Balenciaga opens largest U.S. flagship in Miami

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Nov 16, 2022

Balenciaga unveiled on Tuesday its new Miami Design District store inaugurating its largest United States store to date.

The two-story, 8,487-square-foot flagship replaces the former men’s and women’s stores and reopens as one space offering both collections. In particular, Balenciaga products — ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories, jewelry, eyewear, and objects — can be found.

The new flagship showcases the brand’s experiential Raw Architecture concept, which is carefully created with reevaluated luxury retail codes and respect to existing structural elements, while meeting strict sustainability requisites. 

From the outside, through a glass and chrome façade, two backlit Balenciaga signs, light up each floor's entrance. The store stands apart from its polished neighbours with cracked and crumbling concrete bricks, showing traces of scrubbed graffiti, and tiled walls layered with synthesized residue. 

Inside, Art Deco-inspired flooring is juxtaposed with other design details including simulated corrosion and rough edges. On another floor, enamel seeps under benches upholstered with an innovative cactus-based material. Throughout, patinas are on display and industrial railings are used as finishes. 

Completing the space is an original work by Charlotte Thrane, part of Balenciaga’s Art in Stores series. Made of locally sourced, upcycled mattresses and cushions, the piece iterates on previous works by the Swedish-born, Copenhagen-based visual artist.