Intimissimi Opens Miami Boutique

Intimissimi has landed in Miami.

The Italian lingerie and innerwear brand continues to expand its retail footprint, this time with a new permanent location in Miami’s posh Brickell neighborhood.

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To celebrate, the brand hosted an intimate dinner Wednesday evening at Italian eatery Il Gabbiano, overlooking the Miami harbor, not far from the new space. Guests arrived wearing the latest silk Intimissimi threads, including models Jasmine Tookes and fellow Victoria’s Secret alum Josephine Skriver.

Models Jasmine Tookes and Josephine Skriver arrive at the Intimissimi dinner in Miami, wearing Intimissimi. - Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Models Jasmine Tookes and Josephine Skriver arrive at the Intimissimi dinner in Miami, wearing Intimissimi. – Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

“I love that you can wear [the brand] to bed and you can wear it out as I am now,” Tookes told WWD, who arrived wearing Intimissimi’s black silk slip as a dress, alongside husband and Snapchat executive Juan David Borrero. “It’s super cute and comfy. I just threw on a blazer and a belt to make it a little bit more chic. And then I can take off the belt and the jacket and go right to bed.”

About two dozen other guests attended the dinner wearing their best Intimissimi innerwear as outerwear, including artist Robyn Blair, entrepreneur and cofounder of luxury jewelry brand Aureum Collective Cass Dimicco; Tosh Swimwear founder Jasmine Tosh Stewart; fashion entrepreneur Lisa DiCicco Cahue, and influencers such as Celine Farach, Ariadna Guttierrezary, Carolina Lindo and Gergana Ivanova, in addition to members of the Intimissimi C-suite.

Ariadna Gutierrezary at the Intimissimi dinner in Miami. - Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Ariadna Gutierrezary at the Intimissimi dinner in Miami. – Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

“We really want to conquer this market,” Laura Silvia Gesuito, country manager USA, told the table before dinner. “We hope you love our lingerie, our bras. We hope you feel comfortable.”

The vibe at the Intimissimi dinner in Miami. - Credit: Kellie Ell / WWD

The vibe at the Intimissimi dinner in Miami. – Credit: Kellie Ell / WWD

Kellie Ell / WWD

Intimissimi is owned by parent company Gruppo Calzedonia, which is based in Verona, Italy, and also includes sister brand Calzedonia, as well as the Tezenis, Falconeri, Atelier Eme, Intimissimi Uomo and Signorvino brands.

The retailer first took up residence Stateside in June 2017 with its Manhattan flagship.

Celine Farach wearing Intimissimi, at the Celine Farach Intimissimi dinner in Miami. - Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Celine Farach wearing Intimissimi, at the Celine Farach Intimissimi dinner in Miami. – Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Last fall, when Intimissimi and Calzedonia opened four new stores two sets of side-by-sides in the Los Angeles area Marcello Veronesi, chief executive officer of Calzedonia USA, told WWD that the plan was to grow the U.S. retail fleet by about 25 to 30 stores each year for the next few years.

“The expansion plan is something that’s pretty important for us,” Gesuito told WWD Wednesday evening. “We already signed something like 15 Intimissimi [leases] for the first five months of the year. So we’re in the pipeline to open the 25 to 30 we want to open every year, to have — in maybe three or four years — 150 Intimissimi [U.S.] stores in total.”

Intimissimi’s largest markets are currently Russia and several countries throughout Western Europe. “But the biggest market, where the company wants to put the most effort in over the next three years, is definitely the U.S.,” Gesuito said, noting that even amidst the pandemic, the company increased its total revenues.

The Intimissimi dinner in Miami. Model Jasmine Tookes, country manager USA Antonio Simonato, model Josephine Skriver and country Manager USA Laura Silvia Gesuito. - Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

The Intimissimi dinner in Miami. Model Jasmine Tookes, country manager USA Antonio Simonato, model Josephine Skriver and country Manager USA Laura Silvia Gesuito. – Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group / Taylor Brown

“[Women] are looking for something to always feel happy and refined,” Gesuito explained. “So we think it’s our moment to enter into the market. And even during the pandemic, even when life changed so much, we increased our total revenues.”

The Brickell City Centre boutique, located at 701 South Miami Avenue, is the ninth Intimissimi store in Florida, the first in the city of Miami. Gesuito said it is slightly smaller than other locations, with a more elevated approach, but added that it contains the same look and feel as other Intimissimi stores.

Inside the Intimissimi store in Miami. - Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group

Inside the Intimissimi store in Miami. – Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group

Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group

“We sometimes customize the stores [to individual markets],” she said. “But we really believe that it’s important that when you’re building brand awareness that you let the customers feel the same vibes, wherever you are. So the inside of the stores are very similar; the layouts are always aligned, because we want to be recognizable everywhere. We really believe that’s crucial, at least for this moment, in building brand awareness.”

The store will feature intimates, sleepwear and activewear, which launched in April.

Inside the Intimissimi store in Miami. “We want to offer a variety of bras, something sporty,” said Laura Silvia Gesuito, country manager USA. “But not necessarily so performance styles, because we believe that sleek lingerie is something where we’re really the best, more than active styles.” - Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group

Inside the Intimissimi store in Miami. “We want to offer a variety of bras, something sporty,” said Laura Silvia Gesuito, country manager USA. “But not necessarily so performance styles, because we believe that sleek lingerie is something where we’re really the best, more than active styles.” – Credit: Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group

Courtesy Photo Calzedonia Group

Gesuito added that the brand is looking for a space for sister brand Calzedonia in the same mall. Additional expansion plans for Intimissimi include stores in Chicago, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and a flagship in New York, opening during the upcoming New York Fashion Week, in addition to possible locations in Texas and Arizona. The brand also plans to expand to about 10 units in California by the end of 2022.

“Since we don’t have a big presence [in California], we’ve slowed down the investment in terms of communications in the area,” said Antonio Simonato, country manager USA. “As soon as we have more stores operating in that area, we are sure that we will also invest much more money in advertisements over there.

“Miami is one of the hottest markets that we have in the U.S. and Florida is actually one of the biggest markets that we already have that we can grow in terms of physical presence,” he continued. “We are thinking we need to open some more stores in the northern part [of Florida], such as Orlando, Tampa or Naples, [Fla]. It’s also a way to consolidate the market.

“The next steps for 2022 will be consolidating the areas where we’re already operating in, in Manhattan, Boston, Washington [state] and Florida,” Simonato said. “That’s a very challenging and aggressive plan, but this is the kind of rhythm that we should have in the next three to five years.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct inaccurate information provided by the company.

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