MILAN — Milan is getting its own House of Dior, and as Delphine Arnault underscored, these brand flagships are distinctive and few and far between.

“It’s always a great pleasure for us when we open a new House of Dior because they are very big projects that we’ve been working on for a long time in unique locations,” said Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture, in an exclusive interview together with Peter Marino, who conceived the interiors of the Milan unit.

“It’s a huge project for us and it was extremely important to have such a sophisticated store in such an important fashion capital,” Arnault said.

The expectations around the opening have mounted, she said, after more than two years of works on the store.

To be unveiled on Friday, the Milan House of Dior doubles the space of the previous unit on Via Montenapoleone, which originally opened in 2001 and was renovated in 2012. For the latest iteration, the brand took over a former Burberry store.

Arnault underscored the enduring relevance of the luxury shopping street, home to sprawling Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Bulgari flagships, all part of parent LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and also designed by Marino.

The executive enthused about the relationship with the American architect. “We’ve been working with Peter for over 30 years, he’s really a genius and his comments are always so inspiring.” She said that Marino’s attention to detail “to each room, each shelf, each piece is remarkable. He’s very specific, and it’s great to see him at work and witness his thought processes.”

Nature is the fil rouge running through the three-level space conceived by Marino, and it spills out across the terraces, inner courtyards and vertical gardens designed by landscape architect Peter Wirtz.

“Our philosophy since we opened 30 Montaigne in Paris is to promote the gardens of [Christian] Dior with his beautiful gardens, both in the north of France and in the south,” Marino said. “This particular project has two large courtyards, and two terraces full of plants and flowers, so the floral aspect continues. We feel people love Paris because of the greenhouses that I put there, and we’ve continued that same trend in New York, in Los Angeles and now in Milan. It’s pretty crazy to have four gardens in Milan,” he said with a smile.

The collaboration with Wirtz and his father Jacques is also longstanding for Marino, as it is with LVMH, spanning more than three decades. “Peter’s talent is capturing a sort of modernity and classicism at the same time in his landscapes, which is exactly what I try to capture in the architecture,” Marino remarked.

With seven windows, two main entrances on Via Montenapoleone and one in the courtyard, the store in the stately neoclassical building dating back to the late 17th century spans over three levels. The window displays feature fun animated scenes in a landscape inspired by Milan’s gardens of lemon trees, flowerbeds and wisteria as well as butterflies, birds and a flamingo crafted with fabric remnants from Dior’s Ateliers.

Women’s and men’s bags and accessories are displayed on the ground floor, as well as men’s ready-to-wear and shoes in spaces marked by the light-colored materials, pared-down lines and emblematic codes of 30 Montaigne.

A Michelangelo Pistoletto portrait of Christian Dior stands on this level. “Right next to the front door, it’s an unbelievable artwork and we’re planning on over 1 million selfie hits,” said an ebullient Marino of its impact. “It’s so extraordinarily beautiful and real, and he’s coming toward you, sort of greeting the customers.“

Two grand staircases connect the floors, one on the women’s side in stone and delicate wrought-iron arabesques, punctuated by contemporary works by Lee Bul — a chandelier and a suspended bust form — and a mirror mosaic by Claudia Wieser. “Who can get enough of looking at themselves?” Marino quipped. The other is on the men’s side and marked by a wooden wall adorned with Dior’s iconic white toiles.

“We renovated the staircase, which goes in a different direction as it used to go counterclockwise, now it’s clockwise,” he pointed out.

“A lot of the art is commissioned, so they are one-of-a-kind pieces, taking the approach of a couture house. Where else can you go into a VIP salon and see two beautiful watercolors by [German painter and sculptor] Georg Baselitz of flowers? I feel the art is spectacular, and all with a floral theme,” he continued.

The women’s collections designed by Jonathan Anderson are displayed on the first floor, together with footwear and signature bags — including editions of the Lady Dior in precious hides — and Victoire de Castellane’s high jewelry. Walking through the sprawling salons, the offer ranges from men’s bespoke tailoring and formalwear, to fragrances from La Collection Privée and Dior Maison exquisite homeware.

On the second floor, mouldings evoking Parisian apartments adorn private lounges. A beauty room is sure to be an additional draw. “There is no equivalent VIP salon on Montenapoleone,” Marino claimed. “I have quite a few clients in Milan, and the taste level is very high, and so is the sophistication level. And I try to address that in the way we’ve done our French paneling, our furniture. We have antiques everywhere that are incredibly beautiful, mixed with new furniture. So it’s at a pretty high level.”

