ELEVENTY TO OPEN FIRST NORTH AMERICAN STORE

Italian luxury fashion brand Eleventy will open its first freestanding North American store this fall, in Toronto’s Yorkville Village. It’s the latest boutique announcement for the upscale shopping center, which is seeing a substantial overhaul and the addition of exciting new tenants.

The 2,200 square-foot store will be the first on the continent to carry both men’s and women’s Eleventy collections, and will be operated in partnership with local fashion retailer TNT The New Trend. Eleventy’s new Toronto store will be designed by Parisotto + Formenton.

Eleventy was founded in 2007 by Marco Baldassari and Paolo Zuntini, and is particularly known for its upscale casual fashion design with a soft sartorial style. It has a network of 19 mono-brand boutiques in Europe and Asia, and is sold in over 500 specialty and department stores worldwide. The line is relatively new to North America — Eleventy USA launched in 2016, and it’s carried in upscale retailers such as Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom, Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue. Earlier this spring, an Eleventy men’s shop-in-store opened at Calgary’s Holt Renfrew, in a space previously occupied by Prada.

According to Geoff Schneiderman, president of Eleventy North America, the brand’s quality is on par with some of the world’s top luxury brands, but at prices that are one-third to half that of pricier competitors. Eleventy strives to provide “the best possible quality at the best possible price,” he said. Collections are made in Italy, including fashions, footwear and accessories.

Schneiderman explained that Eleventy first chose to work with wholesale partners for its North American expansion, and that its partnership with Toronto-based TNT resulted in the opportunity for a 50/50 percent partnership to open a freestanding boutique — a model that could be expanded to other cities. The Toronto store will feature warm interiors with imported Italian-made fixtures and millwork.

While there are no other Canadian or American Eleventy locations currently planned, that could change if appropriate partnerships present. Schneiderman explained that Canada represents an impressive 35 percent of Eleventy’s North American business, and that even despite challenges to the Calgary economy, Eleventy’s value proposition has been well-received.