Valentino New York Flagship Store

The store occupies a former department store on a famous avenue. Its 1,100 square metres continue the store concept the British design team’s Milan office developed with the brand from 2008, which steers away from the showroom model toward a palazzo-like atmosphere.

Architecture is brought inside rather than left on the exterior. Stairs, walls and columns stay exposed to show their materials and set off the products on display, giving the store a sense of permanence and purity instead of thin panels and decoration.

A new, slim eight-storey façade of black steel and aluminium, inspired by the city’s modernist icons, has brass-finished bars across the three retail levels and integrates a lantern, a clock and the brand sign. Inside the double-height entrance, a monolithic palladiana staircase links all levels, set in a hall of terrazzo with a large display wall.