MILAN — Retori was launched only a year ago but it is steadily expanding, as reflected in the opening of its first flagship in Milan next month.
Located on Via della Spiga 48, in the heart of the city’s luxury district near Via Montenapoleone, the two-level Salotto Retori will open on Jan. 16 during Milan Men’s Fashion Week. The opening will be part of the seasonal event’s calendar, to be released Wednesday.
Also containing offices and an exhibition space, Salotto Retori “was imagined as a living dialogue. It brings together what we hold close at Retori: art, craft, stories, and the subtle beauty of human connection,” said Salma Rachid, founder and creative director of the fashion brand. “It invites you to slow down, to feel, to engage, not just with the pieces, but with something within yourself. We built it to resonate, to offer a quiet kind of wonder that stays with you long after you have left.”
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The opening follows the brand’s retail debut in the Middle East last month, as reported, linking with the region’s luxury e-tailer Ounass.
Marking the launch of the brand’s sophomore collection, titled Chapter 02, on the retailer’s e-commerce site, Retori also took over Ounass Maison, a physical shopping suite located at Dubai’s Mandarin Oriental Jumeira.
Retori was founded in 2024 by Rachid and is centered on dialogues with a diverse community of artists that each season inform its collections. For the Chapter 02 womenswear and menswear ranges, the brand conscripted Dutch-Indonesian artist Miko Veldkamp.
“Salotto Retori is a bridge between our artistic ethos and our business expansion,” said Zaccheo Manzoni, chief executive officer of Retori. The Milan opening “marks a milestone that further cements the relationship with our audience and community in a meaningful way — offering a full universe of experiences that express what Retori truly stands for: authenticity, curiosity, and a conscious sense of luxury.”
Salotto Retori will host art exhibitions, creative workshops, private dinners and immersive performances, contributing to the cultural resonance of the brand in Milan.
The store concept was developed by Locatelli Partners, founded by famed architect Massimiliano Locatelli, and fuses Japanese, Brazilian and European elements.
Natural woods, sculpted stone, aged bronze and tactile ceramics are nestled in an environment dominated by earthy tones, including warm sands, parchment and sun-washed neutrals.
The Chapter 02 fall 2025 collection was unveiled in July during Paris Couture Week, weeks ahead of its arrival in select global boutiques and on the brand’s official website. The strategy was aimed at strengthening the brand’s relationship with its customers, Manzoni told WWD at the time.
Retori presented its debut collection in September 2024 during Milan Fashion Week, which was picked up by around a dozen stores worldwide, including a pop-up at Harrods in London; Istanbul department store Beymen; Takashimaya in Tokyo; Stanley Korshak in Dallas, and the Al Duca d’Aosta boutique in Venice.
Chapter 01 was the result of the first two dialogues with African American textile artist Diedrick Brackens and El Salvador-born painter Daniella Portillo.
The designer is the daughter of Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who established Alsara Investment Group in 2017.
The brand is controlled by the luxury group, established in 2017, which includes fashion and outerwear brand Khrisjoy; design venture Fromm; eyewear company Akoni, now called AKN Group; investor Bidayat; Egypt-based jewelry brand Azza Fahmy; accessories label Okhtein, and Flyroom. Alsara is also said to be reviving the label of Walter Albini, one of the founders of Italy’s ready-to-wear.
As reported, the investment firm is among a pool of investors that acquired luxury Italian furniture firm Giorgetti Group alongside asset management firm Solida Capital and Vivium from Italian private equity group Progressio SGR, which had run the group since 2015.
