Pierpaolo Piccioli and Jacopo Venturini on their vision for Valentino’s new store concept

Pierpaolo Piccioli’s tenure at Valentino has been defined by flights of craft and imagination; an astute use of colour; a pursuit of beauty which finds its roots in the Roman house’s beginnings in couture dressmaking. 

A new fashion store concept – titled 'The New Maison’ – epitomises this approach, which has launched in Jeddah, Madrid, Venice and Shanghai, before arriving in Paris, New York and other international locations in the coming year. It has been conceived in a collaboration between Piccioli and Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini, the vision of which is revealed this week. 

‘A New Maison’: Pierpaolo Piccioli and Jacopo Venturini on Valentino’s new store concept

‘[We wanted] a store concept that was authentic and embodied what the brand is today,’ Piccioli exclusively tells Wallpaper* of this new approach to retail design. ‘A brand that does not change its codes and its identity, but that needs to translate the values of couture into a language connected to the spaces, architecture and design of the store.

‘The concept represents Valentino’s identity as a maison de couture with an interior design which reflects the house’s artisanal approach – an expression of our Italian heritage and savoir-faire,’ he continues. ‘It is an evolution, facing the times we are living in. Physical stores are spaces where you have to portray your company identity.’

Adds Venturini: ‘Maison for me stands for the idea of home, a welcoming place that is associated with intimacy, uniqueness, a client-centric mindset, and inclusivity. Couture, instead, represents mastery, care, creativity, one-on-one relationships, and obsession with details.’ 

Of this artisanal approach, ‘The New Maison’ will centre around distinct elements of craft, undertaken by international craftspeople. These might include Massimiliano Pipolo’s handmade ceramics (which feature in a special film to coincide with the project, The Artisans, which can be watched below), Fabio Cinti’s geometric compositions in brass, or chandeliers by renowned French mobilier Alexandre Logé in sculpted plaster. Furniture includes Mario Bellini’s recognisable 1970-design ‘Camaleonda’ sofas for B&B Italia – here in new bespoke tones – as well as rugs by Milanese carpet-maker Golran.

‘The maison comes from couture, but also from all the stories of the people that have contributed to its success,’ says Piccioli. ‘It was important not only to translate this into a space that represented the richness of couture, but to convey couture as an experience, uniqueness and care. [It is why] there is the craftsmanship of artisans such as Pipolo – who created the doorknobs – or Cinti, who created the brass shelves where the accessories are on display.’

On redesigning the retail experience, Piccioli notes the importance of ‘Italian hospitality’ – ‘a more intimate and experiential approach to make people feel engaged’ – as well as noting that the shopping experience is one dictated by emotion. ‘The same level of values and uniqueness [as our runway shows] needs to be represented in the stores. The fashion show is of course the highest level of image and of the emotion raised within the audience, but we need to have the capacity of translating the same emotion within the store, without creating a predetermined language that weakens it.’

’By conceiving an intimate space with a homey feel, we wanted to put the client at the centre – similar to how one does when entertaining guests add home,’ says Venturini. ‘It’s the obsession with details, care and the intimate relationship with the client – all synonyms of couture that trickle down to the boutiques. The store becomes a place of dialogue, a community for a heterogeneous clientele from longtime loyal clients to new fans.

‘As we continue to evolve the brand towards an increasingly human- and client-centric approach, embracing a more intimate retail dimension and immersive experience, we wanted a store concept that reflected this new vision.’

Piccioli has often cited the importance of individuality in his output for the house; his recent A/W 2022 collection was crafted in the same shade of pink (a new Pantone shade, Valentino Pink PP) in an attempt to highlight the individual personalities of the wearer (other collections have featured models of various ages and body sizes). He hopes that these new stores – each tailored to their location – have a similar feeling of uniqueness.

‘There are no predetermined rules [to the new concept], but rather rules that are rewritten every time in a different way, while maintaining the characteristics which make the spaces familiar,’ he says. ’Each store becomes a new home and an intimate place to welcome individuals, placing human connections at the heart.

‘What I like about our house – because this is how I consider Valentino, a real house – is its consistency with the past that does not preclude evolution. We inhabit the contemporary while staying true to our past, with no nostalgia – only passion.

‘The new store concept sets a phase for a new beginning and widens the culture of couture around the world.’

valentino.com