Chanel on Thursday will open its newest boutique in the Westfield University Town Center in San Diego.
The 16,000-square-foot, freestanding boutique was designed by Peter Marino, a longtime Chanel collaborator. The new boutique brings together fashion, watches and jewelry, and fragrance and beauty in a setting that reflects both the heritage of Chanel and its Southern California surroundings.
“This is a ground-up building, so we were able to really respond to San Diego and the Southern California environment,” Marino told WWD. “I was very inspired by the Case Study Houses and the relationship between architecture and landscape.”
The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day to design and build contemporary single-family homes within a specified budget for the U.S. residential housing boom at the end of World War II.
“Then we created a central courtyard at the heart of the building, and the rooms circulate around it. Large expanses of glass and sliding doors bring in an enormous amount of natural light and allow the interiors to open directly on the landscape. There’s a real indoor-outdoor quality to it that is very specific to California,” said Marino.
A view of the Chanel San Diego boutique.
Courtesy of Chanel
This is Chanel’s fifth freestanding boutique in California. Other boutiques are in Beverly Hills, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, San Francisco, and Palo Alto. There is also a seasonal boutique in Montecito.
Among Chanel’s new neighbors in the Westfield University Town Center are Hermès, Bulgari, Zegna and Brunello Cucinelli.
“I think San Diego is one of those unique and remarkable markets that bring together a really interesting group of clients,” said Rebekah McCabe, general manager of fashion for the U.S. market for Chanel. “They are affluent, globally connected, come from a wide range of industries and have a cultural sophistication that aligns naturally for Chanel.”
Set within the open-air shopping center, the new two-story boutique presents a contemporary interpretation of Chanel while throughout the space, details evoke the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel’s legendary apartment at 31 rue Cambon in Paris.
“As you enter there’s a commissioned portrait of Coco Chanel by Norbert Brunner. In the courtyard, we placed an 18th-century lion, referencing Gabrielle Chanel’s astrological sign and one of her personal symbols. And in the VIP salon, there’s a monumental Vera Lutter photograph of San Marco in Venice — a city she adored,” said Marino.
Asked what gets him most excited about this San Diego store, Marino said, “The courtyard is the heart of the building. You see it immediately when you enter, and it remains a point of orientation as you move through the store. The circulation makes a complete loop around it, with long views across the interiors and out to the landscape. And with the sliding glass doors open, the distinction between inside and outside almost disappears. That relationship between light, landscape and architecture is what makes the building very San Diego.”
Handbags and leather goods at the new boutique.
Courtesy of Chanel
The boutique is distinguished by a white stucco facade with large expanses of clear glass. These architectural elements draw natural light deep into the interior while giving the building a distinct contemporary presence.
Areas around the courtyard are arranged to create long sight lines through the interiors and toward the landscape, while large sliding glass doors reinforce the connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces. A continuous circulation path around the courtyard offers multiple ways to move through the boutique.
The interiors combine the house’s signature palette of black, white and beige with blue and turquoise tones inspired by San Diego’s coastal landscape. Subtle marine references appear throughout, including wave motifs and hand-embroidered textiles, while custom plaster finishes introduce texture and depth.
Upon entering, clients arrive in two adjoining salons dedicated to leather goods and accessories. At the opposite of the ground floor is a fragrance and beauty salon. The watches and fine jewelry area, located on the other side of the entrance, features a Louis XV console, a Louis XV gilt wood mirror, and a Goossens “Madison” chandelier, reinforcing the atmosphere of a refined Parisian residence.
Two ready-to-wear salons occupy the back corner of the boutique, furnished with Marino-designed accents. The first is anchored by a striking gold vase, while the second features a commode with a cast-bronze texture in a dark patina. The shoe salon completes the opposite corner, furnished with two sculptural chairs by Voukenas Petrides. Throughout the ground floor are Venini vases in varying sizes.
A footwear and accessories display at the new Chanel store.
Courtesy of Chanel
On the upper level is a VIP lounge, accessed through an elevator lobby furnished with a bronze console by Audiane Delos. The lounge opens onto an expansive wraparound terrace overlooking the central courtyard, extending the boutique’s connection to the outdoors.
Continuing the residential character of the space, the lounge features Marino’s five-door “Deep Water” bronze box, a reference to San Diego’s maritime setting, alongside a sculptural bronze choirboy Aaron Moritz. Together with the terrace and views of the surrounding landscape, the lounge provides a more private hospitality environment.
Marino has placed artworks throughout the boutique. In addition to the portrait of Coco Chanel by Norbert Brunner are works by Vic Muniz, Chris Succo, Peter Dayton, Kimiko Fujimura, Shoji Takahara, Vera Lutter, Anthony Pearson, Scott Pattison, and Setsuko.
The boutique will open with the Chanel fall 2026 collection by Matthieu Blazy while the watches and fine jewelry salon offers a selection of high jewelry creations, alongside fine jewelry collections, including Coco Crush, No. 5, Camelia and Comete and watches including the J12 and Premiere. The fragrance and beauty salon offers the breadth of Chanel fragrance, makeup and skin care collections.
Chanel fragrances on display.
Courtesy of Chanel
In discussing the appeal of San Diego, Chanel’s McCabe said the city is quite dynamic as it has a strong local client base, an important cross-border community and a lot of tourism. She said many international shoppers go to San Diego for conferences and trade shows.
“It’s quite a global clientele that travels through San Diego. We really built a boutique with a local client in mind — trying to understand how she lives,” she said. Chanel has a One Boutique-One Story approach, where each boutique’s assortment and client experience is tailored to the market and the clientele. “What I think is so amazing about Peter’s design, it expresses the codes of Chanel while feeling totally connected to San Diego,” said McCabe.
McCabe said they have been looking at the San Diego market for a long time and saw strong growth there. She said she hopes to expose the Chanel customer to not only the full breadth of the fashion, but watches and fine jewelry, fragrance and jewelry. It will be presented to the customer in a much more expansive way than they have experienced before.
Asked if Chanel looks to tie in with the San Diego community through artists, community events and other institutions, McCabe said, “We always try to be part of the community that we do business in. We will continue to look for cultural partnerships and creating experiences and events that our clients are looking for. We always try to be a member of the community wherever we do business.”
She noted that the stand-alone format allows Chanel to deliver personalized styling, hospitality and service in a way “that we think will be very additive for the San Diego community.”
A look inside the Chanel San Diego boutique.
Courtesy of Chanel
“California is important to Chanel. We have many different iterations within California. We have Palo Alto, San Diego, Los Angeles. We’re really looking to create unique and personalized stand-alone boutiques in different cities in California that have different expressions that are relevant to the client in that market.”
Asked what she thinks will be bestsellers, she responded, “Everything. I feel very excited about what the performance will look like.”
