{"id":8385,"date":"2026-04-20T16:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/8385\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:31:10","slug":"exclusive-moynat-plants-flag-in-italy-with-first-store-in-milan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/8385\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Moynat Plants Flag in Italy With First Store in Milan"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILAN \u2014\u00a0Moynat<\/a> is leveraging the buzzy design week here to make its retail debut in the Italian market.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0storied French luxury bag-maker has opened its first store in Milan\u2019s tony Via Montenapoleone, housed in a palace listed under historical protection. Spanning 2,045 square feet,\u00a0the space features rooms adorned with stunning Renaissance wooden ceilings and 16th\u00a0century decorations, friezes and frescoes.<\/p>\n

More from WWD<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the Moynat store in Milan.<\/p>\n

An in-house team revamped the space to \u201crespect as much as possible all the historical elements,\u201d Moynat\u2019s director of image and communication Bertrand Le Gall<\/a> told WWD ahead of the soft opening on Monday. At the same time, the brand looked to emphasize its own craftsmanship by bringing to town archival trunks and objects that are part of its history tracing back to 1849.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a cool mix of elements within this beautiful architecture,\u201d said Le Gall, underscoring how the interior concept was conceived to balance and adapt Moynat\u2019s retail<\/a> aesthetic to the original venue. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit different but in the same vibe because we have a specific idea of how we present the products, always in sort of niches that we can also divide it within categories. But because it\u2019s such an important space, we built around it\u2026 to have those two vibes collide,\u201d said Le Gall.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the Moynat store in Milan.<\/p>\n

The approach enables the brand to convey experiences that are unique to each of its locations, which build a network of\u00a028 stores\u00a0globally. \u201cThe client is very different from region to region and from boutique to boutique,\u201d continued Le Gall, drawing as examples the \u201cvery inviting, big store\u201d in Paris\u2019 Rue Saint-Honor\u00e9 \u2014 which routinely attracts lines down the block \u2014 and the \u201csmaller, more dynamic and fun\u201d one the company opened in Avenue Montaigne last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The goal with the Milanese outpost was to create a cozy environment to start establishing a direct relationship with the local clientele, he said. The introduction to the market will center specifically on its signature trunk, which is at the core of the artistic installations the company has commissioned and that will be displayed in-store throughout the week.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Samuels’ artwork showcased at the Moynat store in Milan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had this huge opportunity to open during design week and since we are a house that has a long history of working with artists\u2026 we jumped on the chance to have this stage to showcase three artists, asking them to reinterpret our trunk within their world,\u201d said Le Gall.<\/p>\n

In particular, Moynat invited Hall Haus, Marianna Ladreyt and longtime collaborator Michael Samuels to offer their take on the design piece.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Trunk Haus System installation by Hall Haus for Moynat.<\/p>\n

With the Hall Haus \u2014 the Paris-based design and architecture studio founded in 2020 by Abdoulaye Niang, Sammy Bernoussi, Teddy Sanches and Zakari Boukhari and whose work draws on the popular and unifying energy of sound systems and block parties \u2014 the trunk becomes an object of gathering. Fascinated by the stacked compositions found in Moynat\u2019s archives, the collective here merged the design with the visual culture of sound systems in an installation that recalls the speaker towers around which communities gather. Named \u201cTrunk Haus System,\u201d the project brings together Hall Haus\u2019s \u201cOlympic\u201d monogram with Moynat\u2019s signature M monogram, in addition to drawing on the brand\u2019s \u201cLimousine\u201d trunk, whose distinctive arched form is reinterpreted as both a functional and graphic element within the work.<\/p>\n

Millennial designer and artist Ladreyt also came up with a playful concept in her \u201cParkour\u201d installation, which respects her signature practice focused on sustainability. In sync with her use of discarded beach inflatables \u2014 non-recyclable plastic materials that she transforms into furniture, accessories and wearables using artisanal leather craft techniques \u2014 she developed a soft, colorful and modular artwork made of large foam blocks covered in patchworks of upcycled floaties, inviting the public to interact with it.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Parkour installation created by Marianna Ladreyt for Moynat.<\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Footprints of Travelers,\u201d Samuels turned trunks into two monumental sculptural ensembles of pieces removed from their original function. The first is constructed entirely from \u201860s laboratory cases and trunks, forming a tall vertical structure that almost resembles a pencil standing on its end. The second is made from storage trunks from the now-defunct London Museum and includes a ladder, a smaller wooden case, a brightly colored \u201860s Scandinavian glass vase and an upside-down Bauhaus chair.<\/p>\n

Le Gall highlighted how the brand looks to constantly explore how the house codes can translate and resonate today.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an everyday and very positive challenge because we are being given a treasure that has so many ways to express itself,\u201d he said about the brand\u2019s heritage. \u201cBack then, those design ideas were extremely trend- and fashion-forward and the brand was very innovative in the way it operated and who it was working with\u2026 That\u2019s why I think artists resonate so well with the house and why all the creatives feel that they have a space here, that they can create and innovate and propose very interesting things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the Moynat store in Milan.<\/p>\n

Artistic collaborations have always been embedded in the company\u2019s history, starting from the one in 1905 with French painter and illustrator Henri Rapin, who served as creative director for the brand for 20 years and created the M monogram. Other creative directors throughout the brand\u2019s history have included\u00a0Ramesh Nair, current creative director at Joseph Duclos,<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nicholas Knightly,<\/a>\u00a0who departed in spring 2022.<\/p>\n

Rapin\u2019s monogram was revamped in 2024 with the M collection, featuring a new expression of the archival graphic. The color palette was modernized, adding vibrant colors ranging from red, blue, green to yellow and orange, that complemented black, gray and the classic shades of brown inspired by the vintage Moynat trunks. The iconic bag shapes were reimagined in totes of different sizes, duffel bags, bucket styles, as well as small leather goods such as passport and cardholders and address tags.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the Moynat store in Milan.<\/p>\n

More recent collaborations saw Moynat joining forces with major artists including Japanese graphic designer and printmaker Kazumasa Nagai<\/a> and Labubu\u2019s creator Kasing Lung<\/a>, as reported.<\/p>\n

These playful tie-ups helped Moynat to increasingly reach a younger demographic that resonates with its positioning as an historical house along with the colorful casual bags and small accessories such as charms.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Inside the Moynat store in Milan.<\/p>\n

Founded by Pauline Moynat, the brand was revived in 2010 by\u00a0LVMH<\/a>\u00a0Mo\u00ebt Hennessy Louis Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer\u00a0Bernard Arnault<\/a>\u2019s holding company Group Agache, formerly known as Groupe Arnault.<\/p>\n

Best of WWD<\/p>\n

Sign up for WWD’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014\u00a0Moynat is leveraging the buzzy design week here to make its retail debut in the Italian market.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6108,5,175,6102],"class_list":["post-8385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-bertrand-le-gall","tag-italy","tag-milan","tag-moynat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}