The Webster is getting ready to hit the Left Coast.
This fall, the trendsetting Miami retailer will open its fourth store, at the South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, Calif.
The 4,000-square-foot shop will mark the company’s entry into the West Coast market.
Speaking from Paris, where she was attending the men’s shows, Laure Heriard Dubreuil, The Webster’s cofounder and chief executive officer, said expanding into California was a natural for the self-financed business. “There’s a lot happening in California these days,” she said. “There’s a big migration from New York and the East Coast, with a lot of influencers and artists moving to the West Coast.”
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It will also allow her to establish a presence for the Asian customers who visit the state. “Seeing how Miami is suffering with the loss of visitors from Brazil and Russia, it’s good to open in other markets,” she said.
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The boutique will sell a mix of established and emerging men’s, women’s and accessory brands, including Acne, Alexander Wang, Aurélie Bidermann, Balmain, Charlotte Chesnais, Dior, Gigi Burris, Edie Parker, Galvan, Givenchy, Maison Michel, Mark Cross, Pierre Hardy, Proenza Schouler, Loewe, Off-White, Olympia Le-Tan, Raf Simons, Stella McCartney, Thom Browne and Valentino.
Heriard Dubreuil said she’s “happy with the brand assortment” that will be offered there and said there will be some collaborations and exclusives from Edie Parker, Galvan and Les Bonbons, among others.
“I always work on exclusives, whether they’re capsules or special products, so that it’s always something special,” she said.
The store design will have the DNA of The Webster, she noted, including its signature vintage wallpaper, mint-green terrazzo marble flooring and blush wool carpeting. It will also feature custom and antique furniture from Milo Baughman, Jansen, Karl Springer and Kazuhide Takahama, in addition to a one-of-a-kind table from artist Nada Debs.
The store will also offer artwork from Dennis Hopper and Aaron Young, Heriard Dubreuil’s husband, who is a California native, as well as custom racks that will offer a mix of Rosso Levanto marble and antique brass.
Because the store will be in a mall, it will be easier to open. The Houston unit is located in a new addition to the Galleria Mall but is in a freestanding location that was built from the ground up. The Miami flagship is in a historic building, although the Bal Harbour, Fla., store is also in a mall.
In terms of a more-specific opening date, she said, “The sooner the better, but you can never predict an exact date. It’s easier in a mall, so I’m hoping between September and November.”
She said that despite the challenging environment in Miami, The Webster’s business is good. Ditto for the Houston unit, which opened quietly in January, so it gave Heriard Dubreuil the confidence to continue to expand.
And while New York City is still on her wish list, there are no plans to open there in the near future. “It has been my dream since the day I opened in Miami, and it’s going to happen; I just don’t know when,” she said. “Right now, I’m happy to focus on the West Coast and Houston.”