From the Star:
http://www.thestar.com/article/469806
Elite retailers set up shop in Toronto
Jul 31, 2008 04:30 AM
Bernadette Morra
Retail might be shaky south of the border.
But that has just made Bloor St. all the more enticing.
"The American and European apparel and luxury companies have to grow their brands," points out retail leasing agent Jordan Karp, who specializes in the Bloor/Yorkville area. So those that aren't here already are taking a good, hard look at Canada.
Like Brooks Brothers, which will be opening in Vancouver in the spring, and is looking at several Toronto possibilities for fall '09. One is the new RBC Centre under construction on Wellington St., the other is 146 Bloor St. W. in the building that currently houses the Cumberland cinema.
Another newcomer is A/X Armani Exchange, which is expected to open next week in the Eaton Centre, Yorkdale and Vaughan Mills. Don't be surprised if a Bloor/Yorkville location is added to the list.
And Burberry has signed a deal for a store in Vancouver – a signal that a Yorkville-area shop could be on the horizon.
On the south side of Bloor, Lacoste is building a spanking new store, between Prada and Coach, and expects to be in by mid-August (the store is temporarily located upstairs in The Colonnade). Lacoste's new location was previously held by Hermès, which moved into spacious new digs on the north side of Bloor earlier this summer. Prada, as previously reported, is expanding to include menswear, though that seems to be taking longer than planned.
Next door to the new Hermès, Gucci is freshening up its interior. Cartier will be moving from a temporary location on St. Thomas St. into an expansive space at 131 Bloor St. W.
Meanwhile, according to Karp, a number of high-end jewellers have expressed interest in the 5,000 square feet of retail that will be part of the new Four Seasons Hotel, which broke ground earlier this month at the corner of Bay St. and Yorkville Ave.
Amid all this interest from outside the country is Montreal talent Andy Thê-Anh, who is opening shop at 83 Yorkville Ave. And the much loved Teatro Verde will move from Hazelton Lanes into a 10,000-square-foot shop at 100 Yorkville Ave.
The Bloor St./Yorkville area might be a draw for some. But veteran Canadian designer Franco Mirabelli had his heart set on Yonge St. at MacPherson Ave.
"There's a real casual elegance to this neighbourhood and I wanted to be part of it," says Mirabelli, who lives farther north, near Lawrence Park, but ventures south to shop.
Mirabelli took over a "depressing dump – a travel agency whose business had been killed by the Internet" for his two-week-old boutique. He wanted a gallerylike feel and got it: white walls hung with graphic metal plates from an old machine shop and floating mirrors that Mirabelli commissioned but "were a pain in the neck to hang."
Diligence is typical of Mirabelli, who has been in business more than 20 years. He studied at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, then worked for Anne Klein when Donna Karan and Louis Dell'Olio designed the label. That experience, he says, was invaluable and he can't understand why more young designers don't follow his route to success.
"They all want their own collections right out of school, but they'll have a jacket that's made out of fabric from a jobber on Queen St. and it's priced at $1,200."
His stretch linens and cottons are sourced by "schlepping around Italy" and his jackets are in the $295 to $395 range.
Summer offerings include a belted, mushroom-coloured jacket with short, puffed sleeves for $295, and a molten gold linen jacket for $350. A sleeveless version of the black jersey wrap dress Mirabelli designed for staff of the Hazelton Hotel and restaurant One is $290. And there are great midsummer deals to be had, like a blue linen trapeze top priced at $75.
Mirabelli's Canadian-made collection is also sold at 100 better specialty stores across North America, as well as his own shops on Eglinton Ave. and in Yorkdale.
"Six years ago I made a decision to remove the stress from my life," he says, of why he no longer sells to department stores. "They wanted a guarantee you would sell at full price, then I would walk in and see one of my jackets hanging upside down."
FYI: Tiffany & Co. will open its second Toronto store in Yorkdale next spring. And over in Liberty Village, West Elm, a modern furniture division of Williams-Sonoma, will open in the fall.
Bernadette Morra is the former fashion editor of the Star and editor-in-chief of firstwaternews.com
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Burberry is going into the retail portion of Shangri-La Vancouver while in Toronto will most likely go somewhere in Yorkville village instead.
