From a distance, the new Alaïa store in the heart of Miami’s design district looks to be painted a warm pastel pink. A closer look reveals that the exterior and many surfaces inside are clad in diminutive mosaic tiles, creating unexpectedly intricate textures. The choice is both a nod to Miami’s art deco history and entirely fitting for the brand, given how Azzedine Alaïa built a legacy for his namesake house of creating clothes that appear effortlessly sensual, belying their often complex, sculptural constructions.
Inside Alaïa’s serene new store in Miami’s design district
‘We wanted to create a dialogue between the identity of Alaïa and the character of Miami,’ says Ruxandra Halleröd of Swedish design studio Halleroed, who worked with the maison on the store. This Miami opening marks the fifth collaboration between Halleroed and Alaïa, which has involved working closely with former creative director Pieter Mulier. ‘From the beginning, we had many conversations about Azzedine Alaïa’s legacy and what we felt was truly archetypal for the brand,’ says Halleröd. ‘One of the ideas we developed was translating the femininity of Alaïa’s clothing into architecture in a restrained, minimal way. This resulted in a language of soft, curved forms combined with sharp rectangular geometries, creating a tension between the two.’
In the Miami store, this language unfolds in pale pink throughout, a nod to one of Alaïa’s signature shades. (In other stores by Halleroed, recognisably Alaïa design elements like laser-cut patterns are referenced in repeating circular features.) Contrasting with the soft hue, metallic and leather textures appear intermittently. The store is arranged over different levels, with areas dedicated variously to footwear, accessories, and ready-to-wear – the last defined by abundant mirrors and softly bright lighting, creating an airy yet intimate space. As in other outposts, the late Mr Alaïa’s reverence for design is reflected in a collection of exceptional furniture in the new Miami store. The selection brings together both vintage and modern pieces, by the likes of Reinhard Müller, Philippe Starck and Ron Arad, and was curated by interior designer Martin Brûlé.
Elsewhere, bespoke planters created by renowned botanist and longtime Alaïa collaborator Patrick Blanc add greenery to the interior and exterior. ‘For us, Miami is also defined by its lush tropical vegetation,’ says Halleröd, ‘so we integrated abundant planting into the architecture itself, allowing it to become part of the spatial experience rather than simply decoration.’ As well as being a link to the city, Blanc’s work is something of an Alaïa signature too: one of his ‘vertical gardens’ covers a large wall in the courtyard of the house’s sprawling flagship on rue de Marignan in Paris.
‘What we find most special is the way the architecture feels almost alive,’ says Halleröd of the Miami store. ‘Curved forms seem to grow organically out of the ground, the columns and the façade, becoming display elements, seating and oversized planters.’ The overall effect encapsulates Alaïa: a meeting of tradition and modernity, where unconventional design codes abound, the sensual is prioritised, and apparent simplicity is the result of complex consideration. The result ‘creates a fluid relationship between architecture, furniture and landscape, making the entire space feel like one continuous sculptural composition’.
The new store is at 171 NE 39th St, Miami
