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Once-shabby neighborhood is booming while some other High Streets across the country still struggle

MIAMI—When Miami developer Craig Robins welcomed LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault to his office in the city’s Design District, there was little about the gritty neighborhood to suggest it would ever become a mecca for luxury goods.

The dozen blocks consisted of squat, single-story concrete warehouses, furniture showrooms, and empty lots. But the two men shared a vision that the area could evolve into a SoHo of the south. By the end of the meeting, Arnault agreed to form a new company with Robins that would buy properties in the district and transform them into stores featuring posh brands from the French company and others.

“Everyone thought we were crazy and that it would never work,” Robins said.

Now, 14 years later, the Design District houses LVMH’s most recognizable names, from Louis Vuitton to Loewe. Their suite of luxury brands left the nearby Bal Harbour luxury mall to relocate to the District. Rival European luxury brands, including Hermès and Chanel, also added flagship stores to the Design District.

The once-shabby neighborhood has emerged as one of the world’s most popular luxury hubs, booming while some other High Streets still struggle. Luxury corridors such as New York’s Meatpacking District and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile have experienced double-digit decreases in foot traffic over the past four years through 2023. In the Design District, foot traffic jumped 47% over that period, according to Placer.ai data analyzed by CBRE research.

One of the keys to the neighborhood’s success has been mixing its 30 acres of retail with outdoor sculptures and murals. The flagship luxury stores resemble art galleries. At the Celine store, creative director Hedi Slimane recently designed a mirrored sculpture that is both an art installation and a functional spiral staircase that leads customers to the second floor.

Asking rents for retail space in the Miami neighborhood have risen 200% since 2019, according to real-estate firm JLL, by far the steepest increase of any North American prime retail corridor over that time period.

For certain brands, Miami is their bestselling city, said Michael Burke, head of LVMH Fashion. “And for others, the Design District is their top store in all of America.”

Robins has also been instrumental in expanding Miami’s cultural scene, helping launch the Art Basel Miami Beach fair and ushering in new galleries and museums to the Design District.

He sits at the nexus of the brash new Miami, which after realizing its aspirations to become more of a cultural capital is increasingly focusing on the business and financial elite that have flocked to the city. Outposts of popular New York City restaurants and exclusive membership clubs now define the city as much as the surf and party scene.

“These financiers, tech entrepreneurs, would be unlikely to move to Miami if you didn’t have this exciting urban culture,” said Jeffrey Deitch, of the Jeffrey Deitch gallery in Los Angeles and New York. “Craig is one of the key people in inventing this exciting new Miami.”

That blend of art and finance works for Robins, 61 years old, who feels as comfortable dressed in a jean jacket with a leopard-print collar, as he does in a suit and tie.

He grew up on Miami’s Star Island and was exposed to art and commerce at an early age. His father, Jerry Robins, was a real-estate developer. The chairman of Miami-Dade County’s Art in Public Places, one of the first public art programs in the country, was his neighbor. When he learned about Robins’s interest in art, he enlisted him to join the board when he was only 23 years old.

Robins got his start developing Miami Beach’s art deco district while studying law at the University of Miami. He later partnered with Tony Goldman, the developer who revitalized SoHo in the ’70s. Goldman also helped transform Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood from an industrial district into one frequented by younger people and featuring galleries and large-scale outdoor murals.

In the late 1990s, Robins used his own savings to acquire properties in the Design District at an average of $5 a square foot. He offered free space for artists and curators to display their works, and he brought in high-end furniture showrooms.

In 2010, Arnault was flying from Los Angeles to Paris when Burke elected to reroute his boss’s flight through Miami to present him with the “crazy idea” of investing in the Design District, something Robins had suggested at an Art Basel party a few years before. Arnault and Robins, both avid art collectors, lingered in Robins’s office over works by the conceptual artist John Baldessari.

Real-estate prices were especially cheap then after the 2008-09 financial crisis had caused Miami property values to plummet. By the end of a three-hour conversation, the LVMH chief agreed to be 50% partner with Robins on a company now called Miami Design District Associates. In 2014 Brookfield joined as an equity partner.

Robins spends most of his time in the Design District, curating both public and private events, including concerts open to the public. On a recent afternoon, he strolled through the neighborhood in a Dior Homme suit and his signature thick-framed glasses. He greeted friends while pointing to sculptural works throughout the neighborhood.

