MILAN — Bulgari is renowned for its expertise in gold and captivating combinations of colorful gemstones. It took the jewelry house itself to challenge its precious creations with an equally compelling interior design for its new flagship here, which was unveiled Monday. Housed inside the 1835 Taverna Radice Fossati neo-classical building designed by Ferdinando Albertolli and nestled in tony Via Montenapoleone, the unit is the new jewel in the (retail) crown of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-controlled jeweler, which aimed to bridge its Roman roots with nods to Milanese architecture in the 8,072-square-foot space spanning three floors.
More from WWD “We dreamt about having a space like this and we realized it exactly how we imagined it,” said Bulgari’s deputy chief executive officer Laura Burdese at the opening, underscoring that the store was three years in the making, two of which were dedicated only to complete the renovation works. “We conceived it as a space which could narrate a story, our story, which is in between the past and our Roman identity and the future, today represented by Milan, a city we wanted to pay tribute to with a flagship that is more than a mere store but an experiential place that spotlights the best of Made-in-Italy craftsmanship,” said Burdese. She listed an array of companies involved in developing the light-hued interior concept, including Rubelli for textiles; Venini and Barovier & Toso for glass pieces and chandeliers; Dami.