Camilla Opens First New York Boutique on Madison Avenue, Expanding U.S. Presence

A view of Camilla’s new store on Madison Avenue. Courtesy of Camilla

Camilla, the Australian luxury brand, has opened its first New York boutique at 1015 Madison Avenue.

The more than 1,600-square-foot New York boutique marks a significant milestone in the brand’s U.S. expansion, joining five other Camilla stores in Short Hills, N.J.; Miami; Coral Gables, Fla.; Costa Mesa, Calif., and Canoga Park, Calif. The brand has 31 stores globally.

The Madison Avenue shop features the Camilla mainline collection, Rua Du Universo, which is inspired by founder and creative director Camilla Franks‘ travels through Portugal, along with a selection of ready-to-wear, swim, resort and accessories. Local clients also have the opportunity to shop Camilla “Pinnacle Pieces,” that will not be available everywhere. Overall, retail prices start at about $300 and go as high as $3,000 for Camilla’s Pinnacle Pieces.

Inside Camilla’s new store on Madison Avenue. Courtesy of Camilla

The breakdown at the Madison Avenue boutique is 32 percent dresses, including statement-making maxis, silk slips and minis; 6 percent caftans in short and long silhouettes; 23.5 percent separates including shirts, blouses, pants, shorts, and skirts, and 9.9 percent swim and accessories, including bikinis, jewelry, bags and footwear.

Franks said that her customers have been requesting more from the brand. “They’re so passionate about our creations and the brand. What we do is so different to what anyone else in the world does, and seeing this boutique come to life is a testament to our unique blend of storytelling, artistry adventure and print,” added Franks.

As part of its five-year plan, the company is looking at such locations as Las Vegas, Orlando, Scottsdale, Palm Springs, Hawaii and Houston for additional boutiques.

The Manhattan store opened on Thursday, with an opening party planned for April 12. The party will feature coffee and Champagne, personalized styling sessions and looks from the new The White Lotus x Camilla capsule and seasonal Rua Do Universo collection, inspired by Portugal.

Founded in Bondi Beach in 2004, Camilla has evolved into a global print house and luxury brand whose collection is sold in more than 55 countries. The brand is known for its hand-drawn prints that are painted by in-house artists and sewn by hand with precision-applied embellishments.

Rebecca Mansergh, chief executive officer of Camilla, said, “We’re thrilled to be testing the market with our Hotel of Curiosity concept. We see such strong traction with our New York department stores partners — Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, where we just opened a new ‘shop in shop’ concept this month, along with incredible online results.”

She said the company plans to open another 10 U.S. boutiques by 2028.

She noted that the current roster of Camilla stores is performing well. The company has a large loyal customer base in Miami and has been in Florida for more than seven years. She said the Short Hills store is steadily growing. “South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa goes from strength to strength and we will open a new Hotel of Curiosity concept in August this year. Our L.A. Topanga store just opened in February, but early results are promising, and we’re excited for what’s ahead,” said Mansergh.

“This [New York] boutique location places us firmly alongside our fashion peers,” said Mansergh. “The Hotel of Curiosity boutique concept is beautifully aligned with our new Madison Avenue location. While our New York store is one of our smaller footprints, we see it as a little ‘gem.’ The design has a distinctive ‘neighborhood’ New York aesthetic, which is far from modest,” she said.