MILAN — Vespa is zooming ahead with its lifestyle push, unveiling Saturday its first “The Empty Space” concept store.
Located a stone’s throw from the Duomo cathedral on Via Broletto, where a regular Vespa scooter store stood until before the summer, the space will carry a selection of products, from the brand’s fashion line, the first category extension introduced in June 2024, and design objects to Vespa mopeds.
Wrapped in curved brushed steel walls nodding to the metal of the scooter, the 1,829-square-foot space features a mix of stone and concrete flooring inspired by repair shops and warm durmast displays and accents throughout. Oversize round lighting fixtures on the ceiling further the concept store’s futuristic spin.
Inside the Vespa The Empty Space concept store in Milan.
Courtesy of Vespa
Acting as the shop’s centerpiece, the Vespa Café introduces a new brand extension, marking Vespa’s foray into urban hospitality. As reported, the brand has previously customized beach clubs in tony resort destinations in the Sardinia and Liguria regions in the summers of 2024 and 2025.
“Vespa The Empty Space represents the natural evolution of Vespa’s journey into lifestyle. A place where all the worlds of Vespa come together,” said Chiara Tognotti, head of lifestyle and accessories at Piaggio Group, Vespa’s parent company.
“Mobility, experiences, tastes, shapes and style coexist in a coherent and harmonious way. [We’re] starting experimentally in Milan with the idea of taking it around the world,” she said.
Inside the Vespa The Empty Space concept store in Milan.
Courtesy of Vespa
The move marks the first stand-alone store project for Vespa, which had tested retail waters earlier with a roving pop-up format at leading department stores in key locations such as Paris, Milan, Beijing, Vienna and Singapore, among others.
Held during Milan Fashion Week, the Milan store opening coincides with the release of a new Vespa fashion lineup called “Al Vento,” or “In the Wind” in English. Organized in drops, the collection celebrates the carefree spirit associated with the Vespa scooter and is rich in pieces intended to be layered and the brand’s signature emblems and graphics. The first drop available this month is titled “Pilot Dogs” and features dachshund motifs throughout, splashed on T-shirts, sweatshirts and shirts, as well as wide-leg jeans.
The Vespa Pilot Dogs drop.
Courtesy of Vespa
As reported, parent company Piaggio Group last year banked on Vespa being “not only a mobility brand but a lifestyle one,” as Davide Zanolini, executive vice president of marketing and communication of Piaggio Group, told WWD in June. Vespa was catapulted to global fame by Audrey Hepburn riding on the back of Gregory Peck’s scooter in the iconic 1953 movie “Roman Holiday.”
The lifestyle push incidentally coincided with the launch of the brand’s seminal fashion collection, for which Vespa recruited an experienced team of designers.
Before venturing into fashion directly, Vespa had orchestrated collaborations in the space previously, linking with Emporio Armani in 2016; sneaker guru Sean Wotherspoon in 2020, and Dior in 2021.