G-SEA-DS: GCDS’ latest retail push is a return home for brothers Giuliano and Giordano Calza, creative director and chief executive officer of the Italian hip street brand, respectively.
The company is debuting a 430-square-foot unit on the tony island of Capri facing the Amalfi Coast and the Gulf of Naples, the brothers’ hometown.
“Being born in Naples, I was lucky enough to spend my childhood summers in the area between Capri, Ischia and Positano [all islands in the Gulf of Naples]. Even then, Capri seemed like a dream to me and now that I look at it from a distance, living in Milan, I perceive its unique charm even more,” said Giuliano Calza, describing the store opening as a return to his roots.
Located on central Piazza Umberto I, often referred to as “Piazzetta,” and home to other luxury brands including Tod’s, Kiton and Luisa Beccaria, the flagship combines GCDS’ signature pop-tinged aesthetics with references to local culture.
Inside the GCDS store in Capri, Italy.
Courtesy of GCDS
An amphora featuring paintings of lemons, the island’s hero fruit, welcomes visitors at the entrance, and is sure to make for a good Instagram op, while a bougainvillea- and lemon-bearing installation inside embellishes the yellow lacquered faux leather walls contrasting with the peacock blue carpeting.
Marking the store’s opening on April 16, GCDS is introducing a dedicated capsule collection, exclusively available at the unit. It includes sweaters, a varsity jacket, baseball caps and beach towels spelling “Capri” in a 3D font. Building on the island’s beachgoing visitors, the capsule features items such as bowling shirts, pajama sets and swimwear flashing a watercolor-like majolica print bearing the brand’s logo.
A varsity jacket part of the capsule collection developed by GCDS to mark the opening of its flagship store in Capri, Italy.
Courtesy of GCDS
A true connoisseur of Capri’s lifestyle, Calza teamed up with pottery artisans based in the area around Vietri sul Mare, in the Campania region, to offer terracotta ceramics, such as plates, trays and pocket emptiers, decorated with drawings of a mermaid riding a seahorse and holding a pizza, the symbol of Neapolitan culinary culture.
The permanent store builds on the brand’s bullish expansion plan. Backed by the Italian private equity Made in Italy Fund, managed by Quadrivio and Pambianco, the company has opened earlier this year three new stores in China — two in Shanghai and one in Beijing — signaling the importance of the country that has been on the company’s agenda since the beginning.
A plate from the pottery capsule collection developed by GCDS with artisans from the Campania region for the opening of the Capri flagship store.
Courtesy of GCDS
Overall, the brand operates 15 stores globally, including flagships in Rome and London and at Hong Kong’s K11.
Source: WWD