LONDON — It’s the season of change at Valentino.
The Italian luxury brand has opened the doors to its new London flagship on Sloane Street, which has four floors in a minimalist design using the signature Valentino red color and shades of ivory and black throughout.
The store offers dedicated areas for accessories, ready-to-wear and private client spaces, which of late has become a priority for any luxury brand trying to engage their loyal clientele.
The nuances of the store nod to the brand’s signatures, such as the bespoke lighting installation resembling the Rockstud.
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The store is decorated with seating designed by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia.
To celebrate the opening of the store, a limited edition of the Valentino Garavani VSling bag will be available, as well as a permanent made-to-order service of exclusive ready-to-wear items.
“Our new flagship store on Sloane Street marks another significant step in Valentino’s strategic global expansion through a curated retail network while further cementing the maison’s long-standing ties with the city of London, to which we are deeply connected,” said Jacopo Venturini, chief executive officer of Valentino
“The venue fully reflects our territorial scope and the brand’s latest blueprint, which was first unveiled in 2022 through the new store concept design. It is a further testimony of our constant commitment to a client-centric approach with a more intimate and warm retail dimension, enhanced by details that reflect our perception of the city,” he added.
The London store takes cues from the unit at 645 Madison Avenue in New York, which debuted last November and has backlit black marble shelves and bespoke Plexiglas modules.
The flagship marks an important strategic moment for Valentino’s retail approach worldwide, after the opening of boutiques in Florence and Paris in 2023, followed by Shanghai at Plaza 66 in 2023, among others.
The store template was set up by former creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli with the intention of bringing Valentino “around the world,” he told WWD in an interview last year. The brand is steadily refurbishing its existing boutiques to a uniform aesthetic.
“It is undeniable that every location is unique, and in particular in Madison we let the interiors determine the path we should take. I like to interact with the locations, to create an exchange based on respect and curiosity,” he added. “I like to think that opening a store can also have a cultural value that is every time a possibility to bring who we are into the world.”
On March 22, WWD was the first to report that Piccioli was exiting the Rome-based couture house based on information from market sources, who also believed that Alessandro Michele was negotiating his contract to become his successor, which was confirmed a few days later.
Michele’s first collection will be for spring 2025.