Tinker Tailors

Since founding their company Studio Dimore a little over ten years ago, Britt Moran and his partner Emiliano Salci have been quietly lending their magic design touch to close to four dozen projects. But over the past year-and-a-half Studio Dimore has evolved from being an insider tip to a veritable go-to address for those seeking a contemporary update on classic Italian design, which isn’t to say that the Italo-American design duo is one to be literal with their references. At Ceserio 7 for example, their much-celebrated (and notoriously booked out) restaurant on top the former Milan headquarters of ENEL — a state electric utility company — the two designers created an eclectic mix that conjures up as much mid-century Stilnovo as it does Capri cafés, or classic American diners. For their latest project in Milan, the 120-square-meter flagship store for the Italian menswear brand Boglioli, Studio Dimore decided to have fun with the rich heritage of Milan’s historic, bourgeois men’s tailor shops. Located in via San Pietro all’Orto, in the heart of Milan’s luxury shopping district, the new Boglioli store feels more like a modern update of Milanese gentleman’s clubs than a place of commerce. “It really is a proper men’s store. And an eye for detail was always a premium in these places,” says Moran, who cites the work by early and mid-century Italian architects like Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Piero Portaluppi, and Carlo Scarpa as inspiration. The material palette ranges from rich red oak paneling to mustard yellow Pierre Frey velvet upholstery (on a San Luca chair by Castiglione), to green sea grass wallpaper, and three different types of precious marble, including a red Rosso Levanto and a yellow Giallo di Siena. Unusual touches such as a central multi-functional floor-to-ceiling display system entirely made of brass, as well as a collection of salvaged English 1920’s sports trophies round out the gentlemanly touch. “We love this very classic Milanese style, but we always like to introduce some elements that look a little wrong,” muses Moran. “It makes it both elegant and at the same time very dramatic.”

In many ways Studio Dimore’s quasi-irreverent respect for the past is a perfect match for a brand like Boglioli. Even though the family business is heir to a long tradition of men’s tailoring, it is Boglioli’s relaxed, seemingly weightless updates on the classic Milanese power suit (achieved by using state-of-the art washes and cuts) that has earned the company its devoted following among the kind of men who want to look perfectly put together, but never too stiff or formal. For now Boglioli’s biggest customer base in Italy and Germany, but with new creative director Jay Vosoghi at the helm, the 43-year-old company has set out to also conquer the American market. They’re already available in key locations like Barneys, which is why early next year they will open a brand-new showroom in New York. Designed by Studio Dimore, naturalemente.