MILAN — Starbucks is dipping its toes into fashion — and sport-leaning lifestyle — dropping a roster of winter-themed collaborations as part of its new The House of Coffee project.
Intended as a platform for creative partnerships and projects, the latter is being introduced this week at the Starbuck Reserve Roastery in Milan, during the city’s fashion week, through linkups with ski gear specialist Nordica, outerwear label K-Way and petwear brand Poldo Dog Couture.
The American coffee giant has conscripted brand consultant Sarah Andelman — previously the purchasing and image director of cult Paris-based concept store Colette — to curate The House of Coffee project.
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“The House of Coffee approaches the brand the way a fashion house would — where what we create can be worn, collected, displayed, not just consumed,” said Esther van Onselen, vice president of brand and customer experience for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “It’s an evolving platform of collaborations and experiences that celebrate coffee as a ritual, not just a product. Our goal was to ignite the soul of the brand in a way that keeps it culturally relevant beyond the cup.”
“Our stores have always been working spaces, the place where ideas happen. Writers finish chapters, designers sketch, students study. We’ve never thought of ourselves as just serving coffee; we’re providing the table and the atmosphere where creative work gets done,” Van Onselen said. “With The House of Coffee, we’re making that role more intentional and embedding into the creative community of Milan.…The Roastery becomes their canvas. In that sense, Starbucks acts as a connector: between global culture and local craft, between established names and emerging talent. Coffee stays at the center, but the conversation expands and gains new relevance.”
For the first iteration of the project — which was orchestrated behind the scenes by Milan-based communication maverick Emanuela Schmeidler, owner and chief executive officer of the ES_PR agency — Andelman tapped artist Lucas Zanotto, who was tasked with reinterpreting Starbucks’ codes and branding. The Helsinki-based artist created fun, comic strip-like illustrations of the Starbucks cup rendered as one of his signature big-eyed characters, which he has lent already to other brands including Hermès, Sotheby’s and Lexus, among others.
The illustrations are splashed on products from the three partner brands, as well as on a range of limited-edition merchandise including a tote bag, game cards, pins, a notebook, stickers and a T-shirt. Life-size installations of Zanotto’s characters will also be scattered throughout the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan.
“For me the goal is to bring a little cup of happiness to Starbucks’ visitors. You come in for coffee, but suddenly you want to smile when you see these friendly characters from Lucas and you get special souvenir gifts like the K-way or game cards. They are all limited-edition exclusives for the occasion, so real collectors’ [items],” Andelman explained.
“I wanted to work with an Italian artist, who’s known for both sculptural but also digital installations. I’ve been following Lucas’ work for a while now, I love what he did for Hermès or for big exhibits in Asia. I knew he would find a way to merge his ‘big eyes’ characters and The House of Coffee codes in a simpatico [fun] way, which can touch all generations since the clients at Starbucks are so diverse.…When you see them on Nordica skis or K-way rain jackets, they are just perfect, like a little touch of humor, but always chic.”
In addition to merchandise, the three main collaborative products include a pair of Nordica Spitfire TI FDT skis boasting a titan layer decked in white and Starbucks’ green; K-Way’s signature Claude rain jacket in light gray crafted from micro ripstop recycled nylon bearing Zanotto’s cup characters on the front and back, as well as Poldo Dog Couture’s pet puffer jacket in green flanked by a travel bowl, both splashed with the artist’s illustrations.
“This project really brings together so many things I love: art, design, coffee and collaboration. Working with Starbucks and with Sarah Andelman in Milan has been incredibly exciting, and creating an immersive experience there feels especially personal and joyful to me as an Italian,” Zanotto said.
The partner brands touted the project’s playful ethos and synergistic approach.
“It’s an honor to be involved in an international, creative and fun project, where the energy of the slopes meets that of the city. It’s a synergy that unites two worlds far apart yet incredibly similar in their adrenaline-fueled vibe,” said Alberto Amendolara, Nordica’s brand manager.
“[The project] gave us the opportunity to reinterpret our identity with a playful, contemporary touch, creating a piece that blends style, functionality and our signature Made in Italy quality,” echoed Riccardo Gardoni, cofounder of Poldo Dog Couture.
K-Way described the collaboration as a “natural expression of our identity, celebrating functionality, creativity, and an open dialogue with the city of Milan.”
All products will be on sale beginning Thursday at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan, retailing between 25 euros for the Poldo Dog Couture bowl and 600 euros for the Nordica skis. The K-Way jacket costs 140 euros, while the pet jacket costs 250 euros. Starbucks merchandise with Lucas Zanotto’s illustrations ranges from 20 euros to 30 euros.
Kicking off the House of Coffee concept in Milan was both natural and strategic.
“I love the Starbucks Reserve Roastery [concept, which] I knew from Tokyo, and I’ve been going to the one in Milano previously so I was immediately interested in bringing a special activation in this fabulous location, which already incarnates Starbucks’ savoir-faire,” Andelman said, sharing that her first discovery of the coffee brand hails to when she tried its chai latte in Japan.
Van Onselen said Milan is also linked to Starbucks’ history.
“Milan is where this all started for us. Over 50 years ago, Starbucks’ founder Howard Schultz walked into an Italian espresso bar and saw something that didn’t exist in America: the coffeehouse as a daily ritual, a social anchor, a place where people lingered and connected,” she explained. “That experience shaped what Starbucks would become. So, when we asked ourselves where to create something new that speaks meaningfully to culture today, the choice was clear: go back to the city that inspired us in the first place.”
Although not affiliated with the Winter Olympics, the project is seen seizing the extra visibility that the city is bound to enjoy in February and then through mid-March when the Winter Paralympics wrap up.
Starbucks is planning a six-week calendar of events and activations until Milan women’s fashion week, scheduled for Feb. 24 to March 2, when the second iteration of The House of Coffee project is to be unveiled.
The latter, titled “The Apron Project” and again curated by Andelman, will center on a range of aprons customized by Milan-based creatives, including Carolina Castiglioni, founder and creative director of the Plan C brand; fashion designer Sara Battaglia; Institution’s founder Galib Gassanoff, as well as Vogue Italia’s head of editorial content Francesca Ragazzi.
Proceeds from the sale of the aprons will benefit charities personally selected by the involved talents.
“It’s a nice way to celebrate creativity with these four designers’ different visions for this classic outfit we know from Starbucks and that we can wear every day, outside the kitchen,” Andelman said.