He strolled past two museums free to the public, including ICA, for which Miami Design District Associates donated the land. Of the 14 Michelin stars recently awarded to Miami, the Design District’s restaurants landed four of them. A private club, called The Moore, recently opened inside the historic Moore Building.

“Miami was not thought of as an inventor of global cultural content,” Robins said. “I really wanted to change that.”

Biden administration push to decarbonise draws in companies from Sweden, Denmark and Germany

Swedish steelmaker SSAB is among the European winners of a series of US government investments in an $6bn effort to decarbonise manufacturing, across high polluting sectors such as steel, cement, chemicals and fuel refining.

The $500mn in funding earmarked for an SSAB commercial-scale steel plant using hydrogen in Mississippi is one of 33 deals by a new agency set up under the Department of Energy, as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to steer industrial strategy and stimulate the manufacturing sector.

Of the five largest awards in the portfolio, each worth up to $500mn, three will go to operations with parent companies headquartered in Europe. The companies will match the US government investment, in a cost share.

Since the 2022 passage of the Biden landmark climate legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), European lawmakers have voiced concerns about the incentives-driven pull of green investment to the US.

The SSAB investment in the US comes as European steelmakers struggle to source the hydrogen needed for less carbon-intensive production. Final investment decisions for projects planned in Sweden and Germany have been delayed. In November, SSAB shelved plans for a hydrogen facility at Finland’s Raahe steelworks.

Heavy industry is responsible for about a quarter of US greenhouse gas emissions. The new US agency, known as the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations within the Department of Energy, also awarded German cement manufacturer Heidelberg Materials up to $500mn to install carbon capture and storage facilities at a plant in Indiana.

The National Cement Company of California, owned by French materials group Vicat, won up to $500mn for a proposal to become “carbon neutral”, including by using carbon capture and replacing some fossil fuels used for energy with “locally sourced biomass from agricultural byproducts such as pistachio shells.”

Copenhagen-listed Ørsted, which last month announced that it would cut as many as 800 jobs and withdraw from key offshore wind markets in Europe, received up to $100mn to produce hydrogen-derived alternative fuels for shipping.

More than $1.6bn of the awards involve hydrogen, and come on top of IRA’s tax credit of up to $3 a kilogramme of clean hydrogen, as well as its subsidies for clean energy production.

In some cases, the projects receiving funding will provide a fillip to sectors that have seen few recent groundbreakings. Century Aluminum, for example, will receive up to $500mn for a plant that the US agency says would be the US’s first aluminium smelter built in 45 years.

Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs steel was awarded up to $500mn to replace one of its Middletown blast furnaces to be “hydrogen-ready”, among other measures. The company last year delayed plans to reline its blast furnace, extending the life of that equipment. Instead, the government investment suggests that the company will replace the blast furnace with the direct reduction process which is more energy efficient.

The US’s move to greener steel production has also had the effect of shifting production south, to states with less organised labour. Cleveland Cliffs’ proposal would be the first blast furnace to close and be replaced by cleaner technology, while keeping a local, unionised workforce.

Other funding recipients are set to take advantage of expansive hydrogen subsidies. ExxonMobil was awarded $331.9mn to substitute hydrogen for natural gas at a Baytown, Texas olefins production facility.

Consumer goods companies also received support. Unilever was awarded $20.9mn to make lower-carbon ice cream for brands such as Talenti and Ben & Jerry’s.

Rebecca Dell, a veteran of the Obama-era Department of Energy, who now directs the non-profit ClimateWorks Foundation’s industry program, said the funding catalyses projects that fall between early-stage ventures and loans for proven technologies to achieve commercial scale.

“This portfolio is exactly what I would want DOE to do,” Dell said. “This is great. They are doing all the things.”

According to a new analyst note from Jeff Pu at Haitong International Tech Research, seen by 9to5Mac, Apple is planning changes to the A18 Pro chip specifically for on-device artificial intelligence. Pu also writes that Apple is ramping up A18 Pro chip production earlier than usual.

The news comes as we continue to learn more about Apple’s plans for AI features this year, including how it will balance on-device versus cloud-based solutions.

iPhone 16 Pro’s new AI-focused chip

In the investor note, Pu, who is often a reliable source for Apple chip rumors, says:

According to our supply chain checks, we are seeing growing demand for Apple’s A18, while its A17 Pro volume has stabilized since Feb. We note Apple’s A18 Pro, the 6-GPU version, will feature a larger die area (compared to A17 Pro), which could be a trend for edge AI computing.

