The Frankie Shop opens Milan flagship as it targets doubled revenue by 2027

The Frankie Shop has opened its first Milan flagship, a two storey, 2,475 square foot store on Via San Pietro all'Orto that is significantly bigger than its Paris womenswear unit. The opening is part of a stated plan by the 11 year old brand to double revenues by the end of 2027.

Founder Gaelle Drevet said the company is self financed and profitable, and that it is still growing despite what she called a difficult geopolitical situation. "The demand is high, it's quite a healthy company that's self-financed and profitable because we manage to also put the right product at the right time," she said.

Drevet declined to give 2025 revenue figures but said the brand has posted steady, double digit growth for the past decade. She described The Frankie Shop as still small enough to move quickly, calling that flexibility one of the company's core strengths as it expands.

What the Milan store adds

The Milan flagship, designed by architects Mattia Nunzio and Isabella De Baviera Galimberti, draws on Capri's Casa Malaparte and on Gio Ponti's design legacy, with vintage furniture placed throughout in a nod to Italian craft. A dark green lacquered staircase links a ground floor Galleria to a shopping floor above.

The upper floor holds changing rooms finished with Gio Ponti carpeting and windows over an internal courtyard. Drevet said the layout is built to be reconfigured for collaborations, art showcases, dinners and parties, and could turn into a library if the brand wanted that.

Following the concept store format used in New York's SoHo and in two Paris units, the Milan shop carries outside labels alongside Frankie's own lines, including Sportmax, Bevza, Hed Mayner, Calcaterra, Matteau, Recto, St. Agni and Tekla. The opening also brings an exclusive capsule collection.

Drevet described the capsule as bolder than the mainline, built from fluid tailoring and casual pieces in a muted palette lifted with purple, electric blue and pink. She said the colours and cut are a tribute to the edge she has observed in Milanese women on the city's streets.

How the business is structured

The Frankie Shop built its business primarily as a direct to consumer label sold online, and has only recently begun expanding into wholesale. It now counts around 50 partner retailers, which together account for 20 percent of the company's revenue, alongside its own stores and website.

Menswear, formally introduced in 2022 and sold from its own standalone Paris boutique, now accounts for 12 percent of revenue. Drevet said reception to the line has exceeded expectations and that its largely unisex positioning helps drive cross selling into the women's collection.

A year ago, Drevet brought in Sabine Brunner, a former MCM and Roger Vivier executive, as consultant chief executive to lay groundwork for retail and international expansion. Drevet said Brunner's experience at larger companies fills a gap of her own and has eased the isolation of running the brand alone.

Drevet said she is not actively seeking a financial partner but remains open to one, arguing that investment would let the company move faster and expand into more markets. She said margins are currently tight by design, to keep prices fair while maintaining quality for customers.

Where the brand goes next

Drevet has already signed a lease for a store in London, the next physical retail step after Milan, though she declined to give further details on timing or format. She said she is also headed to Asia soon to assess opportunities there, singling out China as particularly receptive to the brand.

The Milan opening places The Frankie Shop among several fashion and design names using flagship stores as a growth lever this year. We reported Mattioli's own Milan flagship opening as its private equity backer pursues a global relaunch, and Prada's eight floor Galleria flagship fusing retail with hospitality and art in the same city.

Brunello Cucinelli likewise opened a 2,800 square metre Paris flagship on Rue Saint-Honore this year, part of a broader pattern of luxury and premium labels betting on larger, more experiential stores rather than smaller boutiques to carry their next phase of growth.

Drevet's framing of the Milan store as a marker of a specific financial and organisational stage for the company echoes that pattern: a flagship sized and located to match where a brand says it stands, rather than simply where it wants to be seen.

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Images: Courtesy of The Frankie Shop