Aquazzura, the luxury shoe brand that has been worn by stars including Nicole Kidman, Rihanna and Dua Lipa, is stepping into New Bond Street and joining a host of retailers opening stores there in 2023.
The Florence-based company founded by Edgardo Osorio has agreed a 10-year lease for a 2,000 square feet store where it is set to trade over three floors at 26 New Bond Street. It will neighbour existing retailers Jimmy Choo and Balenciaga.
The deal comes at a busy time for 11-year-old Aquazzura, which in March launched its first bag collection. It runs a number of stores as well as being stocked at over 300 retailers in 58 countries and online.
Its new branch is set to open in June, and Anthony Selwyn who is co-head of prime global retail at Savills, acting on behalf of the landlord, a private Hong Kong investor, said: “This area of the street has seen significant recent activity, and is currently the most desirable location for luxury fashion apparel and accessory brands.”
The luxury goods sector has shown resilience and reported high demand post-pandemic, even with global headwinds.
This year a flurry of deals have been inked by brands to open Bond Street shops, including high-end candle company Diptyque and fashion label Dsquared2.
Dee Corsi, chief executive of business lobby group New West End Company said: “Bond Street’s status as an iconic location for global luxury flagships has been strengthened in recent weeks, thanks to a string of announcements from luxury brands.”
Corsi added: “The West End has an enduring appeal as a global shopping destination and international visitors are returning at an increasing rate with overall volume set to be back to pre-pandemic highs by this summer. We should though be looking beyond what we had, to what we could achieve, and sadly the pace of growth is being held back by the loss of tax-free shopping.” She said: “It is high time for the Chancellor to back both Bond Street and Britain by bringing back tax-free.”
