What went down at the opening of Canada Goose's new Italian flagship store in Milan A dialogue between the Arctic and the Alps in the heart of the Quadrilatero
Last night, on Corso Giacomo Matteotti, Canada Goose officially opened its new Italian flagship store, an event that comes just weeks after the Parisian opening on the Champs-Élysées. Located at civic 18, the store spans approximately 160 square metres. This is the second chapter of the collaboration between Canada Goose and the Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, yet it is the first time that the brand’s “boundless” concept – the aesthetic vision of transcending boundaries between extreme performance, nature and culture – has been interpreted in such a distinctly Italian key.
Upon crossing the threshold, guests step into a foyer entirely clad in canaletto walnut that instantly evokes the interiors of 1950s Milan and, more specifically, the refined rigour of the nearby Villa Necchi Campiglio. From there, the journey continues through a sequence of alternating open, minimalist spaces and more intimate, layered areas, where the material palette is dominated by Ceppo di Gré – the characteristic grey-blue Lombard stone of Milan’s twentieth-century palazzi – used here for flooring, columns and baseboards. A long curved counter in anodised aluminium, flanked by the iconic Charles Ghost stools designed by Philippe Starck for Kartell, recalls the aesthetic of the city’s historic bars and serves as the meeting point between clients and stylists.
At the heart of the ground floor stands a vintage 1970s parka, displayed like a museum artefact beneath a spotlight: it is the symbolic core of the space, the point from which the entire material and luminous narrative radiates. The lighting, fully dimmable and governed by a system that follows human circadian rhythms, gradually shifts in intensity and colour temperature throughout the day, moving from the cool white of early morning to the golden hues of sunset.
The Legacy Wall, a signature feature of every Canada Goose flagship, takes the form of a large installation in stamped and oxidised metal reproducing stratified topographic maps of the Italian Alps – from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn – overlaid with Arctic maps. The intention is to create a visual dialogue between Canada’s glaciers and the mountains that embrace Milan, achieved by blending traditional engraving techniques with contemporary digital modelling. On the side walls, a mural from the Canada Goose Art Collection inspired by Inuk artist Mary Pudlat’s work Nuna Sukaq offers a modern reinterpretation of the inuksuk – the stone cairns the Inuit used as landmarks in boundless landscapes.
It is precisely in the Corso Giacomo Matteotti store – alongside Europe-exclusive capsules – that the third Snow Goose by Haider Ackermann collection is available. Recently unveiled in a campaign shot by Tim Elkaïm, the line upends traditional outerwear codes: linings become outer shells, stitching is reversed, and technical fabrics gain softness and lightness. The colour palette alternates mint, lavender and blue with deep shades of brown and black, while reflective details shimmer like sunlight on ice. Among the standout pieces on display are the sculptural Thalix Parka, the architectural Shift Anorak with bold colour-blocking, the fully reflective Merge jacket-and-pant set, and the canvas-lined Weld bomber.
Among the store’s absolute novelties is The Vault, a room lined in wood and acoustic fabric that resembles a large private wardrobe, designed for personal styling sessions in complete privacy. Another first is the brand’s new modular retail furniture system made of recyclable aluminium elements produced within a 16-kilometre radius of Milan and engineered to be dismantled, reused or relocated in future stores – a commitment to longevity that extends far beyond the usual commercial lifecycle.
