Annie’s Ibiza is timing its first U.S. store opening to the start of the holiday season. The 7-year-old British label, known for its hand-crafted occasionwear and celebrity fans like Kate Moss, Zendaya and Taylor Swift, opened a boutique in NYC’s SoHo neighborhood last week, just ahead of Halloween. The New York store marks the brand’s third global location, following Ibiza and London.
After reporting a 120% growth rate in 2024 and projecting another 100% for 2025, founder Annie Doble is using the holidays to build on the brand’s momentum. “The shop floor is where I’m happiest,” she told Glossy. “It’s about being in the heart of everything with our customers and sharing that sense of discovery.”
While brands like Alo Yoga are already leaning into early Black Friday promotions, Annie’s Ibiza is positioning itself differently, using Halloween and Christmas as storytelling moments rather than discounting events. “The whole store is orange, so we fit Halloween perfectly,” Doble said late last month.
Accompanying the store’s debut was a limited-edition “Mercer Dress,” priced at $4745. It was part of a small edit of high-glamour Halloween pieces that also included the hand-embroidered Cobweb Gown, priced at $4,950. Annie’s Ibiza’s Halloween capsule was designed to ensure the pieces can also be worn at other times throughout the year.
To promote the store and the Halloween assortment, Doble relied on organic social media content and word-of-mouth, as well as a launch event.
Post Halloween, the brand is transitioning into full holiday mode. “We go all in with the Christmas decorations,” Doble said. “It’s a full installation in all of our stores — they wind up looking like chocolate boxes.” The SoHo space, draped in orange velvet and vintage rugs, will transform into a winter-themed showcase in November as the brand rolls out its Christmas capsule collection.
The “Festive Edit,” which launched online alongside the store opening, features some of the label’s most intricate designs to date. Standouts include the Eve Dress ($2,490), made from silk dupion with gold-thread embroidery, and the Moonshine Cape in ruby red ($1,210), each made in limited runs of about 20 pieces. Doble said the capsule was created to “carry through every celebration of the season,” including dinners, weddings and New Year’s events.
That controlled scarcity has been key to the brand’s appeal. “Our clients love that everything feels one-of-a-kind,” Doble said, noting that each piece is produced in London or Italy using historical techniques like lacework, glass-bead embroidery and metallic thread detailing. The brand also incorporates sustainable materials, including cactus leather, seaweed fibers and deadstock silks, maintaining what Doble describes as “sustainability through longevity.”
The decision to expand to the U.S. through a brand store rather than wholesale follows a growing trend among independent luxury brands. Similar strategies have been adopted by London-based Rixo, which opened its first New York boutique in Nolita earlier this year, and Copenhagen-based Ganni, which continues to scale its physical retail through localized, community-focused flagships rather than department store partnerships.
Annie’s Ibiza SoHo space functions less as a volume driver and more as an immersive brand environment, complete with an atelier for custom orders and displays of Doble’s personal vintage archive. “Stores are the most personal part of our world,” she said. “When you walk in, it should feel like your own dressing room.”
“We’re seeing a shift toward theatrical retail,” luxury consultant Emilie Meinadier told Glossy last month. “It’s about creating emotional environments where clients can inhabit the brand, not just buy from it.”
Much of the brand’s traction in the U.S. was built before the opening through social media. “Our TikToks go completely viral during summer, with millions of likes on one post,” Doble said. A video from January showing girls trying on the brand’s sequined and beaded dresses has 5.9 million views. “It’s very organic. I film my clients in-store and post at night. People respond to seeing how the clothes move.” Those same clips now serve as digital gateways for SoHo shoppers, creating a loop between the brand’s online storytelling and in-store experience.
Since the store’s opening, the Mercer Dress has sold out in several sizes online, while pre-orders for the Eve Dress have outpaced expectations.
Annie’s Ibiza’s direct-to-consumer model allows it to maintain full prices on products throughout the season, Doble said. “I always thought of Annie’s as a summer brand, but at Christmas, it transforms,” she said. “Every store comes to life.”
