JW Anderson announces the opening of the Milano flagship store, the label’s second, and the first in Italy. The occurrence strengthens the Italian connection that began in June 2022, when JW Anderson started showing menswear within the Milanese fashion calendar.
Located at number 16 of via Sant’Andrea, in the heart of the Quadrilatero – the city’s pre-eminent shopping precinct, comprised between via Montenapoleone, via Manzoni, Via della Spiga and Corso Venezia – the store extends on one single floor for a total of 53 square meters divided into two main rooms, with a full-height window on the street. The space has been designed by 6a Architects, who already authored the JW Anderson store in London’s Soho.
The JW Anderson lexicon, here, is spoken in a Milanese inflection, with subtle nods to the city’s bourgeois leanings, well evident within the area. The signature aluminum scaffolding and display structures as well the neon sign on the facade, thereafter, are mixed with genius loci elements such as the traditional, handmade terrazzo tile flooring in a bespoke blend of colors, and Walnut fluted panels covering the two main pillars inside.
The furnishing is sparse, and Italian in feel, with a sense of humor: The Cardinal Hat Pendant light from Lutyens Furniture sets the tone in the main room, while Benchmark Studio’s black Iklwa chair by Mac Collins and matching side tables nod to a Milanese salotto with their imposing presence.
On the walls, two oil on canvas paintings by artist Hongyan in soft shades of green and gray augment the sense of refined domesticity. The Wolfgang Tillmans images in the changing room provide contrast, reaffirming blunt juxtapositions as a JW Anderson identity trait.
Location
16 of via Sant’Andrea, in the heart of the Quadrilatero