The furniture ranges from Claude Lalanne’s Ginkgo Bench to Vittorio Introini’s shelving units, Paul Kingma’s coffee table and B.G. Robinson’s metal chairs.

To celebrate the opening, the house created several exclusive pieces, such as the Dior Bow pumps and the Dior Ribbon sneakers in a leopard print, and the Lady Dior bag also available in small and mini formats in a subtle palette of black, chalk and honey.

A painting by Francesco Clemente, also commissioned, is impressive and stands in the Monsieur Dior restaurant by Enrico Bartolini, also conceived by Marino. “It’s a 30-foot-long, wonderful wall mural that is very exciting, and again it continues Dior’s tradition, their investment and belief in fine art. You know, they commissioned a work to Nicole Wittenberg for [Monsieur Dior] Los Angeles, and she created a 45-foot mural, which is off the charts. I’m so happy people go up and have a drink just to see her art.”

At Monsieur Dior in Milan, Italy’s most Michelin-starred chef offers a culinary interpretation of the house’s symbols — exploring the concept of layering, creating a dialogue between fine cuisine and couture, revisiting silhouettes, motifs and fabrics in delicacies.

“I think Enrico Bartolini is one of the most famous Italian chefs,” Arnault said. “He has 14 Michelin stars, and we really like to work with local chefs that also have a meaning for Dior. He worked on a whole menu that is very linked to the history of Dior, to the colors or the flowers, to some of the most iconic codes and symbols of Dior. It’s at the same time absolutely beautiful to see, and also extremely good to eat. So you have all the senses, plus in an amazing setting done by Peter, and the amazing Francesco Clemente on the wall. We think that it’s a unique experience for our clients who have a lot of choice, of course, but it’s a unique way to talk about Dior and to experience the dream of Dior.”

Some examples of Bartolini’s offer include knife-cut Piedmontese beef arranged like a flower; scallop risotto and pan-seared sea bass with aubergine that takes on Thai accents. Tender veal is served with Swiss chard, raspberries and a chocolate emulsion in an unexpected combination.

The Grand Soir Chocolat, the chef’s signature creation, is decorated with a depiction of 30 Montaigne beneath a star-studded sky.

“I still get very excited,” Bartolini admitted of the new project, despite his impressive experience.

Looking around the restaurant, he praised Marino’s designs and the fact that the locale “has the dimension of a cuddle, it was not meant for big volumes.” The restaurant has 12 tables, is open for lunch and dinner and snacks in the afternoon, and offers tasting menus.

Bartolini said he worked on the archives “to capture the DNA of Dior in the dish, to find an ideal combination.”

A native of Castelmartini in Tuscany and a graduate of the professional Institute Hotel “F. Martini” of Montecatini Terme, Bartolini spent the early days of his career in Paris and London, working with chefs Paolo Petrini and Mark Page, and once back in Italy, with Massimiliano Alajmo, then moving on to create an international fine dining network. Recalling how the couturier died in Montecatini Terme, Bartolini said he saw “some sort of Kabbalah. Also, his way of approaching things speaks to me and we share the passion of gardening.”

With Monsieur Dior, Bartolini feels he has joined “a sort of prestigious club” associated with the French house, which he praised surely for its fashion but also for its “experience in food and hospitality, and consistent service.”

Marino waved away any issue about designing for different brands under the LVMH umbrella. “It’s terribly easy. Remember that in my first 15 years all I did was residential work, and when you do residences, nobody wants their home looking like anybody else’s. My whole practice was based on no two jobs can ever look the same. I just imagine I’m working for Mr. Dior. I go to the archives. I see what his homes looked like. I see what his clothing looked like, it’s like doing homes of individual clients. I know everybody is surprised, but I am not. For me, it’s quite obvious that I would never make the same apartment for Coco Chanel that I would for Christian Dior. It’s out of the question. Nor would I make the same apartment for Giorgio Armani, or Valentino, or Carla Fendi, or any of the designers for whom I’ve worked.”

Asked about their favorite memories of Milan, Marino in fact cited designing Armani’s apartment in the mid-1980s. “That was pretty amazing for me. I was still quite young and handsome, you know,” he said with a chuckle. “So I have extremely fond memories of Milan for that reason. It’s a triumph that he never changed anything. I mean, he added a few things, but for me, it really is a sign that some people in the world, thank goodness, respect architectural design.”

“For me, I would say during Salone del Mobile, when you really see the mix between the elegance of Milan and all the novelty in terms of design. I think it’s always very interesting to see Milan at that time of the year,” Arnault said.