La Rinascente Milan by Nendo

For La Rinascente in Milan, Nendo created a new interior for the fourth floor of the department store. On this floor of women’s clothing, several references were made to the city itself.

Their first move was to install 17 large windows, with a milky glass that subtly divides the space. ‘Inspired by the unexpected encounters with shop windows, courtyard gardens and public squares that come from wandering Milan's back streets, we applied a film to the windows to make them opaque when viewed from an angle but transparent when viewed directly,’ the studio says.

The pleasant surprise of these windows, is that shoppers have clothing suddenly appear before their eyes when they’re moving through the space. Much like strolling through Milan itself and discovering the city’s unpredictable elements.

Other references to the city are made through the lighting fixtures, which recall Milan’s outdoor lighting and the arches that lead to in-store mini boutiques, resembling those of many Milanese buildings. ‘Our hope is to have condensed the excitement and small pleasures of exploring Milan on foot.’