Philipp Plein lifted the veil on his soon-to-open Milan palazzo, which looks like an 18th century building on the outside and feels like Las Vegas on the inside. The space, formerly the Krizia showroom and headquarters, will have 20 bedrooms and four places to eat and drink, each with a different cuisine or concept.
The Italian fine cuisine restaurant, Philipp’s, will transform into a nightclub open to 3 a.m., giving all those Plein fans a place to show off their sparkly outfits, precious rocks and other physical enhancements.
The place will open in various phases between now and November, with the restaurants first up. On Saturday night, Plein staged a mega-party at Philipp’s following the show, while Bonnie Tyler is set to perform this week.
The rooftop swimming pool, beach club and “jungle” will burst to life next spring, when the weather gets warmer. Plein is so excited about it all and, understandably, had the pre-show jitters. “I’m very stressed — things are still ongoing, and I’m inviting people into my home tonight. I want everything to be perfect,” he said.
It was chaos, but that’s OK. Soft openings on this scale rarely run smoothly.
The show started nearly an hour late, and there was not enough seating to accommodate the guest mob that had gathered outside. Some people were forced to share the plush gray seats at Philipp’s, and had to twist like pretzels to watch models weave around the tables and into the various other ground-floor rooms.
The coed collection was heavy on tailoring, a lucrative category that Plein has been pushing for a while now. That tailoring was full of signature Plein sparkle, with sequin-embroidered flames licking up the sides of dark wool suits, and a long lineup of tailored jackets, trouser and skirt combos twinkling like the night sky.
The collars of cotton shirts glittered, as did a white leather bomber jacket, cowboy hats and clutch bags. There was enough shine here to light up Vegas, which might well be the next venue for one of Plein’s restaurant concepts.
More shine came from double-breasted jackets with gold buttons, while a sweet cherry pattern — sometimes picked out in sequins — sprouted across slinky gowns, minidresses and jackets.
It wasn’t all high-shine though. At one point, menswear took a grungy turn, with models sporting torn jeans and oversized cardigans with fraying edges. Womenswear went in the opposite direction, with little cream tweed suits adding an air of French elegance.
The collection was molto Plein, although it was eclipsed, at times, by the stage set surroundings such as the big, shiny double P logo over the bar, the neon lights of the Japanese restaurant, and the thumping music. It was hard to know where to look.
This is just the beginning of Plein’s hospitality and entertainment offer. The designer said he plans to open 25 restaurants worldwide over the next two years. Each of the restaurants on via Manin can be rolled out as stand-alone concept, alone or with franchise partners, he said.
Pushing further into the entertainment and hospitality space shouldn’t be hard for Milan’s prince of partying.