The spirit of an ancient Roman house is the main source of inspiration chosen by Delvaux, the oldest fine leather luxury goods house in the world, for its new Flagship store in Rome, recently inaugurated in the in a historic building located in the exclusive Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina.
The interior design project is by the studio Vudafieri-Saverino Partners – based in Milan and Shanghai – which has been responsible for the world concept of Delvaux boutiques since 2012, including the Milanese boutique opened last year: in collaboration with Delvaux’s Chairman and CEO Jean-Marc Loubier, the architects have created a concept which uses the language of interior decoration to celebrate the Belgitude and creativity of the Maison in a different way according to the characteristics of each city.
This is the reason why the leit motif of this new flagship store is the Domus Romana, the typical house inhabited by the upper classes in the ancient Rome: the concept arises from the equivalence between the boutique plan and the layout of the traditional Roman homes, articulated between Atrium (entrance), Tablinum (living room), Peristilum (the private, inner courtyard) and Triclinum (formal dining room).
Consequently, Delvaux collections and accessories are thus to be found in rooms that recalls a modern Domus Romana: a succession of areas from public to more and more intimate for a shopping experience that offers a progressive sense of exclusivity.
Entering the boutique, the customer is welcomed to the first two rooms of the “domus”: the Atrium and the Tablinum, where an original Venini chandelier of the ‘70s illuminates a wooden sculpted and painted Italian gaming table from the 17th century; in addition, the entrance’s floor, in Travertino Navona marble, presents a lozenge pattern with brass inserts, giving a further touch of preciousness to the rooms.
Leading up to the back end of the rooms is the Peristilum, the most private part of the Domus: the signature feature of this room is the building’s original white cross vaults, while the columns are decorated with a special wallpaper, designed by Vudafieri-Saverino Partners, in which the ruins of the Neoclassic artist Piranesi are reinterpreted as colourful Pop-Art works, with a touch of irony.
In the Rome Flagship Store, the iconic Delvaux wardrobe – whose forms, colours and volumes are reinterpreted differently depending on the store where is located – was revisited under the inspiration of the Baroque architecture of Borromini: a choice that, together with the use of a gold background, is a homage to the Eternal City; moreover, a pale gold patina on the interior walls, by the artist Filippo Falaguasta, gives the boutique a warm and unique ambiance.
The shopping experience continues in the Triclinum, the dining room of Roman times that has been reinterpreted as a VIP Room: a space for a deeper relationship with visitors who want something special, where guests are welcomed by vintage sofas and armchairs upholstered in grey velvet and a 1950s’ FontanaArte coffee table, while, on the wall, bag templates dating back to the ’50s form an abstract composition.
The result is a store with a distinctive, warm and friendly personality, full of references and citations that lead guests to discover the collections, the style as well as Delvaux’s history.
Photography is by Santi Caleca.
