Drop by Valentino’s intimate New York ‘listening room’

The previous few years have seen the listening room – or, certainly, the listening bar – change into one thing of a cultural phenomenon. In London alone, there have been a slew of latest openings for vinyl and soundsystem aficionados (Neil Ridley explored the rising enclave of London listening bars for Wallpaper* earlier this 12 months), whereas in Milan, the Giorgio di Salvo-designed ‘Voce’, a gleaming 330 sq m listening room within the Triennale Milano, was revealed in April. Even Michelin star eating places are getting in on the act: Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary visited Arkestra in Istanbul, Turkey, the place a moody listening room was the brainchild of co-founder Debora Ipekel, a former programmer for Boiler Room and NTS Radio host.

Inside Valentino’s L’Atelier Sonore listening room

Now, New Yorkers have a brand new listening room opening of their very own, courtesy of Italian style home Valentino. The area, titled L’Atelier Sonore (the Sound Atelier), opens later this week in the home’s Madison Avenue retailer, its intimate, midcentury-inspired inside a mirrored image of artistic director Alessandro Michele’s aesthetic imaginative and prescient for Valentino to this point (he started his present function in 2024, having beforehand been artistic director of Gucci).

Conceived in collaboration with Italian collective Terraforma and designed by architect Francesco Lupia, the room centres on a bespoke soundsystem, listening ‘console’ and undulating modular velvet seating, on which listeners can recline. The room’s textures – from enveloping floor-to-ceiling curtains to veneered woods – have been chosen to evoke ‘avant-garde listening salons… underscoring a dedication to craftsmanship, intimacy, and timelessness’.

Terraforma has additionally labored with Valentino on a particular sonic programme to mark the area’s opening this week ( L’Atelier Sonore opens to the general public on 15 Might 15 2025). Promising a ‘wealthy tapestry of worldwide influences’, the eclectic line-up contains numerous ‘listening classes’ helmed by artists and musicians together with Laraaji, Lea Bertucci, Laurel Halo, Lizzi Bougatsos, Chuquimamani-Condori, Kevin Beasley, Veronica Vasicka and Bodily Remedy. Taking part in for round 45 minutes utilizing vinyls from their very own private archives, individuals will even share tales concerning the data and ‘[revel] within the silences in between’. The area will stay open to the general public till the top of August 2025, with a collection of data performed all through the day, alongside sporadic ‘listening classes’ with buddies of the home.