discovering the correct location.”
Three LVMH manufacturers now occupy Palazzo Taverna, as Tiffany is adjoining to the newly inaugurated Louis Vuitton and Bulgari flagships.
“The timing is correct, it’s a metropolis that’s rising actually quick proper now, we’re seeing it with plenty of tourism and locals, and we now have the correct venue and the correct quantity. That’s why we’re right here,” Ledru mentioned.
He underscored that, with Marino, “there are not any pointers, and that’s the place you get the most effective. There’s discussions, there’s debate, however I imagine it’s one of many shops the place his creativity is reaching the utmost.”
Tiffany additionally plans to open a retailer in Milan’s luxurious procuring arcade Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II by the tip of the yr, positioned between Loro Piana and Dior.
On By way of Montenapoleone, the shop’s façade options arched home windows crafted by expert Murano glassmaker Venini. Recreated from an unique design by Gio Ponti, these lunettes characteristic an intricate form paying homage to the enduring stained-glass creations of Louis Consolation Tiffany.
The facade additionally contains window shows impressed by Michelangelo Pistoletto.
Ledru views the shop as a “cultural hub,” underscoring Tiffany’s and Milan’s “longstanding connection to the artwork world. Right here, you uncover the archives, the craftsmanship via the jewellery and artwork. It’s a cultural vacation spot the place you may recognize stunning jewellery, however not simply jewellery. Promoting is a consequence.”
The shop spans virtually 13,000 sq. ft, however the dimension is “not what we care about,” contended Ledru, “as a result of we imagine we managed to create a succession of tales and rooms. Each single room has a focus.”
These embody a Michelangelo Pistoletto work titled “Shade and Gentle”; a historic clock from the late nineteenth century beforehand in Grand Central Terminal in New York; a broderie reproducing each single piece of the Jean Schlumberger assortment, such because the Trophée de Vaillance brooch, a present to Diana Vreeland, or the Chicken on the Rock brooch, and the Urs Fischer work reproducing all of the signature creations by Tiffany, reminiscent of Elsa Peretti’s Open Coronary heart design.
A skylight and a sculptural staircase with frosted steps designed by Hugh Dutton assist amplify the proportions of the area.
Within the patio by the bar, the “Stratified Venus of Arles” statue cloaked in silver and bronze by Daniel Arsham, who additionally conceived an analogous art work for Tiffany’s New York Landmark retailer, stands on the foot of the staircase resulting in the primary and second flooring.
The one Tiffany retailer in Europe to hold and have a devoted room for the house assortment, it’s hanging with a Julian Schnabel portray devoted to Italy and a desk and chairs designed by the artist. In the identical space are Gaetano Pesce and Gio Ponti chairs, and Bella Silva ceramics.
Peter Marino’s Take
“This 18th century constructing was so very Milanese – I liked it and created a Holly Golightly staircase within the courtyard as a very lighthearted trendy intervention,” mentioned Marino.
Requested about how the artworks had been chosen, he mentioned he adopted “the works of mirror reflecting the brilliance of glowing diamonds (Michelangelo Pistoletto, Anish Kapoor, Stine Bidstrup); the colour of the well-known Tiffany blue field (YZ Kami, Johan Creten, André Dubreuil, Claudia Wieser); the completely glamorous issue of the model (Warhol, Picasso, Vik Muniz), and complete ‘within the second’ of our lives (Urs Fischer, Sterling Ruby).”
As for the message Marino desires to convey to those that enter the flagship, he mentioned “I’d such as you to be impressed to purchase a chunk of bijou and are available out trying both like Audrey Hepburn or George Peppard!”
Archival Items
Ledru proudly touted the distinctive, sizable archival items within the Milan retailer, 40 gadgets “from each single key second” of Tiffany’s historical past, starting from a stunning brooch gifted by Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor, or the pocket watch given to the captain who rescued a number of Titanic passengers, and a watch from the World’s Honest in 1939, jewels from Liza Minnelli and Sophia Loren, and unique glass lamps by Louis Consolation Tiffany.
“We wish the archives to be a part of the shop and of the invention,” Ledru mentioned. “What this retailer permits us to do is de facto to go from storytelling to story dwelling. It’s life. It’s a bit like a stay live performance versus watching TV. Visiting a retailer actually connects you emotionally with the model like no different channel.”
Whereas leveraging virtually two centuries of historical past, Ledru mentioned that “sadly, or I’d say happily, only a few individuals and never sufficient individuals find out about it. I’m not saying we’re going to maintain precisely the identical [archival pieces]. They could rotate after six months, 9 months, 12 months, however we imagine that it’s a part of the power and the depth of the model. And we now have one of many largest assortment of archives globally. Who would know that we ever did this?” he mentioned pointing to little gold make-up compacts, one formed because the face of a feline.
The shop responds to Tiffany’s “aim to dream and undergo the previous to grasp the model, the richness that only a few individuals actually know, or not sufficient individuals. That’s why we introduced all these archival items, as a result of I feel it creates, routinely, legitimacy, connection to the previous, and hopefully the understanding of why we do what we do right this moment,” he continued.
Requested in regards to the Italians’ notion of Tiffany, Ledru mentioned they’re acquainted with the model, its signature azure shade, its diamonds and the way it’s “very robust by way of gifting. I feel they’re going to hopefully uncover or rediscover Tiffany as one of many biggest jewelers of all occasions, as a result of we now have these 200 years of patrimony and historical past behind us, and the aim is de facto to share the historical past like we by no means, ever did earlier than. We’d be virtually a everlasting exhibition in Milan. In some way, each art work that we now have has a hyperlink to Tiffany. It’s contextual, it’s not only a massive museum with artwork. It’s a museum that even the art work serves to inform the Tiffany story in a non-literal manner.”
The shop carries a variety of Tiffany jewels, from engagement rings to the Knot, the T and Lock, to call a couple of, in addition to excessive jewellery, watches and an array of diamond jewellery, and options rooms devoted to Elsa Peretti and Paloma Picasso in addition to two personal salons for particular purchasers and areas for personalisation and restore.