Increasing the die area of a chip means that it can accommodate more transistors and specialized components, generally allowing increased. On the other hand, as die size increases, so do the risks of defects and design flaws. It could also impact energy efficiency and heat dissipation. This is the balance Apple will have to strike as it ramps up A18 Pro production ahead of the iPhone 16’s launch later this year.

Edge AI computing, meanwhile, refers to artificial intelligence that is processed directly on device as opposed to in the cloud. Apple is believed to be taking a split approach to its AI features this year, relying on cloud infrastructure (potentially in partnership with Google) for some features, while running other features completely on device.

Here’s a great explanation of edge AI from IBM:

Simply stated, edge AI, or “AI on the edge“, refers to the combination of edge computing and artificial intelligence to execute machine learning tasks directly on interconnected edge devices. Edge computing allows for data to be stored close to the device location, and AI algorithms enable the data to be processed right on the network edge, with or without an internet connection. This facilitates the processing of data within milliseconds, providing real-time feedback.

This isn’t the first report to suggest Apple has changes to the A18 chip planned particularly focused on artificial intelligence. A report last month suggest that the A18 will “greatly increase the number of built-in AI computing cores” with a more powerful Neural Engine.

Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are rumored to are expected to feature a version of the A18 chip this year. Currently, the iPhone 15 uses the A16 chip and the iPhone 15 Pro uses the A17 Pro chip. Jeff Pu’s report today seems to suggest that only the A18 Pro, destined for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, will feature the AI-focused changes.

The former owner of Belstaff has died in a motor scooter accident at age 42.

MILAN — Michele Malenotti, a former creative director of Belstaff and managing director of Matchless London, has died in a motor scooter accident at age 42.

According to press and police reports, Malenotti was returning home at 3 a.m. on Saturday after a game of padel with friends when he lost control of the vehicle in a roundabout between Venice and Treviso.

Motorcycles were his lifelong passion, inherited from his father Franco Malenotti, the chairman of Matchless London, the heritage British motorcycle and clothing brand. The Malenotti family bought the storied brand, which includes classic motorcycle jackets such as the “Osborne,” the “Notting Hill” and the “Kensington,” worn by the likes of Gerard Butler, Daniel Craig, Samuel L. Jackson, Harrison Ford, Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson and Cara Delevingne.

Before Matchless London, the Malenotti family owned outerwear specialist Belstaff, known for its waxed cotton biker garb, which was sold in 2011 to Labelux Group in a $161 million transaction. Previously, Belstaff was part of the Malenotti family-owned Clothing Company. In 2007, Clothing Company, which at the time also controlled the Capalbio and Black Prince brands and reported sales of around $120 million, was eyeing an initial public offering, which fizzled with the 2008 global financial crisis.

Michele Malenotti and his brother Manuele developed solid ties with Hollywood for Belstaff.

Over the years, the brand’s jackets have appeared in around 100 movies including, most famously, in “Mission Impossible,” worn by Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, “Real Steel,” “Twilight,” “X-Men: First Class,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “War Horse.”

Similarly, in 2017, Matchless London teamed with Arnold Schwarzenegger on a limited-edition collection of three menswear staples, all made in Italy, following a collaboration with the actor on “The Terminator.”

In 2015, confessing he was a fan of “Star Wars,” Malenotti spearheaded a Matchless London capsule collection offering items based on the popular sci-fi film series.

Miramax used a number of Belstaff styles for 2004’s “The Aviator,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Former Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele is said to be negotiating a contract with the Rome-based couture house.

MILAN — It may be a cliché, but the show must go on. The fashion industry is still digesting the news of Pierpaolo Piccioli’s sudden departure from Valentino after 25 years, but the rumor mill is already in overdrive as to who will succeed him.

On Friday, WWD was the first to report that Piccioli was exiting the Rome-based couture house based on information from market sources, who also believe that former Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele will succeed him and is thick in talks and negotiating a contract with Valentino.

Michele could not be reached for comment.

According to sources, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, chief executive officer of Valentino parent Mayhoola, last year wished for Michele to become creative director of Walter Albini but the deal did not materialize as the proposal included an investment in the project, which the designer declined. Last May, Bidayat revealed it had acquired the intellectual property and a substantial part of the archives of Albini, with the goal of reviving the brand. Bidayat is controlled by Alsara Investment Group, which was founded by Rachid.

