Serenella’s modern silhouettes and trendy styles have drawn shoppers to her Boston store for more than four decades.
In 2017, the women’s fashion brand introduced itself to Palm Beach customers. Owner Leslee Shupe opened the brand’s fourth store and first outside of Massachusetts at 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.
“Last season we opened at Via Bice and we’re very happy about that,” she said. “It’s a wonderful new home. It’s a beautiful road in front of the Bice restaurant. Our roots are Italian and European. It’s reminiscent of Positano, Amalfi. It just brings together the mood and atmosphere we started for Serenella Via Bice.” “
The original Serenella opened in Boston in 1980 and has expanded to include two stores in Nantucket in addition to a fourth location in Palm Beach.
Serenella, a multi-brand concept store focusing on women’s fashion, accessories and jewellery, offers a mix of designer collections from around the world, including Bottega Veneta, Missoni and Victoria Beckham.
“Serenella is very well-curated fashion from 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 are looking for exclusive things.’
Shupe, who grew up in the fashion industry and first joined Serenelle after college, works closely with established 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 from October to May, it exhibits pieces from Giambattista Valli, Thom Browne, God’s True Cashmere, High Sport, Nazzy Beglari and Wales Bonner.
New York-based Mahnaz Collection is the jeweler 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 partnered with fine jewelry agency MUSE, which specializes in representing independent jewelry designers.
In addition, the store offers apothecary products such as fragrances and hair care brands; and homewares such as Murano glass by Emporio Sirenus, authentic hand-painted Sicilian ceramics by Rosa di Natale, and tablecloths, chargers and napkins by Colombian designers Juan de Dios and Moye.
“We have ready-to-wear, we have accessories, we have tableware and we have houseware,” Shupe said. “We have all-encompassing 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 a lot in Serenella.”
Jodie Wagner is a reporter at 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.