You may not know this but when it comes to luxury spending, this past decade Moscow has consistently ranked in the top 10 of cities across the planet where shoppers splurge most on brands. It isn’t hard to imagine that leading luxury brands go the extra yard to make their presence felt, and how to do it better than opening up a bedazzling flagship?

The folks at Prada – known for operating a handful of striking retail statements – have done exactly that. Since entering the russian market in 2002, Prada has had a franchising and distribution agreement with luxury retail conglomerate Mercury, but this new flagship in the heart of the city’s luxury shopping district is managed by the brand itself and marks a new era.

The new outlet is one of its biggest in Europe, measuring approx 1,470 sqm. spread over three floors, and is designed by house architect Roberto Baciocchi. Featuring Prada’s signature aesthtetics, the ground floor has a black + white marble chequered flooring, laid out in a kinetic design. This area presents the women’s footwear and bag collections, showcased on display counters and two polished floor-to-ceiling steel cases.

One floor up, shoppers find the men’s collections in an obviously more masculine setting that includes wooden flooring in a fishbone pattern. The footwear area exhibits wood shelves, sofas in rust- coloured ostrich and a chocolate-coloured velvet carpet that outlines a large salon in the centre. The ready-to-wear and luggage sections have walls covered in ebony wood curtains and metal display fixtures and counters.

Women’s ready-to-wear and footwear is available on the second floor, a space clad in a soft green fabric and beige carpeting, and further injected with a dose of glam through an abundance of mirrors and elegant pieces of furniture. Needless to say that Prada’s new flagship pretty much carries all of the brand’s men’s + women’s collections.

http://superfuture.com/supernews/moscow-prada-flagship-store-opening