From Tory Burch to Bottega, 5 Must-Visit Stores in Miami's Design District

Much like Melrose Place in West Hollywood and SoHo in New York, the Design District in Miami is quickly establishing itself as a global shopping destination for the aesthetically driven, design-minded, and fashion-obsessive among us. Within the last year alone, ACNE Studios, Cult Gaia, and Nodaleto have all opened up their doors in the area alongside established luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci who have called the District home for nearly a decade.

While the shopping is really good, this neighborhood is hardly exclusive to fashion brands. It's also a hub for art (the Institute for Contemporary Art Museum is just steps away from the clothing stores), interior design (Fendi Casa and B&B Italia also call it home), and food (restaurants Contessa, Mandolin and Swan bring crowds of stylish diners).

On a recent trip to Florida's cultural capital, I decided to acquaint myself with the Design District and I spent an afternoon browsing its best stores both new and old. As someone with a keen appreciation for art and design, I was mesmerized by the store design and architecture of these spaces as much as the clothing and accessories themselves. From Bottega Veneta's dusty pink spiral staircase to the silver couch inside the Cult Gaia store, the stores I popped into were, simply put, an experience.

Ahead, I'm diving into the five best stores I checked out in Miami's Design District and highlighting the key buys that wowed me from each of them. Bookmark these names for your next visit if you know what's good for you.

Leave it to Jasmin Larian to create an otherworldly space for Cult Gaia's first-ever retail store. As soon as I stepped inside, I was surrounded by racks of the brand's candy-hued resort wear and crystal-adorned accessories arranged on racks and tables that deserve to have their own showroom, too. At the center of the space was an open seating area complete with a silver foil couch and a bench made entirely from strings of silver beads.

While so many brands are just now hopping on the Design District bandwagon, Tory Burch was in the earliest wave of brands who flocked to Miami. Its sprawling two-floor setup feels so soothing with its travertine tables and Mediterranean olive trees that house a tightly edited array of its bags, shoes, ready-to-wear, jewelry, and even a display of the brand's home collection. There are a few elements that give the store a distinctly local feel and one of them is a gallery wall of photographs that Burch commissioned from Miami-based artist Clara Toro during Art Basel in December.

I was also curious to know how the brand's much-talked-about new visual direction was translating to its retail stores, and when I visited, they had just finished redoing the entire exterior to reflect a more muted and organic energy.

For its first-ever brick-and-mortar outpost, the Parisian shoe label chose none other than Miami to plant its retail roots. It opened this past December during Art Basel and features these red velvet loungers that are both sexy and fantastical. The scooped-out shape makes you want to lie on your side and gossip with a friend, martini in hand.

This might seem counterintuitive for someone who writes about Bottega Veneta quite often, but I try to avoid wandering into its stores for the sake of my bank account. On this occasion, I mustered up my strongest self-control and strolled in (purely for research purposes!). I have to say that before I even stepped foot inside I was already impressed—the very door handle to the store is blown-up interpretation of the gold hardware you'll find on some BV bags. I was in for a treat.

Miami-based brand Alexis was an absolute delight. I had never tried on anything from them before although I've been a fan of its pretty dresses on Saks, Revolve, and Nordstrom for a while now. While I'll dive into the cute clothes I saw and tried on in-store in a minute, let me just say that as someone who often tries on and reviews clothes for a living, the quality, fit, and attention to detail at Alexis is truly unmatched. These are forever clothes that are excellent investments.

Wedding guest dressing and events are what they do best, kind of like a Cult Gaia meets Zimmermann, with a sophisticated overtone that makes it feel less trendy but no less exciting.