All eyes on Bal Harbour, the little seaside town that proved high fashion could thrive outside of Paris and New York. From the very beginning, founder Stanley Whitman did what no one else would dare to. At a time when open-air luxury retail was unheard of, Bal Harbour Shops set a new standard—combining visionary design, high fashion, and a destination-driven experience. The Shops is a tropical oasis of luxury retail set amongst the palms, where ponds are animated with beloved koi and turtles. Imagine forfeiting revenue-generating square-footage in the name of the client experience? Whitman placed the client first, and that remains his legacy.
By the 1980s, Bal Harbour Shops had become the highest-grossing retail center in the world, proving that high fashion could thrive outside New York and Paris. It redefined the luxury shopping experience, setting the blueprint for future retail destinations and remaining the ultimate symbol of aspirational elegance.
Over the decades, the Shops touted many firsts: the first Neiman Marcus store outside of Texas (1971), the first to house Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus under one roof (1976); when Gucci opened (1977) Bal Harbour Shops was its first “mall” location; and many more boundary-breaking moments.
But, perhaps the feather in the cap moment was in 1984 when, just two weeks after being presented at the Paris collections, 16 leading couture and ready to wear designers—including Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Dior, Guy Laroche, Courrèges, and Kenzo—presented a fashion show at the inaugural Gala Bal Harbour. This was the first time ever that the collections were shown in the US ahead of being shown in New York. “Move Over New York: Couturiers from France Like Bal Harbour” declared the Wall Street Journal, while another headline declared “Bal Harbour Shops had pulled off one of the biggest coups of the year.”
For more on the history of Bal Harbour Shops click the link in bio.
Meet me at Makoto. For decades, people-watching from just the right restaurant perch at Bal Harbour Shops has been a rite of passage—if you can snag the table. Dining at Bal Harbour Shops isn’t merely a meal, it’s an al fresco affair.
With its generations of patrons who have a deeply emotional connection to the Shops, it has been the location of choice for the most memorable moments: proposals, graduations, birthdays, and the almighty power lunch alike. After all, some of our best moments happen around a table; founder Stanley Whitman knew this, too, and for nearly 50 years he had his lunch at the Shops with his son Randy, and eventually grandson Matthew, joined the table.
When you’re dining at the Shops, you linger. Nobody comes here for a quick bite. You engage, you laugh, you indulge. It’s a nearly lost art form, but the languorous lunch is alive and well at Bal Harbour Shops. Celebrities linger unbothered, tastemakers, power brokers, first-timers, and first-name only habitués all have their place here. Yesterday’s Coco’s is today’s Carpaccio.
If our tables could talk… they’d need to sign an NDA!
For more on the history of Bal Harbour Shops click the link in bio.
You’ve arrived. Founder Stanley Whitman framed the entrance to Bal Harbour Shops with the porte-cochère as its first moment to pause—to see and be seen. Car culture was peaking as the Shops made its debut in 1965, and the palm frond-framed parking lot made for a dramatic point of entry for all the convertibles and Cadillacs zooming in from across South Florida.
“Our valet would rival any car show,” says Valet Manager Danny Luna, who has been with the Shops for 20 years, noting that on any day, Bugattis, vintage Porsches, myriad Maybachs, and plenty of custom, exotic vehicles—including the incredibly rare Lamborghini Veneno—populate the sun-dappled lot. The porte-cochère has been the setting for many a memorable moment: fathers gifting a new car to their daughters; pulling up in a brand-new Rolls-Royce just minutes after purchase; and the always-welcome scene of a second car in tow to manage all the shopping bags.
For more on the history of Bal Harbour Shops click the link in bio.
When it opened in 1965, Bal Harbour Shops looked unlike any other shopping center. What was once considered a bold experiment is now a globally admired model that continues to influence retail environments around the world.
But of course, charting new territory doesn’t come easy, and in order to do so, Bal Harbour Shops founder Stanley Whitman fired the leading retail architect of the time, Victor Gruen, and took design control into his own hands. Stanley’s vision was clear: this would be an open-air enclave, inward facing, a true environment with wide, runway-like walkways (to accommodate side-by-side shoppers in either direction), bubbling fountains, myriad palm trees and other flora—including in the parking lot, which many scoffed at—and charged for parking (a first!) so as to ensure that serious shoppers would have a place at Bal Harbour Shops.
Stanley secured the land where the Shops stand today, paying more than anyone else per square foot—and the construction to follow. “Only my mother and wife believed in me,” he would often quip. Stanley went on a decade-long cross-country tour of shopping centers from Hawaii to Maine, Washington to Texas, documenting everything he didn’t want to do. What he was left with was a manifesto of sorts. Stanley was going to create a destination for luxury shopping, with an environment as transformative as the fashion housed within its boutiques.
Today, amidst the world’s most coveted luxury brands and restaurants, the Shops’ tropical enclave counts more than 700 trees (and 80 species) in its canopy: Alexander, Thatch, Cabadae, and Macarthur festooned with orchids shade the interior, spreading their dramatic shadows across the Central Courtyard. At the perimeter, protecting the serene retail enclave, are Coconut, Sea Grape, and Ficus Trees, as well as Pauros Palms, Kapoks, Silk Floss, and Baobab Trees. And in 1999, the beloved koi and turtle ponds were built, delighting visitors of all ages as they pause to admire the gentle rhythm of life below the surface.
For more on the history of Bal Harbour Shops click the link in bio.
