Ralph Lauren’s finest global customers now have a perfect reason to dig deeper into their pockets with a highly exclusive retail experience at the novel Palazzo Ralph Lauren in Milan. As the name suggests, this is not your average high-end boutique, rather they’ve aimed to create an ultra-exclusive luxury club that allows its members to have a full brand experience in a private residence environment.
Curiosity piqued, we simply had to pay the place a visit and this meant heading to Casa Campanini, a Liberty-style Art Nouveau mansion dating back to 1941 on Via San Barnaba, a quiet street just off the city’s main fashion district.
Unlike Ralph Lauren’s regular boutiques, which purposefully feel like a country club, the new 1,100-square-metre concept store ups the ante as a richly appointed royal family home. The cool, soft tones of the marble, the elaborate, ancient frescos and the sombre, classical aesthetics all flirt with furnishings from the company’s home collection (all of which are available for purchase) in a constant harmonious balance between historicism and contemporaneity.
“Milan is a unique city where people appreciate refinement, quality and style,” said Ralph Lauren at the Palazzo’s opening ceremony. “I wanted to create an elegant experience that captures the glamour of the city. The palace, with its rich history, provides a romantic setting to showcase the very best of my men's and women's collections.”
Of course, not just anyone can walk through its wrought iron gates (that were designed over a century ago by Alfredo Campanini himself) – obviously, privacy is a fundamentally important here. Officially, the club is for members only and membership can only be acquired by invitation. But assuming you have the means to cross this hurdle, the first thing you’ll need to do is arrange a one-on-one private appointment. On the day of your appointment you’ll be picked up by one of Ralph Lauren’s chauffeurs and brought to the palazzo, where you’ll meet the in-house chef who will offer to prepare breakfast, lunch, snacks or dinner on a private terrace offering stunning views of Milan. Then, once wined and dined, you’ll undoubtedly be ready to browse the specially curated suites, which are designed in the manner of private rooms, with fully stocked wardrobes.
We were fortunate enough to get invited to one of their private cocktail events, which gave us a proper taste of how it all works. Armed with our bottomless glasses of champagne and satiated on the bite-size delicacies, we were offered a special courtyard preview of Ralph Lauren’s latest runway collection, which had only just been shown at New York Fashion Week. In an almost reticent yet privileged manner, we were quietly informed that we could place a priority order on any of the items and they’d be delivered to us well before they hit the shelves. After this, the RL in-house team individually took us to two separate reception areas: one for men, the other for women. From there, we were guided to our respective shopping suites, introduced to made-to-order services and shown a number of one-off and limited-edition pieces not available elsewhere, from tri-colour crocodile Ricky bags to a 50,000 USD Automotive Skeleton watches.
The suite we spent the most time in was the one dedicated to Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label fashions for men. It had the look and feel of a bespoke atelier, with a curated selection of 25 or so fine fabrics for made-to-measure suits, blazers, smoking jackets, as well as the ultra-cool custom-made blousons in vegetable-dyed Louisiana alligator.
For Ralph Lauren’s most ardent devotees, this place will no doubt represent a godsend. But one thing we only realised after our visit is that Ralph Lauren actually discontinued the lease on its multi-brand format store on Via Montenapoleone to make way for this new concept. So presumably, if things go the way they’re hoping, there’ll probably be many more of these Palazzos sprouting up across the world. Perhaps we can even wish for one closer to home.
