7 December 2022
The Weekly
Italy
Rinascente's Holiday Season with BrandsRinascente's Holiday Season with BrandsRinascente's Holiday Season with Brands

Rinascente shuffled up luxury brands and served up a new strategy for the holiday season by partnering with fashion houses for its nine units across Italy. Diverting from the approach of the past few years that saw the department store spotlighting local artisanal ateliers in its Christmas windows, Rinascente unveiled a series of branded takeovers. At the flagship in Milan, Rinascente partnered with Fendi, which leveraged the store’s nine arched windows to further celebrate the 25th anniversary of its iconic Baguette bag. In addition to renditions of the design, looks pulled from the collection that paraded in New York in September were on display, immersed in a special installation. Conceived by Odd Matter, the red-tinged setting featured wood structures covered in extra-long fringes nodding to willow trees and intended to evoke ‘an enchanted forest.’ The Milan store’s facade was additionally covered in lights to host video projections of the iconic bag and festive motifs, while inside the Fendi logo covered key design elements, such as the escalators.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Rinascente has partnered with Prada for a takeover of the seven windows of its Via del Tritone location. Black-and-white images of the Prada Holiday advertising campaign framed in red serve as a backdrop to ready-to-wear and accessories displays in the windows, while inside a pop-up in the same colors and featuring a neon-light Christmas tree showcases a special selection of bags and gift items. Loewe has taken over the Rinascente’s unit in Florence, while in Catania, Sicily, three key fragrances from Parfums Christian Dior are celebrated in the windows. For its outpost in Turin store linked up with Champagne brand Maison Ruinart. All the activations are part of an overarching seasonal theme dubbed ‘Believe in Wonder.’ This is also the claim of a dedicated advertising campaign that will debut on Italian TV channels on Sunday. Rinascente continues to show its support of local artisans as part of its Christmas product offering, such as brands hailing from San Gregorio Armeno, a historic street in Naples known for ateliers specializing in handmade figurines of nativity scenes. Sales of Christmas objects and food combined are growing between 30 and 40% compared to 2019.