Directory

Retail Directory 2009 

Ermenegildo Zegna

Tokyo

Peter Marino, the New York-based leather-clad lord of luxe architecture, designed this homage to the 98-year-old Italian clothing firm’s peerless textiles, set in Tokyo’s edgy Shinjuku retail district. Marino delved deep into Zegna’s vaults, finding inspiration in the way its fabric makers at the historic firm’s wool mill in Trivero weave raw fibre into luxurious fabrics. The result is a 665-square-meter, five-storey retail space, fronted by a glass-wall façade overlaid with 2.5 kilometres of intertwining threads of stainless steel. At night, the building - the third of Marino’s “Global Concept” stores for Zegna - comes alive as LEDs light up the structure. Trademark Zegna traits are picked up on inside the store, too – yet more metallic threads criss-cross the windows, while a golden marble strip on the floor references the selvage on Zegna fabrics. However, the dominant colours of the interior - sky blue and alpine greens – and the use of sustainable wood and stone were inspired not by fabrics but by the family firm’s unspoilt 100-square-kilometer Oasi Zegna nature reserve near Trivero. Photographs depicting the reserve by the celebrated Naples-born photographer Mimmo Jodice hang in the fourth-floor Couture Room and above the wooden stairs leading the second and third floors. Marino believes retailers must offer a unique experience and, here, the Zegna experience is perfected.

3-19-7 Shinjuku
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
03 3355 3311

www.zegna.com

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