A woman’s world

Atelier Settebello, a women’s fashion boutique located in the town of Partinico in the province of Palermo, is the result of a customer-oriented design concept developed by Arturo Morzetta. “I wanted to create a new space where women would take centre stage, where they would feel like film stars during the important ritual of choosing clothes,” explains the Sicilian architect. “So when planning the store extension project, we opted for curved lines and rounded shapes that would guarantee a truly immersive customer experience,” he adds. The interesting renovation project involved restoring an old loadbearing wall and joining the original 150 square metre showroom to an 80 square metre space converted from an adjacent historical building. A flight of seemingly weightless transparent glass steps leads to the new volume divided into three areas. An exposed stone-block archway serves as a scenic backdrop to the connecting area linking the old and the new boutique and the display space next to the fitting room. “In this project, the old archway was difficult to restore but became the main focus of the project, acting as a central partition element,” explains the architect. The floor covering extends like a seamless, uniform carpet and consists of Elements Lux collection tiles from Ceramiche Keope inspired by the designs and textures of classical marble. It fits in perfectly with the sophisticated clothes, the elegance of the location and the marble flooring of the existing boutique. Chosen in a 120×120 cm size for the floor and a 120x 240 cm size for one of the walls, the lapped marble-effect ceramic tiles in the Calacatta Gold colour create a fascinating play of contrasts and allusions. “The gold veins harmonise perfectly with the colour of the tubular metal elements that I had designed as hanging garment displays, a series of freestanding or ceiling-suspended rectangular structures that show off the boutique’s high fashion creations to great effect,” says the architect. The same colour can be found in the tufa of the old brickwork, which in turn contrasts with the modernity of the marble-effect porcelain stoneware and the overall airiness of the design project. The curved, cornerless walls are mirrored in the profiles of the false ceilings and create soft, welcoming and intimate atmospheres, as in the private, seductive space of the fitting room. The sense of depth of the spaces is enhanced by the pale colours and diffused LED lighting, while the luxury hanging lamps and velvet furnishings add an extra touch to the sophisticated, high fashion look.