Ferrari store and its design identity

Yesterday evening a long film about Ferrari family was broadcasted on italian television. That's why today I pay attention to Ferrari Store in Milan designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini.

It can be defined as a immaginative shop. The wiggly curves and the shiny surfaces remind of the soft lines of the red Ferrari as you enter the shop. Indeed, the designer claims: “I used the sensation of dinamicity of the cars, releating to the concept of speed of futurist movement".

It is an innovative commercial space and the largest of the stores currently in existence. There are five display windows and the store is over 800m², of which 600m² is given over to sales. On the five floors, visitors can find countless articles of memorabilia and the entire ‘Replica’ clothing range of track apparel and F1 accessories. Floor -1 is dedicated to clothing that takes Gran Turismo as its inspiration while floor -2 is the children’s zone where games and even an F1 simulator can be found. Books, scale models and original parts of Gran Turismo and Formula 1 cars are situated on the first floor. Luxury goods are on the second floor.

Not only do we talk about a jewel-car, but also about one of the most interesting case of design identity.

An interactive museum takes place thanks to ipertech, memories keeper, where the audience feels through historical videos, b/w photos, models. As Ghini continues: " Ferrari store aims to be the meeting point of the story and Ferrari's myth, of the luxury and racing world.

The project of Ghini includes megascreens, new technologies, an environment on light movements in order to put all the attention of the red Ferrari.

The Ferrari Store is equipped with the latest technology which allows visitors to be fully immersed in the world of Formula 1 and to participate directly in the company’s most famous events. Plasma screens (including one of 5m x 1m) and a state-of-the-art audio-visual system captivates the public in a sound and vision experience that truly gives the impression of being at trackside.

Changes in fashion biz in 2008

Italian Xmas: less presents, more quality

Italian are going to make less present to relatives but pay more attention to quality. This is what emerges through a research elaborated by Future Concept Lab for American Express.

Despite the previous year, the Italian have declared that they are going to spend their money wisely. Basically, they are going to buy clothing (68,2%), secondly on books, cds and dvds (49,3%), then on food (25,2%).

The family remains the fulcrum of italian Xmas, so that over 73% of interviewees will spend the festivities at home. Moreover, the 57% has declared that is fundamental having friends to share important moments with, while the 53% is convinced that it is possible to be happy with few. If we look at the passions of italian, those pay attention to environment (58,7%) , culture (54,8%) and tradition(52,2%). To be considered is the attention to pleasant and healthy food that is a key point for 43,7%.

Xmas fashion trees

The Cité de l'Architecture on Paris' Trocadero is housing Christmas trees by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Sonia Rykiel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès and more…46 pieces will all be auctioned off for the Sol en Si association (A charity for children affected by AIDS).

Milan welcome the largest Diesel boutique

After Tokyo-Ginza and Hong Kong-Queens Road, Milan welcome the third Diesel Planet, an huge store of 1500 meter square on 3 levels that shows all the collections and lines of the brand. Everyone can see it at the cross of Piazza San Babila and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The opening of this belongs to a wider project to make Diesel preminent in the fashion capital, thanks the other stores in Corso Venezia, in Galleria San Carlo e Corso di Porta Ticinese.

Some architectural particularities: a cristal, curved wall of 7 m high and 35 m long, spreads from one side to the other, while a spiral staircase its the central reference. At the entrance of the shop, an enourmous wall of denim Diesel welcome the clients. On it, over 150 models are displayed indifferent colour, 5000 types in total.

To find out the jeans that fits you, the store provides you with a magic mirror that gives you a 360° view of your silhouette. Moreover, a pc chooses for you the perfect cut and wash. Besides those, a wi-fi connection allows you to shop in the on-line boutique.

Each level detains its own olfatory station, studied to stimulate senses in function of the display. There is also a bookshop that sells the best edition of fashion and design by Tashen, which has edited"XXX of Diesel Communication", while a vintage corner will offer all the cult products of Diesel after 70's. And because music continues to occupy a preminent position in Diesel world, a dj consolle will host dj-stars during perfomance live.

Budget of one year of Made in Milan

Budget of one year of Made in Milan, the brand that unites associations, comitees, events and fairs in Lombardia.

The first success its the strong collaboration in an effective team work: 12 fairs and events in 10 days, during the fashion week from 25t February 2009: from Milano Moda Donna and Milanovendemoda, to Touch-Neozone-Cloudnine, as Giovanni Bozzetti, president of Comitato Lombardia for fashion reports.

The 1929:When fashion takes after the crisis

What do you get when you mix racks of designer clothing with hot vegetable soup? A new SoHo boutique named The 1929 - after the Depression - and a place where fashionistas and the down-and-out soon could be rubbing shoulders.The street level store on MottSt. is decked out with racks of snazzy dresses, pants and tops by independent designers.The basement level has been transformed into an art and performance space by night and a spot where hungry shoppers, or even passersby, can pick up a free bowl of soup and coffee during the day.

