MILAN—Trussardi reinforces its ties to the city of Milan with the reopening of its lifestyle hub of fashion, food and culture at Palazzo Trussardi, located in the epicenter of the city alongside La Scala opera house.

Originally opened by Nicola Trussardi himself in 1996, Palazzo Trussardi is now reborn with a striking new concept, characterized by a contrast between the building’s heritage and contemporary design.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved together with our architects and creative directors. We are also honored to have the renowned chef Giancarlo Perbellini at the helm of our two new dining experiences. Palazzo Trussardi is very much alive again, incarnating the spirit of the New Trussardi: inclusivitiy and timeless, modern elegance. Today marks the opening of a truly urban project—beyond our exceptional retail and food concepts, we are providing Milan with a unique community experience,” Sebastian Suhl, CEO of Trussardi.

Historically, Palazzo Trussardi has always been a beloved meeting point at the center of Milan; one of the first true concept stores in the world, merging fashion retail with a café and a renowned restaurant. The building also served as a space for artists and design objects—blurring the lines between fashion and culture, thus introducing the first lifestyle concept of its kind. A place to dine before and after the opera, to meet for aperitivo, and for travellers and locals alike to find a Trussardi item for their wardrobe, or simply to discover a new art project. The reopening of Palazzo Trussardi revitalizes this spirit of inclusivity and togetherness, making it once again a lifestyle hub for the Milanese community and beyond.

“This is certainly a day we have been looking forward to since joining the House last year. We are extremely thrilled to revive this historic address for Trussardi and for the city of Milan. We have immense gratitude for everyone involved, especially the bplus.xyz architectural team for making this a collaborative project that we all feel deeply and personally involved in,” Benjamin A. Huseby and Serhat Işık, Creative Directors of Trussardi.

The new Palazzo Trussardi is home to the House’s flagship store and two dining experiences in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Giancarlo Perbellini, recently recognized by Gambero Rosso as “Restaurateur of the Year”: Café Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini on the ground floor and Ristorante Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini on the first floor.

The Café Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini presents a casual yet contemporary communal dining space. The Café offers breakfast to after-dinner cocktails with a particular focus on fresh, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients and is Giancarlo Perbellini’s first pasticceria in Milan.

Located on the first floor of Palazzo Trussardi, Ristorante Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini features a contemporary take on the Italian osteria, offering a unique experience that mixes precision and technique with imagination and memory.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

The palazzo was redesigned by a collaborative team of architects, artists and designers, Berlin- based architecture studio bplus.xyz together with Thorben Gröbel.

Chosen by the House for their collaborative philosophy of working, bplus.xyz began the palazzo’s restructure by excavating its layers, uncovering the building’s bones. By exposing and starting with what was already there, the palazzo’s history served as the framework for its redesign, to which the studio added renewed care and honest materials.

“The building was there before us, and it will be there after us. We want to challenge the paradigm of the retail store lifespan of 3-5 years, by understanding what exists in the space, and what will continue to be there in the future.”

“We removed layers of plastic and plasterboard like layers of time. Inside the bare structure of the palazzo, we found stone and earth, marble walls and terrazzo floors—which served as the starting point for introducing the idea of material honesty,” bplus.xyz.

REUSING THE PALAZZO’S HISTORY

A key element from the palazzo’s history was the suspended vertical garden—the first ever in Italy—designed by Patrick Blanc for the café’s covered terrace. This feature is preserved in the redesigned café, creating a conceptual portal between the House’s past and present, while providing a green enclave in the center of Milan.

The concept of revaluing and reusing is at the heart of the project. Upon a future redesign of Palazzo Trussardi, bplus.xyz is committed to taking back the objects and interior components made for the building, such as stainless steel fixtures, dismountable ceilings and shelving walls— in line with its philosophy to reuse and not discard.

FURNITURE AND FIXTURES

Thorben Gröbel designed the fixtures and retail objects with a mindset of scarcity and reduction— maximizing the use of recouped materials to give obsolete elements a new function. Stainless steel tubes were laser cut in half to use both pieces as clothing rails. Concrete stools were hewn from worksite refuse. Reused leather car seats and doors were turned into stools and displays for small leather goods—deliberately left with their visible patina of stains and wrinkles, to show how beautifully things age over time All fixtures and objects are drilled or bolted together without glue or compound material which would prevent reuse.

THE SPACE

A 25-meter long mirrored shelf wall positioned to make a diagonal cut through the ground floor is the space’s focal point. The mirror takes its shape from the public space aligning and reflecting Piazza della Scala. Inside the building it divides the area between the store and Café Trussardi. The design element is also a metaphor for the renewal of the brand—a result of an exchange of ideas between Huseby, Işık, and the architects very early into the project: how does one encompass the past, present and future in a new vision for a historic House without making a cut?

Architecturally designed to flow to create a seamless experience between food and fashion, the Trussardi store, Café Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini and Ristorante Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini are connected by a visual dialogue through a unique horizontal and vertical passage in the middle of the space.

Calibrated for the diverse spaces, column shaped lighting starts cooler in the store, warmer in the café, complemented with natural light from floor to ceiling windows, and finishes yet warmer in the restaurant upstairs.

Two entrances mark the space, including the corner of Via Santa Margherita and Piazza della Scala, and one at the rear in Piazza Paolo Ferrari, a direct access to Café Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini and Ristorante Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini.

Two entrances mark the space, including the corner of Via Santa Margherita and Piazza della Scala, and one at the rear in Piazza Paolo Ferrari, a direct access to Café Trussardi and Ristorante Trussardi.

OPENING HOURS

The store is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00am to 8:00pm, and Sunday from 11:00am to 7:00pm.

Café Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini is open Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 10:30pm.

Welcoming guests from 14th November 2022, Ristorante Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini will be open Monday to Friday from 11:00am to 3:30pm and 7:00pm to 10:30pm; and Saturday from 11:00am to 3:30pm.