Plan C Frame: the flagship becomes a creative laboratory

A new space that merges fashion, design, and culture has opened in Milan. Located in the heart of Via Manzoni, Plan C Frame is the first flagship store of the brand founded in 2018 by Carolina Castiglioni, who also serves as its creative director, following her extensive experience with the family-run Marni, the brand founded by her parents, Gianni and Consuelo Castiglioni. This is not just a boutique, but a new kind of format: a fluid, transformable space that will host Plan C’s prêt-à-porter and accessories collections, along with special collaborations, pop-ups, installations, and cultural initiatives.

Conceived in collaboration with the creative platform April and the Milan-based architecture studio (Ab)Normal, the project reimagines retail as a modular container, where each area features different materials and colors. On the ground floor, you’ll find Plan C’s collections and the first shop-in-shop of Aliita, the jewelry brand founded by Cynthia Vilchez Castiglioni, who explains: “Aliita is a playful yet sophisticated brand: being part of Plan C Frame allows visitors to immerse themselves in a unique and surprising atmosphere.” Also on the ground floor, a striking red spiral staircase houses the shelves of Reading Room, the independent Milanese bookstore, which will bring a curated selection of international magazines to the store, while also organizing events and editorial launches.

The basement will be dedicated to temporary exhibitions, archives, and cultural activities: here, visitors will find yellow carpeting, metallic walls, and modular systems designed to be reconfigured based on the hosted projects. To mark the opening, Plan C Frame is presenting the exhibition “Christoph Niemann: On Paper”, a curated selection of paper works by the renowned German illustrator, known for his New Yorker covers and collaborations with institutions like MoMA and brands such as Hermès and Google.
We wanted to learn more, so we spoke with Carolina Castiglioni.
 

Plan C Frame is a flagship, but also much more. How would you define it?

I like to think of it as a gallery of objects — with Plan C, through its clothing and accessories, as the main character. To enhance my work, I felt it was essential to place it in a frame — hence the name of the store — alongside a curated selection of beautiful things: objects that belong to my world and my taste, that express a concept of lifestyle rather than just following fleeting fashion trends. That would be too limiting — and not very interesting — for a curious consumer.
Anyone walking into Plan C Frame will always find something new, born from my exploration of the fields I’m passionate about: design, art, home objects that have a special spirit, that are colorful or tell a story through their materials.
In short, I try to apply my eye and taste to everything. It’s a hybrid multibrand concept with a strong personal identity tied to me and to the Plan C universe.

The store is modular and transformable. How important is flexibility in contemporary retail?

The store is built around the idea of adaptability and transformation. It spans two floors and features a modular structure that can be easily reconfigured to host pop-ups and special events, integrate collections from other brands, art exhibitions, and cultural projects.
It consists of a series of distinct spaces, each defined by a personalized selection of materials and colors, designed to welcome other brands and pop-up installations.
When we began designing the new concept, the goal was to create a vibrant space, easy to transform, that could bring a variety of projects to life.

What does it mean for you to open this space in your own city, and how do you envision it interacting with the fashion and design scene in Milan?

It’s a significant personal and professional milestone to have a space in Milan where I can communicate the Plan C aesthetic, but also a broader world, one that brings together my passions and aligns perfectly with the city’s rich cultural and creative fabric.
This space is not just a store, but a true manifesto of my passions — a place where fashion merges with design, art, and publishing.
The project didn’t come out of nowhere: it’s the natural result of an ongoing dialogue I’ve always had with Milan’s fashion and design world. The opening of this space isn’t a beginning, but a new chapter in an already-established relationship. This is reflected in the many projects we’ve realized over the years with Plan C — from the collage exhibition by artist Yelena Yemchuk, to a publishing project about Tokyo created with Perimetro, and many more.

Aliita, Reading Room, Serax... but there will also be other brands inside the flagship. What fascinates you about bringing different worlds together?

I love seeing objects with different functions coexist, and especially how seemingly unrelated things can actually go together beautifully if chosen and paired with taste.

The collaboration with Serax marks Plan C’s debut in homeware. How did the “Silos” capsule come about, and what inspired it?

A few years ago, I traveled to Iceland and photographed a site with three water silos. I was struck not only by their shapes but also by the amazing combinations of colors and patterns they featured. But my work is never inspired by a single source — many different elements come together in the creative process.
For Silos, I combined those travel memories with my ongoing research into vintage design objects. We’re now launching the first part of the collection: scented candles, small vases, and candle holders — and we’ll later expand the line to include other homeware categories to fully develop the Plan C home universe. For the candles, I wanted to enhance the olfactory experience with music — something to enjoy while the candle burns and the scent fills the space. So, I created a playlist specifically for that moment, made up of songs I love.

Do you see this flagship as a model that could be replicated in other cities?

Absolutely. The goal is to export the format to other cities, starting with key markets for us — such as Japan, where we already have a presence in major department stores.