“This time around, the Valentino project would be much more interesting for Michele, as it would also allow him to design couture collections, and it is no secret that he needs a well-oiled machine behind him to support his research and creativity, with skilled designers and artisans, the best fabrics and big pockets to turn his ideas into reality,” said another source. “Also, Valentino is not as huge in terms of sales as Gucci, so the pressure is different, and, on the contrary, there is strong growth potential.” For context, as per the latest figures available, Valentino’s sales in 2022 reached 1.42 billion euros, up 15 percent from 2021. Gucci’s sales last year were 10.5 billion euros.

One source pointed out that Valentino’s CEO Jacopo Venturini and Michele aren’t strangers, as they met when the former was executive vice president, merchandising and global markets at Gucci. “They worked well together, of course they may have had some disagreements — creativity versus business demands — but it was a good relationship.” Venturini was named CEO of Valentino in May 2020.

Michele’s non-compete is said expire this month and Valentino needs a designer pronto to avoid sitting out too many seasons. After all, the story goes that Michele’s first collection for Gucci under the lead of then-chairman and CEO Marco Bizzarri in 2015 was assembled in only a few days, following the sudden exit of his predecessor Frida Giannini a week earlier. Additionally, Michele is said to be determined to continue to live in Rome and has recently been restoring his new home in a medieval building in the city, Palazzo Scapucci.

Valentino said Friday that Piccioli’s successor would be named soon, which points to some speed in the process. The designer has already exited the company, making his fall 2024 all-black collection shown during Paris Fashion Week his swansong for the brand.

Sources are also speculating about the future of Piccioli, saying he could be next in line at Balenciaga to succeed Demna, or at Givenchy, now designed by a team after the exit of Matthew M. Williams. At the same time, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s artistic director of women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories collections, could also be eyeing a return to Rome, either at Valentino or at Fendi, sources believe.

No matter — despite all the white noise, Piccioli’s departure was met with surprise and sadness.

On his official Instagram page, Valentino Garavani thanked Piccioli “first and foremost” for his “friendship, respect and support.” He continued by saying: “You’re the only designer I know who hasn’t tried to distort the codes of a major brand by imposing new ones and the megalomania of a ridiculous ego.”

He recalled how when he retired he said he wanted to leave the party while it’s still full of people. “And the same happens for you PP, the party is full of people and everyone applauds you. Thank you Amico!”

“What an extraordinary Valentino you have made. What a gift to everyone there, and to all of us,” wrote Marc Jacobs.

“Grande Pierpaolo,” spelled out in all caps by Donatella Versace. “You made magic you brought elegance, fantasy and drama. You honored a master while continuing to nurture your own Voice and ignited the next generation of customers.”

“Sending love and respect,” posted Zac Posen.

The list goes on, with fond messages from everyone from Silvia Venturini Fendi to Sabato De Sarno, who worked with Piccioli from 2009, eventually becoming fashion director overseeing men’s and women’s collections before being promoted to creative director of Gucci last year.

Piccioli “will be sorely missed: his vision of beauty, his sense of color and materials, his aristocratic perception of fashion will remain indelible pages in the history of fashion,” said with some sadness Alessandro Maria Ferreri, founder and CEO of luxury consultancy The Style Gate, praising the designer’s respect for the heritage of Valentino, almost singular in this industry compared to his peers, he remarked.

“Sentimentally,” he touted Piccioli’s ability to offer “beauty and dreams,” but “rationally, as an adviser and entrepreneur.”

Ferreri acknowledged that “when the going gets tough, practical decisions must be taken and this was not a surprise,” admitting there had been “several signals [pointing to a need for a change] in the market for a while, despite the strong aesthetic emotions provided at each show.”

He gave a thumbs-up to the idea of Michele joining Valentino. “It would be amazing and, as Martin Margiela told John Galliano arriving as creative director of the brand, ‘take it and make it yours.’”

Bernstein’s Luca Solca clearly differed. “I don’t believe Alessandro Michele may be a good fit for the Valentino brand DNA. I think they will have to look further afield.”

He also said he thought “it was time for Valentino to look for new creative energy. The market hasn’t seen a sequel to the Rock Stud success, and the brand needs new ideas.”

