Italian luxury footwear brand Casadei debuted its flagship in Rome on Thursday. Located in Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina, a short walk from the Spanish steps, the shop introduces the brand’s new store concept, which will also be implemented in the Milan and Moscow locations next year.
Using brass, silver, briar root and marble, the display areas in the approximately 968-sq.-ft. boutique are distinguished by diagonal lines, creating a geometric pattern. Velvet day beds occupy the store’s center, surrounded by mirrored walls.
For the new design, founder and Creative Director Cesare Casadei collaborated with Rome-based architect Marco Costanzi, who is also the creative mind behind Valextra’s New York boutique and the Fendi showroom in Milan.
“The store had to give the idea of something modern, but not cold. It had to be a welcoming environment so that every woman could feel as if she tried the shoes in her living room,” said Casadei. “The use of various metals, such as brass and silver, along with marble and briar root, evoke the feeling of a very modern store — warm, yet refined and sophisticated.”
Watch on FN
The company, which expects to close the year in line with last year’s results, is eyeing retail development for the next year, hoping to achieve double-digit growth. On the brand’s agenda are three new flagship stores in China, as well as direct-sales outlets in London and Paris and stores in Belgrade, Vietnam and Kuwait.
For the future of his label, Casadei keeps an eye on the past. “Looking back means looking to values of tradition, quality, uniqueness, the Italian know-how in the sense of carrying out the ‘Made in Italy’ value,” he noted. “I hope to also give this opportunity to my daughter to carry on this beautiful work, which are shoes,” he added.
To see Casadei’s spring 2016 collection, click through the gallery.
