Beyond the runway: 7 architectural masterpieces created for fashion’s biggest names

The apparent simplicity of the building belies a meticulous choreography of material, proportion, and reflection: a structure that seems less constructed than revealed by its surroundings.

A low cantilevering pavilion anchors the property over an immense reflecting pool, constructed from untreated concrete and glass that mirrors the muted tones of the desert. 

Floor-to-ceiling glazing dissolves the perimeter, allowing natural light to animate the interior through an interplay of shadow throughout the day.

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Additionally, the working ranch applies the same formal discipline to its utilitarian components: an eight-stall horse barn, guest and staff dwellings, warehouses, and a ranch-manager’s compound. 

Equestrian facilities include circular indoor and outdoor riding arenas, a departure from Ando’s usual rectilinear vocabulary, shaped to accommodate the dynamics of movement.

The indoor arena, partially recessed into the land, frames the horizon through low, linear openings, while the outdoor ring connects back to the residence via a gravel gangway that appears to float across the reflecting pool.

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Set within a former distillery on the industrial fringe of Milan, Fondazione Prada is one of the most architecturally ambitious cultural projects ever undertaken by a fashion house. 

Rather than erasing the site’s utilitarian heritage, OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), led by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, preserves the warehouses, silos, and distillery buildings, weaving them together with new volumes to form a fragmented yet highly orchestrated ensemble around a central courtyard.

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This hybrid approach gives the foundation its distinctive spatial character, where raw brick, weathered concrete, and metal coexist with crisp new surfaces and meticulously detailed interventions.

Against the muted industrial palette, the “Haunted House” anchors as a striking focal point: its façade, clad in 24-carat gold leaf, acts as a literal gilding of the past and crystallises the foundation’s dialogue between heritage, experimentation, and brand identity.

With each building offering a unique scale, texture, or atmosphere for art, installations, and film, circulation flows through narrow passages, open piazzas, glass-enclosed connectors, and cavernous halls, encouraging exploration rather than imposing a linear, predetermined route.

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As part of the larger restoration that renewed approximately 14,000 sqm of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, the Versace boutique–designed by Jamie Fobert Architects–required a sensitive approach that maintained a delicate balance with one of Italy’s most treasured 19th-century architectural monuments.

Opening directly onto the Galleria’s central octagon, with a prominent position along the arcade’s ceremonial axis, the 255 sqm boutique saw long-obscured or deteriorated decorative elements meticulously uncovered and restored under the supervision of the Sovrintendenza alle Belle Arti.

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The Galleria’s iron-and-glass vaults, stuccoed friezes, pilasters, and ornate capitals form a protected historic fabric, while Fobert’s contemporary interventions–marble plinths, brass detailing, and transparent plexiglass shelving–are conceived as subtle insertions that avoid any structural intrusion.

Finally, brass lighting elements echo the curved arabesques of the Galleria’s neo-classical ornamentation, while refined stone surfaces provide a quiet, elegant backdrop for Versace’s vibrant accessories.

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Giorgio Armani’s long-standing affinity for Tadao Ando’s serene, disciplined architecture culminated in the emblematic Armani/Teatro located within the Milan headquarters.

A distillation of the designer and architect’s shared aesthetic codes–order, restraint, and a meticulous commitment to purity of form–the purpose-built theatre is a rigorously composed volume defined by geometric clarity.

Ando’s signature grid logic structures the entire space, from the rhythm of the concrete surfaces to the calibrated proportions that guide circulation and sightlines. While an elegant spectrum of greys echoes Armani’s refined chromatic palette, allowing light, shadow, and material texture to shape the atmosphere rather than relying on overt ornamentation.

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Within this controlled environment, the catwalk and seating bowl act almost as sculptural insertions, creating a calm yet dramatic stage for the brand’s ready-to-wear collections during Milan Fashion Week.

While conceived primarily as a runway venue, its flexible, monumental interior has accommodated a wide range of functions: from special presentations and corporate events to civic use, including a temporary vaccination centre during the pandemic. 

Most recently, it served as the site of Giorgio Armani’s funeral chamber, demonstrating both emotional resonance and functional versatility.

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The former residence of Kanye West in Hidden Hills, California, was developed in close collaboration with Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt, who approached the project as an exploration of how space, material, and calm can shape daily life.

An influential example of “organic minimalism” inspired by wabi-sabi principles and a reverence for nature’s imperfections, the residence has often been described as a “futuristic Belgian monastery,” where architectural purity and emotional quiet define the experience.

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The aesthetic of the home home hinges on restraint: a luminous palette of whites, creams, and soft neutrals establishes a serene, gallery-like backdrop; whereas long, gently curving corridors finished in plaster, expanses of smooth stone, and subtly textured surfaces contribute to its architectural language.

This minimalism, however, is far from austere. Natural materials and handcrafted finishes evoke warmth and tactility, while spatial clarity is designed to function as a family environment, with rooms opening fluidly to allow children to move and play freely.

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Furthermore, negative space further elevates the few carefully selected pieces–Vervoordt’s sculptural Floating Stone table, vintage Royère seating, and handmade ceramics–allowing them to read as art within the architecture.

Located adjacent to the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, the Deconstructivist structure of the Fondation Louis Vuitton was designed by Frank Gehry–featuring the Canadian-American architect’s signature tension between lightness and mass.

Conceived as a “vessel for art,” the museum is defined by its 12 sweeping glass sails that wrap fluidly around a solid white core often referred to as the “iceberg.” 

Evoking movement and ephemerality, the sails are composed of roughly 3,600 uniquely curved glass panels, each requiring custom fabrication methods, including a bespoke furnace engineered specifically for the project.

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By contrast, the “iceberg” is clad in nearly 19,000 fibre-reinforced concrete panels, providing spatial enclosure and a tactile counterpoint to the building’s transparency. A complex network of steel and laminated-wood structural elements–Gehry’s preferred material for its warmth–supports the building’s dramatic geometries.

Inside, the Fondation unfolds as a sequence of shifting volumes rather than a conventional gallery grid. Ceiling heights vary dramatically, with natural light filtering through layered glass skylights to create atmospheres that evolve throughout the day.

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The upper multilevel terraces set within the sails frame panoramic views over the Bois de Boulogne, further integrating the museum with its landscape. 

Reflections from water basins and the curved glazing reinforce the sensation of a building that appears in perpetual motion, anchored yet seemingly afloat within its verdant surroundings.

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Designed by Tokyo-based architectural firm SANAA–founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa–the Paris flagship for Alaïa offers an architectural interpretation of the French maison’s “second-skin” philosophy.

Situated on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the boutique is conceived as a soft, fluid environment in which fashion is treated with the spatial reverence of sculpture–an enveloping yet lightweight atmosphere that parallels Alaïa’s body-contouring silhouettes.

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On the ground floor, four tubular rooms form the store’s distinctive architectural signature, encased in transparent glass cylinders that rise gently to nearly 5.6 metres high.

Each space is delicately tinted in blush, nude, and pale neutral tones, acting as intimate micro-galleries for garments and accessories alike, lending the boutique a sense of rhythm and transparency as visitors move through the space.

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A sculptural spiral staircase echoes the brand’s sinuous forms, leading to a mezzanine level where a Sant Ambroeus café extends the flagship into a hybrid retail and cultural destination.

Throughout, furnishings and art objects curated by creative director Pieter Mulier reinforce the boutique’s gallery-like atmosphere–from Philippe Malouin’s foam Mollo chairs to sculptural works by contemporary artists–imbuing the space with a refined tactility that complements SANAA’s ethereal architecture.

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