10 Corso Como Kicks Off Renovation of Building
MILAN — Changes are sweeping over 10 Corso Como, which is kicking off a new phase that includes an architectural transformation meant to turn its spaces into a contemporary cabinet of curiosities, or Wunderkammer.
Tiziana Fausti, who acquired the famed brand and concept store in September 2020 from founder Carla Sozzani, is also aiming at revisiting its cultural program.
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The boutique, café, cultural space and 3Rooms suites of 10 Corso Como have been redesigned by the interdisciplinary agency 2050+, founded by architect and curator Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, a former partner at OMA and president of the international jury at the 2023 Venice Biennale Architecture Exhibition.
Starting this month, the renovation works will involve the entire building and will be unveiled in stages from next spring.
“The investment to renovate the concept of 10 Corso Como is part of the new vision focused on enhancing the client experience in all the touch points,” Fausti told WWD exclusively. “To me, 10 Corso Como is the ideal synthesis of fashion, art and culture, a kind of cultured and unique place able to promote exchange and sharing, a secret garden. I see this transformation as a great opportunity to explore new ideas and attract a wider audience while maintaining a bond with 10 Corso Como visitors and customers.”
Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Sacai, Loewe and Maison Margiela are only some of the brands available at the store.
The revamped cultural program will feature exhibitions especially focused on photography, history of fashion and applied art. An initial cycle of contemporary art exhibitions, curated by art critic Alessandro Rabottini, will shine the light on art’s contribution to fashion.
A series of fashion exhibitions, curated by Alessio de’Navasques, a lecturer in fashion archives at Sapienza University of Rome, will investigate contemporary organizations and artists as well as archival and historical collections.
The project will employ a series of micro-tactical interventions, or micro-architectures, to create a seamless transition and connection between the different experiences and disciplines, setting itself up as a platform for exchanging ideas in collaboration with designers, artists, botanists and other figures.
The spaces will house a selection of rare books, international magazines and design and technology collections, as well as sound design and music experience.
In May, Fausti, who is aiming for international and online expansion of 10 Corso Como, appointed Gianluca Borghi its new chief executive officer, tasked with the expansion of the concept store brand worldwide.
Borghi was previously vice president of retail North America at Montblanc, based in New York. During his career he has held executive roles in retail, digital business and wholesale at Gucci, Pomellato, Boucheron and Rinascente in Paris, Milan and New York. He succeeded the late Donato Maino.
10 Corso Como, founded in 1991, is located in and identified with the street of the same name in Milan and has contributed to the development of its neighborhood.
Fausti is the founder of the namesake luxury multibrand store in the Italian city of Bergamo and chair of its parent Holding Exor (not to be confused with the Agnelli family’s Exor NV).
She has been expanding the store’s reach with 10 Corso Como pop-ups, in Tuscany’s high-end resort Forte dei Marmi last year, for example, and last spring in Sardinia’s luxury Forte Village resort, carrying a selection of accessories and bags, the 10 Corso Como logo collection, the home design collection and a beachwear line.
There are currently two 10 Corso Como units in Seoul, opened in 2008 and 2012, respectively.
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