Ship shape: Dolce & Gabbana drop anchor in St Barts with a new boutique
When New York-based architect Steven Harris was designing Dolce & Gabbana’s first outpost on the tropical island of St Barts, he was thrilled to discover a shared passion for Riva Aquarama speedboats with the brand’s Italian founders. ‘Growing up in Florida in the fifties, I spent a great deal of time on boats’ Harris explains. 'The world of marinas and docks, dinghies and tenders was part of the everyday landscape.’ His sailing-inspired store concept fuses the island architecture of the Caribbean with that of the Mediterranean.
Upon entering the two floor 314 sq m boutique, guests are greeted with a space that evokes mid-century Italian interior design. White marble floors take inspiration from Casa Malaparte on the island of Capri, and Gio Ponti’s Villa Planchart in Venezuela (Ponti's chairs also feature at its Via Montenapoleone flagship store in Milan, which opened in autumn 2016).
Marble table tops also house footwear and women’s accessories on the ground floor, alongside antique brass shelves. Transparent glass sculptures in azure blue show off Dolce & Gabbana jewellery, evoking stones on a beach or pieces of treasured coral.
Dolce & Gabbana has opened its first St. Barts based boutique, designed by architect Steven Harris
These are juxtaposed against more Caribbean focused finishes, like deep chairs hand wrapped in rope and upholstered in natural hemp, and palm trees that cast shadows on the opulent pink and green onyx and white calypso surfaces.
To access the exclusive men’s and women’s beachwear collections on the second floor, shoppers ascend a staircase with an oceanic blue vellum handrail, resembling the sterns of Harris' and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s beloved speedboats. Wicker bags, silk scarves and t-shirts feature in the tropical collection, printed with parrots and idyllic beaches lined with hibiscus flowers and huts.
With a barber shop in Dolce & Gabbana's New Bond Street location in London, it is clear that the duo gravitate towards a lifestyle encompassing retail experience. For the St Bart's outpost, they feature a Martini Bar housed in a ground floor courtyard and swathed in an oasis of palm fronds. Featuring the same flourishes of dusty stone and coloured vellum, its pink onyx bar is over six metres long. Time to drop anchor.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
For more information, visit the Dolce & Gabbana website
ADDRESS
9 Rue de la Republique,
Gustavia
St. Barthélemy
97133
-
A Corfu house balances local vernacular and 21st-century minimalism
Corfu House, a sensitive and minimalist holiday home, has been recently completed on the Greek island as a collaboration between architects Tony Wynbourne, Georgios Apostolopoulos and engineer Makis Gisdakis
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Local ceramicist Faty Ly’s guide to Dakar
As the Senegalese capital Dakar prepares to host the 15th edition of its art biennale, local ceramicist Faty Ly shares her favourite spots
By Mazzi Odu Published
-
The new Smart #5 takes the brand's essential character upmarket and offroad
Kai Sieber, head of design Smart at Mercedes-Benz Design, discusses the evolution and style of the new Smart #5
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The Wallpaper* S/S 2025 trend report: ‘A rejection of the derivative and the expected’
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss unpacks five trends and takeaways from the S/S 2025 shows, which paid ode to individual style and transformed the everyday
By Jack Moss Published
-
The A/W 2024 menswear collections were defined by a ‘new flamboyance’
Sleek and streamlined ensembles imbued with a sense of performance take centre stage in ‘Quiet on Set’, a portfolio of the A/W 2024 menswear collections photographed by Matthieu Delbreuve
By Jack Moss Published
-
Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025: what to expect
Next week sees the arrival of Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025, with stops in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Here, our comprehensive guide to the month, from Alaïa’s arrival in New York to Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025 highlights: Prada to Zegna
Wallpaper* picks the best moments from Milan Fashion Week Men‘s S/S 2025, from 15 years of MSGM to Prada’s celebration of youth, and an appearance from Mads Mikkelsen at Zegna
By Jack Moss Published
-
Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2025: what to expect
Beginning this weekend, everything we know about Men‘s Fashion Week S/S 2025 so far, from Dries Van Noten’s final show in Paris to an intimate Craig Green presentation in London
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Best in shows: Wallpaper* picks S/S 2024’s standout looks
As part of Wallpaper’s Design Awards 2024 issue, we select the winning S/S 2024 runway collections – and their defining looks – at the start of a new season in style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Dolce & Gabbana continues its new chapter with a London space devoted to beauty
Dolce & Gabbana opens a new beauty corner inside its lavish Old Bond Street store
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Unconventional men’s tailoring to make an impression this winter
This winter’s men’s tailoring is defined by razor-sharp reinterpretations of classic silhouettes, designed to make you stand out over a celebratory season ahead
By Jack Moss Published