Marni takes over Cucchi
- Marni turned Milan's 1930s Pasticceria Cucchi into a branded pop‑up with merchandise during Design Week. - The takeover included cafe-style hospitality and citywide activations tied to the brand. - The move is an example of fashion using food and hospitality as extensions of brand identity. (russh.com)
Marni has turned Milan’s Pasticceria Cucchi into a branded café and retail takeover for Design Week 2026, extending the pop-up through July 15. (marni.com) The project opened during Milan Design Week, which runs from April 20 to 26 this year, and Marni said the space was built around daily café rituals including cappuccino, espresso and aperitivo service. Wallpaper* reported the activation was staged with Milan interiors studio RedDuo and set to run for three months. (designboom.com) (marni.com) (wallpaper.com) Cucchi is not a temporary shell. Wallpaper* said Pasticceria Cucchi was founded in 1936 by Luigi and Vittorina Cucchi, and the café built its reputation as a long-running Milan meeting place for artists, poets and socialites. (wallpaper.com) Marni is using that address as more than a shop window. The brand said MARNI x CUCCHI is meant to be “a meeting point for the city,” and Wallpaper* described it as a multisensory format that combines hospitality, interiors and merchandise. (marni.com) (wallpaper.com) That fits the way Milan Design Week now works. Designboom called the April 20-26 event a citywide program of installations, pop-ups and brand experiences, while WWD said fashion and accessories labels are using the week for collaborations, launches and special projects far beyond furniture. (designboom.com) (wwd.com) Fashion companies have been pushing further into food and hospitality as customer-facing extensions of the brand. WWD’s Milan Design Week coverage this week grouped culinary projects, boutique openings and design installations together as part of luxury’s playbook in the city. (wwd.com) Marni’s version leans on local ritual instead of a one-night party. On its site, the house framed the takeover around everyday Milan habits at the counter and through aperitivo, turning a heritage pastry shop into a branded social space for spring. (marni.com) The choice of Cucchi also keeps the activation rooted in a place Milan residents already know. Rather than build a new set, Marni attached its name to a café with a 90-year history and let Design Week traffic carry that collaboration across the city. (wallpaper.com) (marni.com) For now, the result is a fashion label serving coffee, aperitivo and branded objects from one of Milan’s best-known pastry counters — and keeping the doors open well after the fair ends. (marni.com)
