Palazzo Fendi, home to flagship store, atelier, three restaurants, opens in Milan

Palazzo Fendi has opened in Milan during the recent womenswear fashion week. The new Milanese luxury hub by the LVMH-owned Roman label, located at the intersection of Via Montenapoleone and Corso Matteotti, is home to a 910-square-metre store, an atelier area and three Langosteria restaurants.

Fendi’s new home in Milan extends over four floors inside a rationalist building designed by architect Emilio Lancia, built between 1933 and 1936. The interior design is the brainchild of Fendi’s architecture department, and blends details typical of 1930s Milanese homes with the label’s signature elements. For example, pre-existing marble details alongside Fendi’s special marble flooring, inspired by the floors of ancient Rome.

Adding further lustre to the décor, a selection of artworks hand-picked with local galleries and foundations, including the Officine Saffi Foundation, the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation, and the Mazzoleni and Secci art galleries.

The ground floor is home to Fendi’s women’s accessories. Its central feature is a deconstructed column by artist Anton Alvarez, created expressly for Fendi. An artisanal sculpture by Roberto Sironi has pride of place at the building’s second ground-floor entrance.

Within the retail area, the accessories section showcases fashion jewellery, sunglasses, belts, perfumes and textile accessories. Two asymmetric entwined ceramic pieces by artist Roger Cal, in Fendi’s signature yellow and bubble-gum pink, hang on the room’s corners.

At the heart of the ground floor, a hexagonal area with twin staircases adorned with two symmetrical artworks by Levy Van Veluw. The contemporary fresco that occupies most of the ceiling is by artist Edoardo Piermattei, who has decorated the entire stairwell leading to the upper floors. 

The first floor, dedicated to menswear and childrenswear, is reminiscent of a private club. The fretwork door in silvered nickel opens onto the VIP area, inspired by the style of Villa Necchi Campiglio by architect Piero Portaluppi. The décor features a painting by Daniel Crews-Chubbs, entitled Where the Wild Things Are, and a special dressing room with Roman-inspired wallpaper designed by artist Luke Edward Hall for Rubelli.

The second floor includes two areas dedicated to Fendi’s couture and women’s ready-to-wear, connected to two round VIP rooms. One of these features the label’s high jewellery collections, while the other contains an abstract sculpture depicting a human figure by Belgian artist Florian Tomballe.

A Nick Cave sculpture leads into the third floor, home to Fendi’s fur and leather ateliers, where the label’s artisans create and customise their products. The ateliers also showcase some of Fendi’s iconic archival items. Through a special arched foyer inspired by the architecture of Rome’s Pantheon, visitors can finally enter the Fendi Apartment, featuring Rosso Rosa, a painting by Agostino Bonalumi, and the Tracce I triptych by Arnaldo Pomodoro.