Venezuelan fashion designer Angel Sanchez, known for his evening gowns and bridal collection, is launching his first showroom and studio in Miami’s MiMo District, The Real Deal has learned.
The studio, which will be a collaboration with interior designer Christopher Coleman, marks the latest upscale shop to open in the increasingly gentrifying Biscayne corridor.
Sanchez and Coleman are leasing the entire two-story, 1,950-square-foot building at 7521 Biscayne Boulevard, Mauricio Zapata, partner in Chariff Realty Group told TRD. Terms of the four-year lease are $51 per square foot, triple net, Zapata said.
The studio, to be called Sanchez + Coleman Studio, will offer a collection of evening and bridal wear, as well as art, furniture and design objects in a gallery setting.
Sanchez, who is an architect by training, lives in New York and operates his showroom there. He told TRD that he chose Miami to open the studio because he has Latin American customers who have homes in Miami and currently have to travel to New York to see him. Also, for the past eight years, he and Coleman have taken on residential interior design projects for clients in Miami, as well as in Caracas and New York. In South Florida, the two have projects in Jupiter, Sunny Isles, on Brickell and in Miami Beach, he said.
“We decided this time to put our two studios in one and take care of those projects in Miami,” Sanchez told TRD. He said he hopes to open by early September.
“I will edit my own collection, my favorite pieces, and have a presentation of my bridal and evening wear,” he added. “It’s not a store where you go directly to buy. It has to be by appointment, so I will go down there every two or three weeks.”
The main floor will be devoted to fashion, where his cocktail dresses will be priced between $3,000 to $4,500; evening dresses from $4,500 to $7,000; and bridal gowns from $7,000 to $20,000 or more. The mezzanine level above will be focused on interior design, he said.
“Miami will have the best of both evening and bridal ready-to-wear,” Sanchez said. “And I will go down there to take care of haute couture clients who want something very unique and special.”
The duo are also developing new interior design products, like rugs and wallpaper, which they will show in the Miami studio.
“It will be a showroom and studio where we can pick pieces that we love and we want to introduce to my clients and Chris’ clients in more space,” Sanchez said. The partners also want to explore doing new commercial, restaurant and hotel design projects.
Sanchez found his space while staying at the Vagabond Hotel. He saw the remodeled building and liked the idea of having his own “house.”
MiMo investor Alex Karakhanian bought the freestanding building in January for $1.45 million, Miami-Dade County records show. Zapata brokered the deal on the landlord side; Lisa Ljung from InvesTeam Realty in Doral represented Sanchez and Coleman.
The MiMo District, which runs on Biscayne Boulevard from 50th Street to 77th Street, has increasingly become a target for investors and developers as it attracts new restaurants and retail tenants.
Trina Turk and Mr. Turk were among the first upscale retailers to lease space in the district. The two shops are now building out their space at 7200 Biscayne Boulevard.
And earlier this month, designer Julian Chang opened his shop at 6669 Biscayne Boulevard.
“This confirms the trend that is happening in the area,” Zapata told TRD, “bringing high-end retailers that are putting an eye on this exclusive area.”