Giovanna Brambilla, partner at Milan-based executive search firm Value Search, drew a series of comparisons between Piccioli and Michele: Both are very much connected to their roots and their hometowns, both initially trained at Fendi with Karl Lagerfeld, and both have professionally grown in their respective brands and brought “great success with their talent.”

Both departed in surprise moves, even if observers wondered whether Piccioli’s all-black collection — the “color of goodbyes” — for fall 2024 “was a prelude to major changes” for a designer who loves color, said Brambilla, who was particularly struck by “the sincere gratitude that both expressed to their teams” in their exit statements, acknowledging that teamwork alone can “realize dreams.”

Brambilla underscored that both Michele and Piccioli used this specific term. “These great creative directors are telling us that in the fashion industry, which moves billions in sales and reports among the highest multiples, there is a need for the intangible, for that magic alchemy that creates and delivers dreams.”

These designers are telling us that “it is not enough to think of today, of quarterly results and investors’ expectations,” as surely these must be taken into consideration, but this industry in particular is different, “it is fueled by dreams, turned into reality by the expert hands of artisans.”

Brambilla concluded by wondering if the business model that has not changed for decades still makes sense, with seasonal collections and shows and special projects supported by enormous investments that “often run out very quickly.” A few brands and designers are breaking this mold, she said, citing Phoebe Philo with her new brand and Moncler with Genius, wondering if these uncertain times will push more companies to radically rethink their strategies.

Rodgy Guerrera, founder of boutique headhunter Rodgy Guerrera & Partners, said how following the pandemic, “the luxury world is filled with uncertainties,” which has led to the success of the quiet luxury trend, as customers seek “intrinsic creativity in the research of fabrics, shapes, craftsmanship and details. And this will be the challenge for creative directors, imagining a new form of creativity.”

As a successor to Piccioli, Guerrera believes a designer attentive to the above would be a good fit. “Observing emerging designers with their own brands or working for established ones, I imagine the creativity of a Millennial would work, someone close to the luxury customer today, who understands what is required today, mindful of issues such as inclusivity and sustainability. A creative director close to the digital world, but also used to archival research, to correctly interpret the history of the brand with a view that is closer to that of the contemporary customer, experimenting and innovating. But we must allow a reasonable time to these new creative directors to express who they are and their vision.”

Piccioli was named sole creative director of Valentino in July 2016, following the departure of Chiuri to join Dior.

Chiuri and Piccioli first worked together at Fendi for 10 years. In 1999, Valentino Garavani selected the designers to boost his brand’s accessories category, which they did, rejuvenating that division. They were promoted to creative directors of accessories at Valentino when Alessandra Facchinetti was assigned the same title for rtw after Garavani retired in 2007. In 2008, they succeeded Facchinetti as creative directors of the brand.

While highly respectful of Garavani and the heritage of Valentino — in particular emphasizing the brand’s couture — Piccioli embraced a more diverse and inclusive approach, distancing himself from the rarefied and jet-set days of yore. In his understated manner, Piccioli continued to live in Nettuno, Italy, a beach town 44 miles south of Rome where he was born, where he met his wife, Simona, and where they are raising their three children. He has said for years that he also considers Valentino his home and has again and again taken the opportunity to pay tribute to the talent of the seamstresses who have long worked for the company — highlighting the exquisite craftsmanship of Valentino’s atelier.

At the same time, he has brought a younger spirit to the maison with a new perspective, for example choosing as Di.Vas brand ambassadors — an acronym that stands for Different Values — Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton or Suga, the much-loved member of the boy band BTS. Piccioli telegraphed his message of inclusivity by going contrary to Roman stereotypes, casting Adut Akech and Anwar Hadid for the Valentino Born in Roma fragrance.

With his influential designs, he introduced daring volumes and colors — including the PP Pink new Pantone shade; developed more daywear looks, and dabbled with streetwear. His attention to detail was exemplified, for example, by his careful study of the white shirt for Valentino’s spring 2019 rtw collection.

In July of last year, Kering revealed it bought a 30 percent stake in Valentino for 1.7 billion euros in cash as part of a broader strategic partnership with Qatari investment fund Mayhoola, which controls the couture brand.

Kering has an option to buy 100 percent of Valentino’s capital by 2028, while Mayhoola could become a shareholder in Kering. The new luxury partners are expected to jointly explore further opportunities aligned with their respective strategies, including potential investments beyond fashion.