An evocative assembly of materials and colours greets shoppers at Forte Forte’s London store, which opened on Chelsea’s Draycott Avenue last week (captured for AnOther by photographer Alexander Coggin). Tactility and colour have long been at the heart of Forte Forte’s collections – since its founding in 2002 by Italian siblings Giada and Paolo Forte, their transporting collections have been a rich amalgam of fabric, print and esoteric accessories, inspired by Italy, the country where they live and work (and in which they have a long clothesmaking heritage, their grandmother having opened a knitwear factory after the First World War, subsequently passed on to their parents).
Such collections can be found in the new London space, conceived by Giada and her art director husband Robert Vattilana, which marks the label’s fourth international flagship. Here, Giada and Vattilana wanted an interplay between interior and exterior: at the end of the long, slim space is a small garden, in which a Japanese maple tree has been planted to mark the changing seasons with its turning leaves. Inside, a large monstera deliciosa (cheese plant) adds a verdant splash of green; while organic elements – warm terracotta tiles, exposed brickwork, ceppo lombardo stone and the like – are set against colourful ceramics, artworks and a luxuriant fitting room, outfitted in turquoise velvet.
The result is a harmonious setting in which to discover Forte Forte’s collections – a place which encourages the shopper to reach out, and touch.
Forte Forte’s London store is open now at 108 Draycott Avenue.
