JW Anderson Evokes Soho’s Sex Shop Windows For Its Milan Flagship Store
Image via JW Anderson
Pacing along a row of high-end stores like Chanel, Fendi, Hermès, and Kenzo, attuned shoppers might blush when they stop at the window of JW Anderson’s flagship location in Milan.
Designed by 6a Architects, the new outfit on the Via Sant’Andrea street of the Quadrilatero shopping district chiefly blends with its “bourgeoise” surroundings, but a few cheeky details hint at something more. The UK label also borrows some elements from the sex shops in London’s Soho, the home of the brand’s very first flagship store, Dezeen reports.
JW Anderson’s branding in neon lighting, like the signs of the London district’s adult stores, beckons customers to take a peek. The boutique’s interior is also partially obscured by rainbow curtains, echoing the private but loud shops operating on the little alleyways.
The brand’s founder Jonathan Anderson tells the publication that there’s “something very sexual” about neon lights, and that they kind of encourage grand gestures.
It’s a lot less provocative on the inside, where the store takes on a more classically Milanese appearance with sand and gray tones, handmade terrazzo tile flooring, and walnut fluted panels. Meanwhile, JW Anderson’s iconic bronze curtains drape the backdrop.
With that said, each piece of furniture and artwork found within is hand-picked to recreate the feel of stepping into a Milanese salotto (salon), like the ‘Cardinal Hat’ pendant light by Lutyens Furniture, the Iklwa chair by Mac Collins, Hongyan’s oil paintings, and Wolfang Tillmans’s photographs.
JW Anderson Milan is now open at Sant’Andrea 16, 20121 Milano.
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[via Dezeen and Wallpaper*, images via JW Anderson]
