Aesop’s second Milan signature store opened recently on the Corso Magenta, on the corner of via San Giovanni sul Muro and across from famed bakery Marchesi. This historic district is a microcosm of the city’s dynamic elegance – and home to Leonardo Da Vinci’s High Renaissance masterwork ‘The Last Supper’. Created in collaboration with Milanese design firm DIMORE Studio, the new 35-square metre space is both a whimsical essay on materials typically employed in butlers’ pantries of 1930s Italian villas and a contemporary version of the small neighbourhood bottega still common in this area.
Nuanced greens, yellows and pinks, muted as if to cover every surface in talcum powder, herald the trip back in time. Glossy teal subway tiles cover the planes and arches of the ceiling, contrasted with lemon-yellow corner shelving. Product display cabinets are of the same green tone, their rounded window frames referencing an early twentieth-century aesthetic.
Soft grey linoleum covers the floor, complemented by two mid-century velvet-upholstered chairs and a stainless steel demonstration sink which effects a nod to those traditionally used for food preparation. Illuminating the entire interior are two large disks suspended by a canopy of brass rods with decorative fibreglass shades that filter light through faded amber motifs.
all images © Paola Pansini