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 centre, 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, who provided renderings for this article.

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 1/3 to 1/2 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.

Mr. 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% 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 Eleventy locations currently planned, that could change if appropriate partnerships present. Mr. Schneiderman explained that Canada represents an impressive 35% of Eleventy’s North American business, and that even despite challenges to the Calgary economy, Eleventy’s value proposition has been well-received, for example.

Toronto’s Yorkville Village is nearing the completion of a substantial multi-million dollar overhaul, that includes new interiors, new retailers, and a variety of services catering to affluent shoppers in the area. Eleventy is the second freestanding luxury brand to be announced for Yorkville Village — UK-based Belstaff recently announced that its first Canadian store will be opening in the mall this fall, in partnership with the Zappacosta family (who also operate philip and Nanni locations at Yorkville Village). We’ll be profiling other substantial changes to Yorkville Village soon, as the shopping centre will become unlike any other in the country in terms of its tenant and service mix.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: June 8, 2017