Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014
If you lusted over the mid-century lobby design in Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel or, just generally would like to knock back cocktails while living in one of Wes Anderson's dreamscapes (it's alright to admit it!), pack your bags for Milan, because the quirky filmmaker has designed an entire cafe in Prada's new cultural center, which has just recently opened.
Photo by Attilio Maranzano
Filled with a hefty dollop of kitschy wallpaper modelled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, vintage formica tables and pastel chairs, terrazzo floors, jukeboxes, and even a Steve Zissou pinball machine, Anderson looked toward Italian Neorealism films Miracolo a Milano and Rocco E I Suoi Fratelli to spark his imagination. According to Fondazione Prada's website, Anderson thinks the fully functional lounge would make a great area to write a screenplay.
The design of Bar Luce echoes the architecture of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. Here, a shot from the cafe in 1978.
"There is no ideal angle for this space," he enthused. "It is for real life, and ought to have numerous good spots for eating, drinking, talking, reading, etc. While I do think it would make a pretty good movie set, I think it would be an even better place to write a movie. I tried to make it a bar I would want to spend my own non-fictional afternoons in."