Yahoo Movies Antonia Opens Store in Wuhan’s K11 Art Mall
MILAN — Wuhan was the first city in the world to experience a lockdown due to the pandemic, but over a year later, its commercial appeal is in full bloom.
Italian multibrand retailer Antonia is the latest addition to the shopping scene of the city, as it has opened a new flagship store at the K11 Art Mall, which is part of the K11 Group founded by Adrian Cheng.
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Covering a 5,382-square-foot surface, the store was designed by Italian architect Vincenzo de Cotiis, who conceived the interior concepts of all the retailer’s doors worldwide.
The space, dominated by essential lines and enhanced by contrasting textures, metal elements and a juxtaposition of shiny and matte finishes, is flanked by a pop-up area dedicated to accessories.
In addition to a selection of brands, ranging from Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Burberry to Marine Serre, Amiri, Ambush and Ganni, the store also carries a capsule of tie-dye T-shirts Antonia developed in collaboration with Angel Chen to celebrate the opening.
Chen has been showing on the official Milan Fashion Week calendar since 2017 and was also among the competitors of Netflix’s “Next in Fashion” fashion contest show hosted by Tan France and Alexa Chung.
Established in 1999 as an upscale accessories store by Antonia Giacinti, the multibrand retailer quickly expanded to include women’s and men’s wear, the latter steered by cofounder Maurizio Purificato. In addition to its iconic Milan store housed inside the landmark Palazzo Cagnola, Antonia currently counts units also in Macau and Hong Kong, but the cofounders are additionally eyeing Shanghai as next destination.
“We are excited about our partnership with K11 to develop the Antonia format across China. After Hong Kong, Wuhan represents a unique opportunity to become even more international and universally recognized in mainland China,” Purificato said.
Giacinti defined the opening as “an ambitious and exciting opening for the city, which I am sure will be a huge success.” She also praised the team effort in working “from a distance to recreate our vision of the Italian dream in a foreign country. Transcending borders, cultures and opinions, we were able to define a unique and exclusive project.”
The launch of the Wuhan K11 Art Mall is contributing to the city’s commercial recovery, offering an immersive cultural-retail experience housed in majestic interiors referencing the history and evolution of music boxes.
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