A foot in the store

Designed by Piuarch

From the architects:

The first P448 store to be opened in the heart of Brera District aims at celebrating the brand vision. The 100% Made in Italy brand’s store hosts men’s, women’s and accessories collections.

In conceiving this project, Piuarch strived to foster the true identity of the brand, making an innovative and unconventional store, developed with attention to detail and quality materials.

Five window displays with a surface of over 80m² cover the corners between the prestigious via Ponte Vetero and via Cusani. The design of the boutique was a result of the collaboration between world-renowned Italian Architecture Studio Piuarch and the P448 creative team – Marco Samorè and Andrea Curti.

The colour blue is the common thread that lights up the store at night, so that it appears as a bright blue object interacting with the urban context, getting away from the traditional store concept, and brining new meanings and functions to the space.

The interior design brings out the nature of the products by creating an urban environment which connects diverse aspects of P448 – unconventional and yet sophisticated – following the free-spirited inner soul of the brand.

The store’s urban and industrial identity is prominent right from the entrance, with neon art and a two-tone playground floor that welcomes people, evoking the street and urban context. It also evokes one of the main materials used in producing shoes, rubber.

A mix and match of raw materials such as metal mesh and aluminium are juxtaposed with iridescent films and shimmering textiles, as well as a statuesque blue marble, creating a unique contrast with the eclecticism and modernity of the shoes. This contrast also reflects the brand’s experimental use of materials.

The fit-out’s various materials and textures create diverse wefts and patterns of the surfaces that highlight the product contours while retaining a plain and straightforward linearity.

In addition, frosted glass and ultra dark blue lacquering are used together with the natural light to lend transparency and create a looking glass effect, further enhanced by a blue-coloured/mirrored multifunctional room that fully expresses the strong identity of the brand at first sight – evoking the iconic P448’s electric blue.

Story by: Trendsideas