Westfield UTC’s luxury expansion has unveiled two more names: Italian fashion house Bulgari and Brunello Cucinelli, an Italian maker of soft cashmere and silk scarves, calfskin handbags and refined clothing.
Brunello Cucinelli will open next to Hermès this summer, and Bulgari is opening near the future Chanel boutique, also in the mall’s couture corner.
In that same area, next door to the future home of the Teleferic Barcelona restaurant near Din Tai Fung, Carolina Herrera will be one of the first new luxury boutiques to open, with signs announcing its arrival in “Early Spring.” It is San Diego’s first Carolina Herrera store, though Fashion Valley has a CH Carolina Herrera.
Luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer plans to open in the mall’s central Palm Plaza, with the water fountain and outdoor seating, where OluKai had been.
Other brands coming later to the luxury wing, in the mall’s northwest corner, include Saint Laurent, Tom Ford and Zegna. UTC already has Hermès, Tiffany & Co. and a Chanel fragrance shop, plus upscale apparel and fragrances from BA&SH, Zadig & Voltaire, Diptyque, Le Labo and Kate Spade New York.
Changing tenants
Louis Vuitton moved out of the space next to Hermes, making way for Brunello Cucinelli. Three other stores have closed, in tandem with moves by their brands to close some or all stores nationwide.
Allbirds’s Westfield UTC store closed in January. Its Carlsbad location is also gone, according to a map listing. The shoemaker, founded in New Zealand as a Kickstarter venture in 2014, is returning to its roots and shuttering all but its outlet brick-and-mortar stores, according to Retail Dive.
Ecco, founded in 1963, has closed its Carlsbad outlet and the Fashion Valley and Westfield UTC stores, according to a map listing. For in-person shopping, its shoes are available at other retailers, including Macy’s and Nordstrom.
Stance, which sells socks, was acquired last year by the private equity backed Marquee Brands, whose portfolio includes Martha Stewart, Laura Ashley, Sur La Table, BCBG, Ben Sherman, Body Glove and Dakine, and shifted its business model from online and in-store sales to licensing. In its place is Atlas, which sells items from fashion startups. Its website has an application for brands that want to sell their items in the Westfield UTC store.