EXCLUSIVE: Patricia Urquiola Unveils New Retail Concept for Santoni — Starting with Milan, NYC
Known for her striking designs for Cassina and Salvatori as well as landmarks like the Hotel Il Sereno in Torno in Lake Como, Urquiola has been helping Italian footwear brand Santoni build its retail identity for well over a decade.
On Feb. 8, at Via Montenapoleone 18, the Spanish designer and architect will unveil her vision for the Marche, Italy-based company’s new retail concept that will be applied to all new stores going forward, including the new 667 Madison Avenue space in New York, which will open by the end of February.
The way consumers interact with local culture and institutions was the driving force behind Urquiola’s vision for both stores, and the Santoni retail spaces going forward.
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The Via Montenapoleone boutique, which spans approximately 1,615 square feet, is characterized by a large hallway with terrazzo flooring, typical of the Milanese tradition. In the second room, an elegant carpet welcomes the visitor, while a bronze metal grid represents continuity with Urquiola’s previous concept for Santoni, where the interior architecture was expressed through harmonious geometries — such as the tangram theme, which continues to be found in various details, patterns and workmanship.
Urquiola said her team played with contrasts, forging a dialogue between warmth and structure, softness and precision. The palette was dominated by orange, terracotta and soft pink, while precious materials like onyx and travertine convey a sense of nonchalant opulence.
“Materials are not just surfaces; they carry history, texture, and weight. Italian marbles—onyx, travertine—add depth and interact with light and shadow. And then there’s the seminato [flooring made of fragments of marble, granite, other natural stones or glass] flooring, a tribute to Milan’s architectural tradition, grounding the boutique in its location,” she said.
The Milan location kicks off a new shopping experience, which will include a laboratory area, dedicated to live demonstrations, while the bespoke area invites customers to personalize their footwear and also offers exclusive maintenance, polishing and resoling services. “These additions make the boutique more than just a store, it’s a place where people can connect with Santoni’s craftsmanship,” Urquiola reflected.
In New York, the store replaces the old 551 Madison Avenue location, spans 3,767 square feet and occupies two floors, incorporates these new experiential elements and like the Milan store, it has also been inspired by the architecture and history that surrounds it.
For example, the sunburst stainless steel pattern, radiatior cap gargoyles and other elements of Art Deco-era Chrysler building inspired the geometric patterns and three-dimensional boiserie walls throughout the store. Like the Milan store, the New York location also begins with the tangram theme, which comes to life in various details within the new boutique.
The first fashion space Urquiola designed was for Missoni in Milan in 2012. She went on to design stores for the fashion brand in New York, Dubai, China, Seoul, Madrid and Paris. In 2012, she designed her first boutique for Santoni, also in Milan and went on to architect its Paris and New York City spaces.
Giuseppe Santoni, the son of the house’s founder and its executive chairman, said the two met through mutual friends and they immediately discovered a “shared alignment, particularly in her passion for colors.”
Urquiola echoed this sentiment, while reflecting on this professional relationships that has developed over time. “Over the years, our collaboration has evolved naturally—we start every project by exchanging thoughts and inspirations. This boutique is another chapter in that dialogue, where we continue exploring new ways to express Santoni’s heritage,” she said.
Last year, she even remodeled Santoni’s 4,320-square-foot family home in Milan, which occupies the entire first floor of an elegant building located behind the Botanical Garden of Milan. Completed last year, Urquiola revisited the monumental quality of the Milanese bourgeois home from the 1920s through the bold use of marble, proposing a new idea of abstract modernity.
“Patricia approached our Milanese home as an extension of the design narrative she has created for Santoni’s boutiques. My wife Alessia and I wanted it to be warm and inviting, not only a private residence but also a space where clients and friends could meet and share. Patricia not only understood this desire and shared our vision, but most importantly, she knew how to bring it to life,” he said.
