Toronto’s Bloor Street luxury run is seeing an unprecedented number of luxury brands opening flagship stores. Last week, Kering-owned Saint Laurent opened a 10,400 square foot location at 110 Bloor Street West, featuring a brutalist facade and updated design concept.

The new store features the full range of Saint Laurent’s ready-to-wear for women and men as well as bags, footwear, accessories, jewellery and other categories. The store’s striking concrete brutalist facade is meant to be “raw and refined” according to Saint Laurent, featuring a corduroy imprint that was inspired by architecture from the 1970s. The overall design concept is new and was conceptualized by Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello, who joined the brand in 2016.

The store’s interior is stunning — Saint Laurent provided photos for this article showcasing snippets of the space and materials used, though unfortunately the brand did not authorize or provide photos of the store showing product inside or its overall flow which consists of several rooms showcasing product, as well as art work.

Marble is used throughout the store — giallo siena and cipolino marbles were used for niches, while brown spider marble was used for benches. Black cosmic and golden spider marble was used on tables in the store. Other signature features in the new Bloor Street Saint Laurent include smoked glass counters, marble and glass display tables, black mirror finishes, floating shelves and concrete columns, and wool felt curtains and rugs that are meant to add a soft touch to the space.

Unique furniture pieces in the store include two tall sculptures by Canadian artist David Armstrong Six and a Rie & Yiouri Augousti chair, in addition to a Carlo Scarpa sofa, a pair of Carl Gustaf Hiort Af Ornas armchairs, and Osvaldo Borsani sidetables that are all located in the VIP room in the store.

The Bloor Street Saint Laurent flagship takes security seriously — customers have to be buzzed in by a security guard, which is something being seen more with luxury stores globally.

Arlin Markowitz of CBRE’s Urban Retail Team negotiated the lease deal on behalf of Saint Laurent and ProWinko. ProWinko Canada owns the retail podium of 110 Bloor Street West. Markowitz and the CBRE Urban Retail Team co-listed the space, as well as other retail spaces at 110 Bloor, with Philip Traikos and Carmen Siegel of Cushman & Wakefield.

The flagship opening of Saint Laurent shows confidence in the Bloor Street luxury run which was once known as the Mink Mile. An unprecedented number of luxury brands have opened large storefronts along the street over the past couple of years, and even more will come.

Arlin Markowitz of CBRE said, “The opening of one of the largest Saint Laurant boutiques in North America in Toronto is an incredible vote of confidence in our market from Kering and the team at Saint Laurant. Bloor Street is trending like no time before in recent memory, and I am fortunate to have been a part of the transformation. The size of the store speaks volumes to the confidence in our country’s best luxury retail node.“

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