MILAN — Daniel Del Core’s namesake brand has officially landed in New York.
A town house on 789 Madison Avenue marks the label’s first flagship store in the market and the second stand-alone unit overall, after the opening in London’s New Bond Street at the end of 2022.
The move represents a strategic step in the growing trajectory of the label, according to the designer. “The opening in London was more a way to fulfill a desire, while the one in New York is dictated also by the results, so the approach is different,” Del Core said from his design pieces-filled studio in Milan.
The creative director underscored the aim to leverage locations that are financial and tourist destinations. He additionally highlighted how the brand is resonating well in the American market, propelled by requests for custom gowns from private clients and the visibility his designs are getting on the red carpet. For example, take Florence Pugh wearing a silver Del Core couture dress with elevated straps at the 96th annual Academy Awards, as well as Sharon Stone and Carolyn Murphy choosing the brand for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
No wonder then that Del Core included a showroom and press office for celebrity appointments in the store in New York, which displays the brand’s ready-to-wear, couture and accessories lines over a 7,556-square-foot surface spanning three floors.
The overall interior concept mirrors the one in London and reflects the designer’s interest in nature, juxtaposed with a sci-fi lab feel. Recurring elements include graphic furniture in avocatus marble, a material that was also used in details such as the handles of the full-height glass door.
The minimal facade offers passersby a view inside to a narrow ground floor, ending with a sculptural cylinder covered in black lacquered elm tree briarwood. The design conceals changing rooms lined and carpeted in pale pink velvet as a contrast. A black-and-white staircase leads customers to a circular mezzanine, also dedicated to ready-to-wear and accessories collections. Edged by a glass-encased balcony, this area, which Del Core defined as “a sort of aquarium,” makes for one of the standout design elements of the store.
“It’s like having a window within the store, which is a concept I really liked. It’s like a spaceship,” Del Core said.
Elsewhere, the space is punctuated by black racks in sinuous shapes and fringed sofas resembling rocks covered in moss via a textile hailing from Del Core’s fashion collections. The couture creations are showcased on the third floor, where a mirrored wardrobe lined in white cotton voile is flanked by an ivory changing room.
The store’s duality between sophistication and edgy design evokes the Del Core woman, who “is strong and wants to be noted but in a very chic way,” the designer said. He declined to identify a specific demographic, though, as he noted the brand can resonate with the likes of Pugh as well as with Helen Mirren, from Sydney Sweeney who wore a peeling pencil dress at the SXSW Conference and Film Festival to Taraji P. Henson, who recently donned a couture gown at the 55th NAACP Image Awards.
As reported, the first store Del Core operated was a temporary location in the luxury resort town Porto Cervo, in Sardinia in 2022. In addition to its current units in London and New York and its double headquarters in Milan, the label has recently launched its own e-commerce and is available at a selection of department stores worldwide. Del Core said his focus now is on enhancing the former channel and strengthening ties with retailers with dedicated projects throughout the year to further build brand awareness.
As the visibility and requests from clients increase, so does his confidence and his drive to experiment further more creatively.
“I’m a very curious person, I love to do research, to study. I like an approach that is less ‘obvious’ also in the inspirations….So there’s always that wish to experiment with new techniques, alternative draping or innovative materials,” Del Core said.
In particular, the natural world is an ongoing inspiration for the designer, but his gaze is increasingly looking at how this informs architecture and vice-versa. “Already in the spring 2024 collection there was this concept of the man trying to copy nature through architecture,” he recalled. “This dialogue between humanity and the environment is very interesting to me, because we live surrounded by nature. So I’m trying to bring the concept of nature closer to the woman I envision.”
These references often result in the flamboyant gowns that helped him to immediately catch the industry’s attention, as well as sartorially rigorous looks telegraphing his tailoring prowess.
A former special projects and VIP designer at Gucci — where he worked with former creative director Alessandro Michele on the creation of dramatic looks for celebrities including Lana Del Ray and Björk — Del Core established his womenswear brand in December 2019 but didn’t unveil his first collection until February 2021.
Raised in a small village in Germany’s Black Forest, the designer moved to Italy as a teenager for a cultural exchange and then settled there, where he studied fashion and graphic design. Prior to joining Gucci in Rome, Del Core worked for a range of other houses, including Dolce & Gabbana and Versace in Milan and Zuhair Murad between Paris and Beirut.
In light of these previous experiences, the designer would like to eventually show his ready-to-wear and couture collections separately in the future. “That would also help to further define both lines and their respective messages,” he said. “But I want to get there with the right timing, moving forward step by step with my team.”
Ditto for an expansion to other product categories. “I’m like a kid: whatever you give me in my hands, I can work on it and come up with something. But right now it’s essential to be focused. This is a young company, there’s still a lot of work to do,” Del Core said. “Before stretching to other [areas] I want to make sure the message of who is the Del Core woman is very clear.”
