French fashion brands Pierre Balmain and Mugler have announced that they are opening their first shops in Milan. Pierre Balmain, a line of Balmain Paris, is taking over 120 square meters of the baroque Palazzo Gallarati Scotti and will feature interior design elements from mid-twentieth century Paris fused with contemporary, urban accents. The store is scheduled to open on 22 June 2013 and it will stock the brand’s men’s and women’s clothes collections as well as footwear and accessories.
Mugler will open its inaugural store in Milan three days later (in a space adjacent to the new Pierre Balmain store) as a shop-in-shop boutique in the new IT’S30 department store at 30 via Manzoni. It will occupy over 90 square meters and its interior design was developed to mirror the brand’s visual identity by playing on contrasts between original eighteenth-century frescos and futuristic metal elements. The unveiling of the Mugler boutique in Milan is part of an international development strategy for the brand, which includes plans to open stand-alone boutiques in Paris and Hong Kong within the next two years in addition to its current availability in over 100 multi-brand stores worldwide.