"The store is inspired by the Great Depression," said store manager Aaron Genuth, 25, one of three friends who created the business. "Everybody's worried about money, but with [President-elect Barack] Obama getting in, there's definitely a spirit of collaboration, of optimism. "There's a feeling that people getting together can make things better on a local level, like we are doing here, and in a greater sense for the whole country," Genuth said.

The store is one of a growing number of "popup retailers" moving into vacant storage spaces around the city on short-term leases. It opened near Mott and Broome Sts. on Black Friday and has a contract through next month. After that, the owners will have to find a new location. They also plan to expand their empire online.

"Fashion has always been something for the rich," said designer Levi Okunov, who is also a partner in The 1929. "Who said it can't be for the masses? We want people to come here, have a bowl of soup, try on some clothing and maybe check out the artwork downstairs. "It's not only a clothing store, but a collective space of people's energies."

Fashion system is on the watch

Italian fashion system asks for an help the Government. Particularly, it wants to meet immediatly the Prime Minister to tackle the falls of the harsh crisis.

In the meantime, the business representatives and major figures of italian production have signed a document which proposed some measures to sustain both internal consumption of fashion products, both the productivity and even the defence and valorization of italian fims and the protection of internationl trade.

Miu Miu Defies the Recession With Spiffy New Store

Miu Miu's third Manhattan outpost opened on 57th Street today. Shiny, golden, three floors, and 4,860 square feet, it symbolizes everything the economy is not. Over the last three years Miu Miu's sales have seen a 30 percent annual boost. They plan to open even more stores across the U.S. in cities including Las Vegas; Costa Mesa, California; and Bal Harbour, Florida. The third floor of the 57th Street store will be devoted to special events revolving around art, culture, and fashion. The first exhibit currently on display called "Modern Portrait Gallery" consists of renditions of Miu Miu ad campaigns starring celebrities like Kirsten Dunst and Lindsay Lohan (and maybe soon Katie Holmes). View the slideshow to see more of the store and its delicious dresses, shoes, and bags and, most important, escape the recession along with Miu Miu.

Are private sales a way to face the crisis?

The haute couture dealing is usually preroragative of the iper-richs or the celebs who received free high fashion clothes from maisons in exchange of advertisement. Nowadays, the luxury appears accessible also for common human beings thanks to the discounted prices because of the crisis.

Due to outlets, mark-ups are under pressure and a lot of haute couture brands, like Gaultier, had to undersell before Xmas time. From Paris to Milan, through NY and London, a lot of sales has been made by most maisons. Insted of the public sales on windows shops that might ruin corporate image and the formula "quality=high price", they preferred to be more discrete with the "private sales".

Private sales are usually reserved to devoted customers who receive an invitation via email, and are applied to a restrict display of products. This year, some journalists of Reuters found out that this is not completely true. In fact, some clients could enter the private sales also without invitation and buy the whole collections at Prada, Gaultier and Jimmy Choo. Although a lot of spokeman have a no-comment opinion about, actually it happens in this way. Are the big brands planning a fund-raising programme during the crisis?

Onitzuka Vending Machine

Selling clothing via vending machines is really taking off. Uniqlo started this idea a few years ago, and now brands like Onitsuka Tiger are jumping on the trend.

It’s first sneaker vending machine opened near Carnaby Street in London. The machine carries up to 24 pairs of Onitsuka Tigers Mexico 66 in 6 different shoe sizes (UK 5,6,7,8,9 and 10).
If you plan on buying a pair, be sure you know your shoe size, because you can’t try before you buy and there’s no refunds!

Milan invests in Fashion&ICT with a national prize

"Milan hosts the National Prize for Innovation 2008 with a concrete commitment. In fact, the Town Council invests in 3 great infrastructure of research, incubator and projects." that was what the major Letizia Moratti said at the presentation of the final at the department of Design, Arts, Communication and Fashion of Politecnico University of Milan. Particularly, the initiative sustains the best entrepreneurial ideas and research with an high-tech content. Basically, the contest will be developed in Business Cases organized by 42 italian universities to decide which projects are the most interesting.

Subsequently, the major explained the efforts made to improve fashion sector and studies. Firstly, it has been created a consortium among Bocconi, Politecnico, Iulm and Cattolica universities and National Fashion Chamber. For what concerns the City of Taste, the study has been realised by State University and the Tecnological Padan Park. Secondly, it has been constituited a network of incubator of young high-tech enterprises. Thirdly, it comes the projects. One of them is the wi-fi connection in Milan from the downtown to San Siro zone in order to give a range of services to inhabitants like the ones bout security, parking places.

