Home sweet home

Home sweet home
Three labels—and one Italian soccer star—take up residence in the first Dirk Bikkembergs flagship in Milan

By Tiffany Jyang
November 24, 2009

Luc Willame for Dirk Bikkembergs

At Via Manzoni 47 in Milan’s Golden Quad, sports apparel and equipment are not the only elements merging seamlessly into one luxurious retail space. Comprising nearly 14,000 sq. ft., the new Dirk Bikkembergs flagship store climbs three stories and uniquely spotlights each of Bikkembergs’ three labels—Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture, Bikkembergs and Bikkembergs Sport. But it doesn’t stop there. The Belgian fashion designer has amplified the customer shopping experience by introducing an unexpected conceptual element to the store design—that is, Andrea Vasa, defender of Milan-based soccer club Brera, and the store’s live-in resident.

Taking up residence in a sumptuous two-floor apartment within the store, Vasa lives the life of the iconic, sporty “Dirk Bikkembergs” man. Through 15 gigantic windows that act as transparent walls, shoppers receive a full view into the interior of his home, designed for a “passionate sportsman who prefers functional and appealing garments for all moments of the day.” The apartment’s careful use of rich leather, fine-textured wood, saturated colors and hand-crafted details adds to the facility’s overall sense of finesse, and emphasizes Bikkembergs’ commitment to creating the ultimate habitat for a refined and polished sportsman. “[Vasa] is the messenger of sporty sophistication and healthy life,” Bikkembergs adds.

Customers are greeted at the ground level by a studded, footprint-shaped doorbell that leads to Vasa’s home, which coincides with the Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture area. To add a burst of energy, the bathroom, located at the mezzanine level, is covered from floor to ceiling with issues of Italian sports newspaper “La Gazzetta dello Sport,” which have been printed on pale pink paper. The intimate apartment area is punctuated with parquet flooring and a hand-knotted silk Sport Couture carpet with a unique soccer ball pattern.

The concept for Bikkembergs’ first store had been brewing in the designer’s head for some time, with a preparatory period and construction work extending more than two years. Thanks to the assistance of Giovani De Schampheleire from Gent, Belgium-based consulting and design company Arf & Yes, and Carlo Callegari from Padova, Italy-based architecture firm Studiotre Contract, Bikkembergs was finally able to carry out his vision. According to Bikkembergs, the overall idea of the store stems from a desire to give his customer the ability to select an outfit from “the wardrobe of a young, healthy and virile [soccer] player.”

“The three labels of the house reflect the entire wardrobe of my icon—a sportsman,” Bikkembergs says. Comfort and luxury are omnipresent, and determine the entire store concept from A to Z.” The designer’s first line, Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture, is displayed in the apartment, while the Bikkembergs and Bikkembergs Sport lines are displayed on the lower floor.

Shoppers can walk across a floating footbridge, past three towering columns that hint at the magnitude of the entire store, and down a spiral staircase to reach the Bikkembergs collection. The Bikkembergs wing features a lustrous white terrazzo floor, and is predominantly white, except for a distinctive black-and-white logo strip that extends from the floor to the ceiling, and even stretches over the leather seats in the store.

On the same floor, the Bikkembergs Sport area features attention-grabbing floor-to-ceiling images of athletic male bodies, and an imposing black stone floor. A black backdrop, an illuminated glass wall with a display of Bikkembergs’ signature Tirasegno soccer boot, black ceiling-high cupboards and accent lighting add to the intensity of the space.

Given the success of the Milan flagship, Bikkembergs has plans to roll out the design concept to multiple locations. Bikkembergs notes: “When I see that young guys enter the store and are curious and amazed by what they see and feel, I know one of my dreams has come true.”

—Tiffany Jyang was formerly an editorial intern for DDI Magazine.