Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1078587
WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGN—furniture, objects and interiors—Milan is the center of the universe. But Miami has long staked its claim on the title for the Western Hemisphere. So it makes sense that Valextra, the Milanese accessories brand with more than 80 years of luxury heritage and a decades-long commitment to cutting-edge architecture and design, would make an architectural splash with its latest retail experience at Bal Harbour Shops. The new boutique was designed by Aranda\Lasch, who remixed a range of materials to dazzle the eye at every turn— because the space was conceived more like an art installation than simply a place to sell products, explains Valextra CEO Sara Ferrero. "You have a strong emotional feeling when you enter," she says. "The point was to convey this sense of a different space through harmony of material, composition and objects that can really make people feel they are in an exploring environment—a walking gallery." To create this immersive experience, designers Benjamin Aranda and Chris Lasch looked to evoke the brand's history through careful craftsmanship and references to Milan's famed palazzos and hidden corridors, which they then imbued ÜÌ>`iÀ>iiÀ}Þ°/Ãi>ÀLiÌ««i`«i`iÃÌ>Ã]ÜVÃiiÌy>Ì in the center of the space, are set against a backdrop of crystalline geometric forms clad in Alpi wood-grain laminate by Ettore Sottsass, one of the founders of the legendary Memphis Milano design group. "It's very Valextra because it's architectural, minimal and geometric," says Ferrero. "We hope people coming in the store can feel emotionally what we stand for, without a lot of explanation." That means: sophisticated, understated and >Ü>ÞÃvÕVÌ>]ÜÌ>L`>iÃiy>À° The resulting Bal Harbour space is a testament to the brand's long-running >ÀVÌiVÌÕÀ> yÕiVi] ÜV VÌÕià ÜÌ VÕÌÌ}i`}i V>LÀ>Ìà ÜÌ designers ranging from Snarkitecture, who conjured a pop-up in Milan, to British designer Bethan Laura Wood, who created a sinuous in-shop installation as part of Toothpaste, her limited-edition take on the Passepartout bag. /iiÜiÃÌÃÌÀiViÃÕÃÌÌivÀÌiLÀ>`½ÃwÀÃÌ>ÀiÜ>ÕVià in two and a half years, a reimagining of a men's bag from 1966 that's meant as a genderless option for day and a new trolley, or rolling suitcase, design. "There's a sense today that product has to speak of you as a person," Ferrero says of the new 21st-century take on luxury, "not only your aesthetic choice, but also your ethos, values and philosophy." And like the bold Bal Harbour boutique, the new launches are just another ingredient of the Ferrero's vision for a billion-euro brand. "When you launch a new baby," Ferrero says, "it's always a very exciting moment." 84 BAL HARBOUR THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME With a billion-euro future in its sights, accessories brand Valextra taps designers Aranda\Lasch to bring a Milan-meets-Miami retail experience to Bal Harbour Shops. BY HEATHER CORCORAN The Aranda\Lasch-designed Bal Harbour Shops boutique is an immersion of architectural forms that reference Valextra's roots in Italy; music and style icon Beyoncé strikes a pose with a customized Valextra Toothpaste bag; the brand's #NOLOGOMYLOGO series offers bags emblazoned with a personalized monogram print.