Vudafieri-Saverino Partners – established in Shanghai since 2012 – has designed the first flagship store of Giovanni Raspini in China, precisely at the Grand Gateway 66 shopping mall in Shanghai.
The space embodies a story of balance: black, the iconic color of Giovanni Raspini, wraps the façade as a distinctive hallmark, setting a tone of understated elegance and forging an aesthetic connection with Asian culture.
The store’s design draws inspiration from harmony and visual balance, deeply resonating with Chinese aesthetics, while every detail is a homage to Italian craftsmanship: niches of different shapes enrich the interior, bringing rhythm and depth to the space and highlighting the displayed jewelry collections, while the natural materials used encounter a warm and tactile soul inspired by Tuscany, the birthplace of the Giovanni Raspini brand, where villages are adorned with semi-rough finishes, earthy tones, and an authentic beauty, here translated into smooth and dynamic surfaces.
Black returns in discreet touches and integrates perfectly with materials such as stone, wood, and rose gold metal, which tell the story of designer Giovanni Raspini’s mastery: each surface and each material, together, tell the story of the artisan tradition, the passion for quality, and the authenticity typical of the brand.
At the heart of the store is a central table that recalls the idea of an atelier: a traditional handcrafted workshop reimagined through a contemporary lens. Surrounded by terracotta-colored stools, designed in collaboration with Joysliving, it invites visitors to explore the collections. Above it, a silver installation inspired by the brand’s Animalier collection, entirely handmade, depicts a branch with parrots and creates a parallel in the Chinese symbolism of nature. This branch descending from the ceiling adds a scenic and distinctive presence, evoking themes of harmony, connection, and beauty, values shared in the artistic representations of both cultures.
A wall covered in fabric pays homage to Shanghai Art Déco: inspired by the historic buildings of the 1920s, an embroidered magnolia flower – symbolizing rebirth and purity – highlights the dialogue between Italian roots and the Chinese public.
The narrative continues in the VIP area, conceived as a cozy and quiet space. The enveloping armchairs welcome visitors, while hand-drawn illustrations by Giovanni Raspini tell the story of the brand with a personal and artistic touch, also showing the home collections.
