Serenella’s modern silhouettes and modern styles have drawn customers to her Boston store for more than four decades.
In 2017, the women’s fashion brand introduced itself to Palm Beach shoppers. Owner Leslee Shupe opened the brand’s fourth store and first outside of Massachusetts in Royal Poinciana Plaza in November of that year.
Last fall, she moved the seasonal business to Via Bice, at 313 1/2 Worth Ave.
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The new location is a perfect fit for the brand, Shupe said.
“We opened last season at Via Bice and we are very happy about that,” she said. “It’s a beautiful new home. It’s a beautiful street, in front of the Bice restaurant. Our roots are Italian and European. It reminds us of Positano, Amalfi. It simply combines the mood and ambiance that we started for Serenella Via Bice.”
The original Serenella opened in Boston in 1980 and has expanded to two stores in Nantucket in addition to a fourth location in Palm Beach.
A multi-brand concept store with a focus on women’s fashion, accessories and jewellery, Serenella presents a combination of designer collections from around the world, including Bottega Veneta, Missoni and Victoria Beckham.
“Serenella is very well-curated fashion by top designers and artisans from around the world,” said Shupe, who bought the company in 2003. “We’re looking for fashion, we’re looking for sustainability, and we’re looking for women-owned businesses. We’re looking for exclusive things.”
Shupe, who grew up in the fashion industry and first joined Serenella after college, works closely with leading and emerging designers and often collaborates with them to create exclusive items for her stores, she said.
At its Palm Beach location, which is open October through May, it exhibits pieces by Giambattista Valli, Thom Browne, God’s True Cashmere, High Sport, Nazzy Beglari and Wales Bonner.
New York-based Mahnaz Collection is the jeweler in residence for the season, Shupe said, while the store also features pieces from jewelry designers Christina Alexiou, Marlo Laz, Kis Um and Beck Jewels.
Serenella has also teamed up with fine jewelry agency MUSE, specializing in the representation of independent jewelry designers.
In addition, the store offers apothecary products such as fragrances and hair care brands; and homewares such as Murano glass tableware from Emporio Sirenusa, authentic hand-painted Sicilian ceramics from Rosy di Natale, and tablecloths, placemats and napkins from Colombian designers Juan de Dios and Moya.
“We’ve got ready-to-eat dinnerware, we’ve got accessories, we’ve got tableware and we’ve got homeware,” Shupe said. “We have comprehensive categories.”
Shupe said she is considering further expansion of Serenella, but did not commit to a new location.
For now, she and her Palm Beach staff will continue to travel between Florida and Massachusetts, depending on the season. Nantucket stores are open May through October.
“Serenella was my first job out of college,” Shupe said. “I started part-time. I left the store three times and came back as an owner. I invested heavily in Serenello.”
Jodie Wagner is a reporter for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. She can be reached at [email protected] Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.