The store (placed in San Polo 2671, Venice) is the first monobrand of OPVS, an Italian luxury goods house focused on bags and accessories. Was really challenging to design a store in Venice, starting from selection of the location. Everything in Venice is condensed in the touristic areas, even if the entire city is absolutely beautiful. The idea to choose the San Polo district was cause in the past centuries in that “sestiere” were located a lot of artisanal laboratory. A kind of working class area where the craftsman designs and built luxurious goods for venetian aristocracy.

Still with roots in the contemporary Industrial style, the store inspiration came also from the Italian modernist architecture in a monochrome palette of materials. Chromed beams, marquina marble, iron concrete and mirrors. The beams makes a vertical reflective textures on the walls that hold up the horizontal metal shelving system. All the perimetral furniture are hanged on the walls cause of the entrance of the water in the store during the “high water”.

The entire floor is in marquina marble to get the feeling of the water reflections during the night in Venice. Also the ceiling was covered with a reflective and textured black painting.
I totally desaturated the environment of the store to reveals the radiance of the colors of the leather bags inside and to emphasize the view of the colors of Venice, outside the store.

Photography by Alessandra Bello