Since taking over as creative director of Balenciaga in 2015, Demna has been busy reimagining the in-demand brand and ushering in a new era. The Georgian designer’s avant-garde creations along with reinventions of classic pieces by the luxury fashion house’s founder Cristóbal Balenciaga, have brought must-have looks season after season. His pieces — which range from opulent haute couture ballgowns to quirky accessories that quickly go viral — are beloved by stars from Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa to Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé and Nicole Kidman.
After showing the latest collection for Spring 2023, Demna has a new project to debut: the opening of a brand-new flagship location in Paradise Plaza at Miami’s ultra-chic Design District.
This massive 8,487-square-foot space at the center of the city’s go-to shopping center is the largest US store to date. It will replace Balenciaga’s original Design District location which debuted in late 2018, while another Balenciaga location at Bal Harbour Shops will continue to draw customers on Miami Beach. Set over two stunning floors, the flagship “showcases the brand’s experiential ‘Raw Architecture’ concept, in which codes of luxury retails are reevaluated and interiors are designed with respect to exiting structural elements,” the brand explained in a press release.
“The concept was conceived to question the nature of authenticity with design details like simulated corrosion and rough edges that evoke the passage of time,” the release continues.
“Subsequently, Balenciaga products—ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories, jewelry, eyewear, and objects—in this setting stand in an atemporal condition, not associated with any specific contingency.” As with many of Balenciaga’s locations globally, the new one in Design District will feature specially commissioned artworks.
Taking cues from the brand’s own playful DNA and Demna’s enfant terrible approach to high fashion, the store — designed by art director Niklas Bildstein Zaar and architect Andrea Faraguna of the Berlin-based architecture studio SUB — is more cutting edge than stuffy. Two backlit Balenciaga signs highlight each floor and are visible through a glass and chrome façade to the plaza outside. Cracked and crumbling concrete blocks, slabs adorned with fading graffiti and tiled walls layered with synthesized residue add to the ambiance and show shoppers that it’s not the typical haute couture experience.
Cables, piping, ventilation systems, and lighting fixtures are left exposed. As a nod to Miami’s historic architecture, Art Deco flooring is featured, but in Demna’s version, it’s chipped and peeling away. On another floor, a spill of enamel peeks out from under benches. Throughout the monumental space, patinas on aluminum displays, metal grates and industrial railings are deployed as finishes, “suspending the space in a state of conditionality.” This all contributes to an unfinished look that’s stylish and purposeful, much like Demna’s couture creations themselves.
Exclusive to the store opening, shoppers will be able to partake in the Le Cagole foil stamp and strass initial personalization service, available at the Miami location this week. Clients’ initials can be placed on a removable zipped pouch on the bag. You know where to find us!
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