GAC recently revealed its new European advanced design studio in Milan, boosting its creative might and, the brand hopes, adding a new flavour to its designs moving forward. Car Design News recently attended the opening and sat down with the site’s directors to find out more.

The studio is nestled in Milan’s bustling Tortona district, the place to be for independent fashion and design in what is already one of the fashion capitals of the world. Armani’s headquarters are round the corner, as are offices from Fendi and Moncler. The surrounding streets are littered with upmarket homeware shops, houseplant nurseries and classic Italian sports cars. Not a bad spot to be, then, and the team behind the studio was excited to show off what had been kept under wraps.

Hidden down a side street with only the smallest of corporate plaques, you would be hard pushed to notice the studio at all. A plain façade suggests this could be just another workshop or café. It is in fact a combination of both: the site previously belonged to photographer Giovanni Gastel – who sadly died during the coronavirus pandemic – and was explicitly designed to feel like a coffee shop. Look closely and you can see the glow of a neon ‘GAC Café’ sign through the upstairs window.