MIAMI BEACH — Despite construction delays, torrential rains and a recession, nothing was going to stop the Webster boutique from opening on June 1.
Owners Milan Vukmirovic, Laure Heriard-Dubreuil and Frederic Dechnik, represented in the retro logo’s trio of flamingos, welcomed 700 guests to the three-story store’s party, with jewelry designer Solange Azagury-Partridge as guest of honor. Such a showing wasn’t expected for the season or the times, but the three-year project had snowballed.
“It started in 2006 when I visited Miami and fell in love with its history and Art Deco architecture,” said Vukmirovic, who scooped up the Webster, a former Art Deco hotel on Collins Avenue, with his partners.
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Unfamiliar with Miami Beach’s drawn-out permit process, the Parisians — Vukmirovic is the creative director of Trussardi, with stints at Jil Sander and Gucci, and a founder of the Colette store, while Heriard-Dubreuil and Dechnik merchandised for Yves Saint Laurent and other fashion houses — courted customers at a nearby makeshift space for two years as the Webster’s construction dragged on. The permanent location has been restored with original terrazzo floors, recessed ceiling circles and a tropical-themed fireplace mantel. The missing lobby bar was re-created from local pink stone, and new brass railings gleam against a cocoa and rosy taupe palette.
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“This decor seems chicer than white with stainless steel, and I wanted cruise ship details and the warmth of an apartment,” said Vukmirovic, who plans to add loads of plants for a homier effect. “We could have destroyed the interiors by going completely modern, but tropical elegance was the height of the city’s aesthetics.”
Heriard-Dubreuil said the idea is to linger at the store all day long by lunching at lobby restaurant Caviar Kaspia, which concocted a house cocktail of vodka and violets, getting cozy on one of the oversize velvet sofas custom ordered from BDDW in New York, and catching the sunset on the rooftop’s private lounge with ocean views.
“If only we had a salon, too,” she said.
The second floor carries men’s and women’s ready-to-wear and accessories from brands including Marc Jacobs, YSL, Lanvin and Maison Martin Margiela. Its dark walls are punctuated with panels of vintage wallpapers in floral patterns, whereas those in psychedelic geometrics decorate the first floor, which carries swimwear, sneakers and jeans from Acne, Neil Barrett and Bronzette, a French collection of Brigitte Bardot-inspired bikinis in ditsy florals. The third floor’s metallic panels set off fine jewelry and watches such as vintage Rolexes, Aurélie Bidermann’s custom looks and Azagury-Partridge’s rings of ruby lips or gold and emerald snakes whose mouths move to hiss.
Carrying brands that are exclusive to the U.S. — or at least Florida — as well as custom and runway pieces, such as Trussardi’s fringed bag in a special color or a minidress with draping in a black-and-blue print from Balenciaga’s fall collection, are ways the Webster aims to buck the recession, according to the three partners.
“We aren’t trying to please every market and age, but are concentrating on editing the most desirable items that are destined to be handed down to children,” said Heriard-Dubreuil.
But even they were surprised when Balmain’s women’s wear and shoes sold out within weeks — a studded, bustier minidress retailing for more than $19,000 awaited purchase on opening day — and the strength of demand meant the store expanded into men’s, a category led by Trussardi.
“Trussardi has really resonated across the board with all ages, and customers recognize its value and quality,” said Dechnik.
Heriard-Dubreuil, who acts as chief executive officer, revised the retailer’s business plan in order to account for the recession, but said its temporary store’s sales remained healthy, and that she hopes moving to a more suitable setting for luxury retail, along with a strong presence on Twitter and Facebook, will maintain that momentum now that the company is in its permanent home.
“We’re getting unbelievable word of mouth on Twitter, and the phone’s ringing like crazy and the e-mails are coming in,” she said, adding Latin Americans are bolstering business, too. “They’ve been extremely helpful in our numbers, because they weren’t as hit by the crisis.”
Still, the trio understands the last two years have been practice for the real work. Of all three, Vukmirovic has seen luxury’s reinvention up close. He’s adapted to the new, more fickle consumer with shorter cycles and caters to a new generation that doesn’t think twice about wearing Prada and Zara together.
“If there’s one thing I learned at Colette, it’s that you constantly have to change. That’s the secret to modern success,” he said.