Ferragamo’s Women’s Boutique Re-Opens At Via Monte Napoleone, 3

Luxurious ease marks the renovated interiors of the Milan boutique for Ferragamo's women's collections. The boutique celebrates nearly a century of Italian-crafted excellence consisting of innovation, high design, and unexpected inventive twists. The brand's heritage reverberates in this tribute to its unwavering passion for shoes. The interior design is infused with a contemporary flair, producing an elegance that is in step with the times.

Ferragamo chose Vincent Van Duysen for the project, an architect whose distinctive signature is elegant, exacting, rational, and sensual. He stands for essential elegance, always closely tied to materials and the senses, and this aligns him perfectly with the affinities of Ferragamo and Maximilian Davis, Creative Director since 2022.

From these foundational values sprang a design of timelessness, elegance, and sophisticated warmth, always open to the new and unexpected.

The setting is a building with a rich history, the Palazzo Carcassola Grandi, built in the 15th century and redesigned in the early 19th century. The palazzo was part of Milan's vibrant cultural and political ferment of that era, home to Emilio Morosini, a patriot of the Italian Risorgimento.

Van Duysen maintained the utmost respect for the spaces—a sequence of rooms—working with materials, light, and rhythms. The large space for footwear is a conceptual springboard with vaults and columns that tell of a special relationship with its history. We are taken on a creative journey that spans across time and takes a leap into the future. The materials are in an interplay of effects that make for an idea of contemporary classicism. The Venetian stucco walls, the stone floors, and the ceilings are in a palette of very light, warm colors, a barely hinted-at cream. Mottled marble slabs are red (Salvatore Ferragamo's favorite color), and the grand mirrors, in clean-lined bronze frames, multiply the space. The interior furnishings – ottomans, armchairs, tables, and display cases—feature soft, rounded edges.

Salvatore Ferragamo was a boundless inventor, ever the great experimenter with forms and materials. His cutting-edge passion for uncommon materials left an inspiration-rich legacy. He had a rare sense for creating togetherness, knowing how to invite in and form a special relationship with the people who bought his creations, with a mutual understanding of respect and trust. Photos show him kneeling before his famous customers in the ritual of trying on the shoes, an incomparable moment of giving. The boutique's interiors were conceived to be moved through like one would through the rooms of a large home, infused with a feeling of sophisticated ease. Each room has its own spirit, attuned to the collections within, and amplifies their message. Taken together, they become conduits for the energy of the Ferragamo style.

Footwear, bags, accessories, and clothing are all arranged on a path of discovery, culminating in a room for silk, entered on a short stone staircase. Poufs and armchairs are scattered throughout, inviting pause. A vestibule before the changing rooms is envisioned as a lounge for relaxing and conversation.

True to its contemporary Renaissance spirit, the new boutique welcomes the creations of a new generation of designers. From outside, we can glimpse an alcove completely adorned in sea blue ceramics, Aquario, designed by Andrea Mancuso/Analogia Project, who also designed a table at the boutique's entrance (designed under the supervision of Nilufar and its founder, Nina Yashar). In other spaces, we find Corallium, a collection of tables designed by Andrea Anastasio (edited by the Giustini/Stagetti Gallery, Rome), using leather string to “stitch together” the stones, islands of color in materials connected to the space. There are also unique pieces by JoAnn Tan, examples of masterful, sophisticated upcycling – display stools hand-covered with hundreds of leather fringes (scraps from Ferragamo production sites) and “insect” poufs with raffia embroidery and leather patchwork inspired by zoomorphic archive pieces, making the past and present one.

This boutique is a natural showcase for responsible innovation, central to Ferragamo's sustainability path. The brand already uses only renewable energy in Europe. Temperature, light, and ventilation are electronically controlled to minimize consumption and maximize comfort. These choices and the careful use of materials are in line with the requirements of LEED Gold certification, which recognizes optimized relationships between the building and the environment.

This boutique is dedicated to women's collections, offers services such as initial monogramming, and sells exclusive products not available at any other store, such as the Hug Bag, Ferragamo's new iconic bag. Here it is in black and “Milano” yellow, two colors for this special edition.

“The new interior décor project launched in this boutique is an essential step on the new path that Ferragamo has undertaken. The design originates far in the past, in the person of Salvatore Ferragamo himself, who liked to receive his customers as if in his home living room. This was precisely how he thought of his shop, as a place to come together and converse. This starting point has brought us to this contemporary expression of the intimacy of home and Italian-ness.” Marco Gobbetti, CEO and Managing Director, Ferragamo

“I’m pleased to see the collections I have created for Ferragamo in a space that elevates their design and details. It is the perfect setting for my creativity as an expression of sensual elegance.” - Maximilian Davis, Creative Director, Ferragamo.

“With this project, we tried to express a timeless Italianicity that is steeped in Ferragamo’s DNA. A sensual theatrical setting, where the scenic screen is luxuriously elevated and used as a backdrop and space-dividing element at the same time. The skillful juxtaposition of modern, essential elements and materials with existing structures such as the columns and the cross vaults creates a pleasing contrast that enhances every feature.” - Vincent Van Duysen, Architect

Ferragamo Women's Boutique

Via Monte Napoleone 3, Milano

Collections: footwear, bags and accessories, ready-to-wear, foulard collections, eyewear, watches, perfumes

In the Philippines, Ferragamo is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Greenbelt 4, Rustan’s Shangri-La, and Rustan’s Makati. You can also shop Salvatore Ferragamo online at Trunc.ph and Rustans.com. Visit ssilife.com.ph or follow @ssilifeph on Instagram for more information.