Bluestore in Oporto

About one year ago, I went for the first time in Oporto, Portugal. This cute city in the north of the country reserves a lot of surprises. Although most of us might think that this poor meditteranean nation can't offer too much in terms of design, this is not true. Since it joined the UE, a lot has been made thanks to the contribution of UE. For example, look at this video of a mobile shop downtown.

Strength in Emotional Design

Great design materializes emotion, evoking a connection between people, brands and experiences. It's the things we don’t see that are the most essential to creating a great design. The emotions we feel, moods we embrace, atmosphere we savor, and environments in which we exist play a large role in inspiring a design vision that becomes a great product.

The design process is deeply integrated with engineering, brand and strategy, working seamlessly to develop industrial design solutions that lead to success for firms. Through research, testing and targeted design, it has to be removed the subjectivity from the product development process and address important, yet often overlooked human factors.

Everything is in order to provide high value to strategic product development and design-driven, inspiring products. These ones pays testament to the ability to create products that fulfill human needs and solve business problems.

The best design is not a commodity, and will never be. It can’t be canned, duplicated or outsourced. It is an amalgamation of discipline and imagination, a marriage of skill and bravado. It possesses the strength to alter moods, change perceptions, and evoke attitude. In the end, design is the tangible manifestation of a strategy.

55DSL TemporART opening

Fashion, music and design. Those are the ingredients of the mix that was present on the 6th december in Galleria Corso San Carlo where Diesel opened 55DSL TemporarART Store, a new spacce where the creative team of Andrea Rosso reveals its creativity.

A big party, continued at Magazzini Generali, started this new project where the concept becomes a new experience: divided in 2 sections, one white and one black, 55 DSL TemporART Store has been studied on two parallel levels where the continuum will be the collection 55DSL.

Andrea Rosso, music and design enthusiatic, will give the possibility to a lot of young artists to show their own talent thanks to the personalization of the space that will be an important novity shop window. The first artist was T.O.D.O.S., a spanish collective of Madrid.

55DSL TemporART
Galleria San Carlo

Milan

oh bej, oh bej

photos by Giulia Agostini

The Oh Bej! Oh bej! fair is the traditional outdoor market that takes place each year on the 7th December for one week around Castello Sforzesco in Milan.

It first appeared in 1288 in honour of Saint Ambrogio, but the origins belongs to the arrival of Giannetto Castiglione, Gran Maestro of the order of the Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro. He was in charge under Pope Pio IV to turn on the faith in the city of Milan. When he entered the city walls on the 7th December, he handed out presents to gain the love of the inhabitans, until he reached the Duomo.

From that point on, the market presents each year clothes, old toys and mainly food.

H&M changes the face of the store in Milan

The swedish pap brand H&M has relied on the fellow countrywoman Lovisa Burfitt to renew the store in Milan in a art gallery presence.

Lovisa Burfitt is well-known for its T-shirts, available only at Palais of Tokyo, in the No Good Store and in the boutique Joseph of Paris. She has received only a unique order from H&M: to free the flow of her imagination and of her design talent. As a result, 50 panels represent the fashion world which H&M has transformed in wallpapers and displayed on the different points of the office.

After seeing the success of the change, the swedish brand decided to do the same in Tokyo. Besides this success, she already knows some similar ones: in Stockolm, she decorated the wall of East restaurant and Hotel Scandic.

Camerino café+Levi's, Music+Fashion

What happens when music and fashion meet each other? That's what has made up Levi's in collaboration with Camerino Café (Radio 105). Everyday, you can entry the shop in Corso Buenos Aires, Milan, and become the main character of the show.

Yesterday, the project were opened with a live of the emergent and talentous Bugo.

http://www.camerinocafe.com/

Original Levi's store
Corso Buenos Aires 14/A

Diesel 'Liquid Space' Holographic Fashion Show

During the last runways, Diesel wowed the style crowds with an impressive multimedia show. Using CGI technology, projected motion graphics of models and creatures from the deep created the illusion that they were moving together down the runway along with live models.

The show, entitled "Liquid Space," played with concepts of metamorphosis as strange hybrid forms of man, machine and sea creature appeared to float through space. Weaving their way around the actual models, these creatures transformed into animated models wearing the collection and then the clothes dissolved into millions of glittering fishes. The format and style of the traditional fashion show has been played with by many designers, but with this show Diesel moved into a new creative realm, combining fashion and 3D animation technology in front of a live audience.

The grand master of Diesel’s famously attention-grabbing imagery is Creative Director Wilbert Das and special effects were created by the Spanish CGI animation studio Dvein along with Danish multi-media production agency Vizoo.

Gas and Vice party

Another big party for a brand that speaks to youth. Gas Jeans prepared the big happening at Ied Moda Lab on the 29th November in collaboration con Vice Magazine. Everyone met at 6 p.m. in Gas store in Corso di Porta Ticinese but few managed to clutch the invitation.