Italian linen expert Frette has opened a new London store, in collaboration with Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci of Dimore Studio. Located on South Audley Street, in the heart of the city’s most distinguished retail quarter, the boutique is also Dimore Studio’s first commercial project in the city, marking Frette’s retail expansion in London.
The designers drew from the brand’s traditionally sophisticated aesthetic, but expanded it with some of their signature eclectic touches, adding new colours and materials to the mix.
Upon entering the space, visitors are greeted by a small shelf dressed as if part of a Milanese apartment. Further domestic touches are dotted throughout the store. Vintage glassware, vases and found objects are on display on bespoke fittings, and placed in conversation with the linen collections. The designers created a series of fittings for the space which include shelving, sliding panels to adapt the store displays to current collections, lighting and furniture, and introduced iconic design pieces such as Gerrit Rietveld’s 'Utrecht' chair, produced by Cassina and dressed in a bespoke satin blue fabric, or Fontana Arte floor lamps.
Some of the display solutions devised by the pair feature clever design ideas, adding to the space’s discreet sophistication. These include a series of freestanding glass rails, imagined like vertical beds where the collections can be draped for display, or the brass light fittings, veritable furniture pieces that act as lightboxes to create a soft glow around the store.
The compositions over the two floors also introduces new materials for the brand, which Moran and Salci arranged to fit in seamlessly with its refined aesthetic: emerald green glass paneling, Marquina marble, concrete and abundant brushed brass are combined in a modernist fashion, with natural light invading the space upstairs. Downstairs, walls are painted a traditional Frette powder blue, and the designers made full use of the available space, evidenced by the small arched alcove used to showcase bedding collections. The London space is a fitting new home for the brand, enhancing its elegant offering while presenting it in a wider aesthetic context.
