Toronto-based multi-brand fashion retailer Studio D has relocated its storefront from the city’s Lawrence Park area to a new location in Bloor-Yorkville inside the Manulife Centre. The beautiful new store currently stocks womenswear and will be bringing in men’s collections this fall.
The concourse level Manulife Centre store spans about 900 square feet facing an underground passage leading to the beauty hall of the Holt Renfrew store across the street. Studio D’s store design features a mix of green and brown throughout as well as gold accents and an eye-catching chandelier near the main entrance.
Within the space is a mix of women’s ready-to-wear as well as bags, accessories, jewellery and unique footwear. Co-owner and entrepreneur Derrick Adams and co-owner Judith Adams designed the new store and have stocked it with hard-to-find brands, some not available elsewhere in Canada. Prices are in the ‘contemporary’ range.
The Manulife Centre store will soon stock menswear as well. Adams said that the store’s mix will be about 20% menswear when new lines come in this month, and in October other brands will be added to the new store.
Some of the hard-to-find footwear brands carried at Studio D are No Name and Sartore from Paris and Angelo Bervicato and Sebastian from Milan, which all have very limited distribution while being popular in Europe. Other brands include Culture, KAFFE, Denim Hunter for apparel, Charlotte Olympia footwear, and a range of bags by V73 from Venice, Italy. Studio D also has its own high-quality line of apparel that is stocked in the store, made locally utilizing luxurious fabrics. The Studio D Privé line of footwear is made in Italy.
Vanessa Lynch of DWSV Realty negotiated the lease deal on behalf of the retailer. Manufacturers Life owns and operates the Manulife Centre located at the southeast corner of Bloor and Bay Streets at 55 Bloor Street West.
Derrick and Judith Adams founded Studio D in 2014, with a storefront in the city’s affluent Lawrence Park neighbourhood at 2570 Yonge Street. They decided to relocate to Bloor-Yorkville after finding that much of their shopping base were heading to the Yorkville area to shop, which is home to some of the world’s biggest luxury brands in standalone stores as well as within the flagship Holt Renfrew store across the street.
Derrick worked at Holt Renfrew for 25 years specializing in footwear prior to founding his own retail concept. He was responsible for assisting the Prada and Miu Miu buy every year and won numerous awards as a top sales representative.
Judith has an equal amount of luxury expertise under her belt, working as a ready-to-wear specialist at Hermès and as an assistant director at Chanel in years past.
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