MIAMI — As national chains fill in new retail pockets, smaller businesses are staking their claims here, as well, supplying the hottest labels to the region’s savvy shoppers. Here, a look at a few of the freshest finds.
ALCHEMIST
Although Roma Cohen’s new store, Alchemist, won’t officially be launched until spring, he and fiancée Erika Sussman opened a temporary location at 1604 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach on Dec. 22 to generate buzz.
“There’s a growing niche of jet-setters here who appreciate handmade or exclusive lines, and don’t necessarily want the ‘It’ bag, but just a cooler bag,” said Cohen, estimating first-year sales of $1.3 million.
The temporary space has bare white walls and white floor tiles, and the attention is clearly on the merchandise. The permanent space at 438 Lincoln Road is narrow but deep, with 20-foot ceilings. It features the building’s original 1941 white terrazzo floors and metal staircase railing leading to the mezzanine, where there are additional selling space and offices. Decor elements include floating shelves of gold brick, raw steel clothing racks, dressing rooms with plasma TVs in gold frames, Moooi chandeliers and a cash wrap with a Louis XV commode superimposed onto a rose-gold mirror.
While the owners are waiting for construction to wrap on the 1,250-square-foot permanent home, Cohen said that dresses have been bestsellers. He carries See by Chloé’s T-shirt minidress in natural crochet and Biba’s short, silk georgette shirtdress in a blue and white heart print. Cohen also carries denim and sportswear from labels such as Dsquared, J Brand and Superfine.
“It’s important to me to build relationships with my vendors that are often exclusive to Miami or Florida,” he said, listing Libertine and Lucien Pellat-Finet as two of the labels. “Lucien even collaborated on our logo T-shirts and tanks with a ruby-eyed skull that say ‘Lucien vs. Alchemist.'”
For now, Cohen carries only a few select accessories such as Zero by Keds shoes and Los Angeles-based Shelly Litvak’s leather handbags in slouchy shapes.
“We plan to evolve into a lifestyle store with men’s and children’s wear, and a home section,” said Cohen, who already stocks beach towels from Syla by Sylvie Cachay. They are pricy for towels, at $390, but Cohen said he would sell them. “If anyone can sell these towels, we can because they’re the coolest accessory in a beach town.”
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ARRIVE
After opening primarily as a men’s boutique in 2005, Arrive is beefing up its women’s wear assortment for spring.
“Our store has a museum quality,” said Dao-Yi Chow, a partner in the shop at 100 16th Street in Miami Beach.
A former creative director and vice president of marketing for Sean John, Chow cited his interest in the design of the store. There are back-lit recessed cubbyholes, shallow glass cases and a 15-foot solid marble table incorporated into 3,000 square feet of white, minimal decor.
“The goal is to educate consumers by what inspires us from our travels,” he explained.
Chow said he began introducing a bit of women’s apparel for fall 2006, experimenting with looks from McQ, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood. With the additions, Chow said that sales increased 30 percent over fall 2005, to more than $1 million in sales by the end of 2006.
Shopping New York and Paris for a strong European representation, women’s buyer Jana Adler placed a larger spring 2007 order from McQ, including pleated denim coveralls and a cream cableknit vest with metallic coating. Adler said her favorite line was Martin Margiela’s 6, from which she picked up T-shirts with side slits, ruched pullover dresses with pockets and tube-top jumpsuits.
Having done well with Earnest Sewn’s high-waisted jeans, Adler said she had added more denim from Ksubi and Sass & Bide. She said they worked back to other casual pieces such as Mike & Chris’ trenchcoat and leather hoodies.
The store’s accessories assortment is broader than those of most local boutiques, ranging from Be & D’s washed leather shoulder bags to Alexander McQueen’s silk chiffon scarves, skull-printed flats and gladiator sandals.
GREEN GRASS
In Miami’s financial district, a world away from South Beach in tone, Claudia Sanz pioneered boutique retail. In September, the Colombian native opened Green Grass, at 54 Southwest 10th Street, for its proximity to office and residential towers filled with twenty- and thirtysomething professionals seeking girly weekend wear. The location is also near Mary Brickell Village, a new shopping center with chain stores and restaurants.
“This location attracted me because other areas were too saturated or didn’t have enough evening and weekend traffic,” Sanz said.
Her 1,400-square-foot loft — complete with raw cement floors, a white leather sofa and white walls — highlights works by local artists, and contemporary apparel and accessories for women and men. The store is a testament to her varied fashion experience; she worked for Diane von Furstenberg for more than a decade, as well as for local designers and boutiques. Sanz even founded a handbag line that bears her name. Although she said she was taking a break from handbag designing, she hopes to get back to it some time next year.
“I had a baby and couldn’t travel back and forth to Colombia to manufacture the bags, so a store seemed like the perfect option,” said Sanz, who predicted first-year sales of about $600,000.
Originally picking up some tailored looks from designers like Robert Rodriguez, Sanz quickly discovered that her customers didn’t want careerwear. They were looking for a more casual look.
“They want to look well-dressed and cute, but not overtly sexy,” she explained.
After little luck with pants and shorts, she focused on dresses, such as Issa’s kimono minidress in silk jersey and Poleci’s draped shift dress in white silk with gold dots — both of which sold out in a week. Other top dress resources are T-bags, Hype, and Alice & Trixie.