Alaïa Has Opened Two New Boutiques on the West Coast
Alaïa’s big year in America rolls on, with a new boutique slated to open Tuesday in South Coast Plaza, a luxury shopping destination in Costa Mesa, Calif.
It comes two weeks after the Paris-based fashion house planted a new boutique at Fontainebleau, a luxury hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, and a little more than three months after Pieter Mulier, Alaïa’s creative director since 2021, paraded his winter-spring 2025 collection at the Guggenheim Museum during New York Fashion Week.
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Both of the West Coast boutiques have been conceived by Swedish design studio Halleroed, which also did Toteme’s L.A. flagship.
According to Alaïa, “the timeless essence of the maison meets a contemporary and minimal atmosphere” in the two new retail venues.
“The vision behind these spaces is defined by organic shapes and sharp lines, echoing the same language found in Alaïa’s iconic pieces,” the brand said in a release shared first with WWD. “Halleroed’s design philosophy, reflected in the use of pale leather and Carrara marble, creates an intimate yet dynamic environment where Alaïa’s exceptional craftsmanship engages with modern architecture.”
Each store has a unique environment: the Fontainebleau location boasting high ceilings dripping with columnar stalactites, and furnished with a curved, modular curved sofa from the ’70s; the South Coast Plaza boutique featuring a rounded, leather-clad room with a skylight and custom-cut marble tiles that contrast with the circular architecture.
According to Alaïa, “both boutiques evoke the evolving dialogue with contemporary architecture and culture that Pieter Mulier continues within the maison.”
Historically a wholesale-driven brand, Alaïa now counts about 15 boutiques and shop-in-shops, plus six boutiques operated with partners in Korea and China.
Last year, it opened a sleek, gallery-like boutique in New York City at 149 Mercer Street in the SoHo district.
The brand has been a sensation in the U.S. since 1982, when Bergdorf Goodman invited founder Azzedine Alaïa to stage a fashion show in New York.
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