Philipp Plein expands retail footprint for its three labels

The Philipp Plein group is actively deploying an ambitious retail expansion plan for its three labels (Philipp Plein, Plein Sport and Billionaire), as the mercurial Hamburg-born designer and owner of the Switzerland-based group told FashionNetwork.com. Plein has been working at his customary headlong pace during the recent Milan Fashion Week, busy with events and runway shows featuring celebrity guests like rapper Busta Rhymes.

Philipp Plein unveiled its Wild West-inspired co-ed Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection, featuring 51 looks, at the iconic Plein Hotel in Milan. The mood was Cowboy Couture, translating into a casual but high-spirited style for the daytime, and a boldly elevated one for the evening. The collection focused on Philipp Plein’s signature denim looks, notably indigo jeans matched with oversized denim shirts and striking coats. Vintage Americana motifs and a pair of glittering Stars & Stripes trousers featured alongside polished tailored looks combining dark red and green with bright blue. Notable accessories included Wild West hats, road-trip style bags, and a range of footwear including knee-high red leather boots, functional combat boots, and classic sneakers.
 
“We wanted to take advantage of the truly unique venue we’ve created in Milan. We didn’t stage a fashion show here, but a show full-stop, the Plein Show cabaret, with 25 dancers and performers entertaining 500 guests who kept eating and partying until 5 a.m. We love filling this place with joy and happiness,” Plein told FashionNetwork.com. “We opened the Plein Hotel with its three restaurants in September 2024, and in just a few months we have held several events and shows, including a black-tie masked ball – think Kubrick‘s Eyes Wide Shut film – and performances by DJs like Marco Corona and Sven Väth. We’ve had scores of events, all of them creating fun party memories,” he added.

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Plein used to stage runway shows for his main label that were real events, held in large venues with thousands of guests. “Right now, I think that, not just for us but for the fashion world as a whole, everything should be more restrained and confidential,” said Plein. “And we haven’t finished yet, because in summer we’ll open a beach club on the upper floor, where we can accommodate over 1,500 people. The Plein Hotel is a unique opportunity, which we must take advantage of,” he added.
 
In the meantime, the Philipp Plein group is busy with a spate of new store openings. On Sunday, March 2, it opened a Plein Sport store in Spain and, between April and May, new Philipp Plein and Billionaire stores will be opening in Munich. A new Plein Sport store was inaugurated last week near Calabasas, in Los Angeles County, while two Plein Sport stores will open in Malta, another in Lebanon, and a further one will open in a few days in Berlin. A Philipp Plein store is also opening at around the same time in Warsaw, Poland.
 
Plein also dwelt on the challenging year that the industry experienced in 2024. “Many companies took the Covid pandemic as an excuse to raise prices, suppliers raised them too due to a shortage of raw materials and because they couldn’t meet demand, and this led to a situation in which consumers have become hostile to such an unfair pricing policy, as they’re facing price increases of up to 20-30-50%. While quality has failed to rise accordingly,” said Plein, adding that “of course, some groups are under pressure, because they are listed on the stock exchange, there are investors behind them, financial reports every quarter, so they’re pushing for margin, but there comes a point when you can’t push any more.”

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“The Gucci case is emblematic of an expansion drive taken to extremes. They did an extraordinary job of bringing the [Gucci] brand to such levels of sales and product desirability. I do believe that there are momentum shifts in the market. For years, consumers wanted Gucci products, now not as much as before, also for the reasons I mentioned earlier, so sales have dropped, and as usual it’s the designer who pays the price, because there always has to be a scapegoat. But I repeat, for me this is just a phase, a change in trend,” concluded Plein.
 
The Philipp Plein group is based in Lugano, Switzerland. It is financially independent and debt-free, employing over 700 people and operating over 110 monobrand stores worldwide, including flagship stores in Milan, Paris, Barcelona, ​​​​Berlin, Dubai, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Shanghai and Singapore.