New Store: Pirelli. The first Pirelli flagship store for the P. Lunga brand just opened on Corso Venezia. Designed by architect Renato Montagner, creative director of
collections, the store emerges as an archetype, destined to open a new chapter in
shop-design, commerce and services. The street, and above all, every movement
along it (cars, motorbikes and pedestrians) enter physically into the store
(note the reflection of the church of San Babila). All the
collections and the Pirelli PZero special projects are on display, among iconic
two and four-wheeled vehicles and Formula 1 video walls. In this way, the
outside blends into the interiors, which in turn point to the history of
Pirelli and its industrial genes, in an endless trail of tracks and references.
Pirelli. A number of services and special projects made their debut.
Starting with P. spoke: the tailor's shop for made-to-measure sneakers;
the first with leather soles, and completely reversible, like socks.
Pirelli – escalator and rubber carpet.
The escalator element accentuates the mechanical and rubber components, in a mechanism
that seems to be taken from Metropolis. Also emblematic is the detail of the rubber carpet, on the right, the first
tire tread carpet which combines the technology of tires with the glamour of
the Oscars, as an expression, starting at the entrance, of the perfect balance
between the industrial culture and the image of the P. Lunga.
Note: the impressive
display of Pirelli yellow rubber boots on the wall.
Pirelli – Women’s wear. For
Pirelli, who as early as 1877 had deployed its engineering in “sanitary and
haberdashery articles”, extending the range of action to clothing came
naturally. From the outset, however, this project marked a different creative
imprint, featuring a textile and aesthetic use of rubber, which had been
introduced by the Lastex yarn back in the days of Marilyn Monroe in one of the
actress’s costumes. Given this close intermingling of technology and image
Pirelli PZero production was immediately rechristened with a neologism:
“industrial design”. A revolution of materials in the fashion world, which had
always made appearance its substance.
Pirelli –
boots. A High heeled Wellington boot in
industrial grey adds a touch of fashion to the brands more classic designs.
Pirelli –
cash register. Even the cash register
section is made out of rubber. Among rubber-covered structures and industrial features
reconverted into items of furniture, a warehouse robot is brought into operation
for shopping. And, for the first time a store has an anechoic wall, the same
used in Pirelli plants for soundproofing during tests on tire treads.
Pirelli –
the designer. Renato
Montagner, creative director of the brand and architect of the store, which he
describes, more as a temporary space like the backstage of a theater where
things can be changed around at a moments notice.
Pirelli. The iconic yellow, the P and the tire tracks
details are all included on the heel of a rubber Wellington boot.