Marni Moves to South Coast Plaza
Marni pioneered high-fashion retail on Los Angeles’ Melrose Place, but on July 27 it moved into a more-established luxury neighborhood. The exclusive Italian label opened a 2,500-square-foot boutique in South Coast Plaza, located in Costa Mesa, Calif.
The South Coast Plaza boutique will be Marni’s first California store since it opened its Melrose Place boutique in 2004. The new Marni’s lacquered floors and unique fixtures look similar to the airy, modernist milieu of the Melrose Place store. Both boutiques will sell the same Marni collections.
South Coast Plaza and the Italian label started discussions on opening a Marni boutique in December, said Luca Voarino, vice president of New York–based Marni USA.
Voarino said he felt comfortable opening a boutique in South Coast Plaza because Marni’s luxury demographic already shops there. As proof, he pointed to his competitors, such as iconic fashion houses Pucci, Hermegrave;s and Bottega Veneta, which already do business at the retail center.
South Coast Plaza also will make some room for more exclusive fashion names in the next quarter. On Oct. 1, Versace will reopen its boutique on the retail center’s second level. The iconic label’s boutique was first run as a franchise, but it will reopen as a company store. It will offer men’s and women’s apparel, footwear and accessories.
Stylish New York boutique Intermix will open a South Coast Plaza location at the end of November. A Michael Kors boutique will open in the fall.
The luxury center’s Bulgari boutique also has a new story. It made the West Coast debut of its twin-store concept on Aug. 1. The 2,600-squarefoot boutique will offer a jewelry store and an accessories store, each with separate entrances. When Bulgari opened in South Coast Plaza in 1994, it did business as a jewelry store in a 700- square-foot space. The new store will offer all products of the Bulgari line, including fragrances, briefcases, handbags and timepieces.
In other South Coast Plaza news, a boutique for fashion line Calypso opened on June 8 and an Allen Edmonds men’s footwear store debuted on July 19. Another men’s footwear store, John Lobb, will open in September. —Andrew Asch
