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BEHIND THE DESIGN | ROOMS & GARDENS | WORLD OF CABANA
As Cartier unveils its architecturally striking boutique in Miami's Design District, with glorious interiors by Laura Gonzalez, the talented designer shares her vision for the show-stopping space. Describing the three-storey building as "a unique, original creation", Laura shares exclusive insights into her design process.
BY CAMILLA FRANCES | ROOMS & GARDENS | 3 NOVEMBER 2025
The Cartier boutique in The Miami Design District, designed by architect Liz Diller and interior designer Laura Gonzalez.
In Miami, Florida, a city beloved for its Art Deco heritage, round-the-clock energy and larger-than-life personality, it takes something special to stand out from the crowd. Any luxury Maison looking to make a stylistic splash in Miami's Design District must dream big, and bold. And so it was that Maison Cartier commissioned a uniquely talented design duo, architect Elizabeth Diller, and interior designer, Laura Gonzalez, to conceive stand-out schemes for the exterior and interior design of its boutique in Miami.
Diller relished the opportunity, designing the store's wraparound façade with an undulating surface of fluted glass, etched with a pattern adapted from a 1909 Cartier brooch. The magnificent building rises from Miami's NE 39th Street as a striking, yet gentle, work of contemporary architecture. Its façade, Diller explains, is a "diaphanous screen that simultaneously hints at activity within the store and preserves its sense of mystique".
Laura Gonzalez's colorful interiors at the Cartier Boutique in Miami's Design District feature several VIP spaces inspired by the coastal city's exuberant spirit.
Beyond the façade, the store is just as impressive. Determined to deliver "a real experience" for Cartier customers, Laura Gonzalez describes the space as a succession of landscapes "intended to arouse curiosity and wonder”. The boutique's vibrant, colorful interiors are strongly inspired by Miami's flora and fauna, and Cartier's heritage, with Gonzalez turning to the Maison's archives for "inexhaustible" inspiration.
Like Gonzalez, whose playful-yet-sophisticated interiors often include floral motifs, Cartier has always been deeply inspired by the natural world. A look back through the Maison’s oeuvre reveals botanical-inspired treasures throughout the decades.
In her interior scheme, Laura Gonzalez sought to balance the playful spirit of Miami with the refined heritage of Maison Cartier.
Reflecting this heritage in a space that would equally feel fresh and engaging for the modern customer was key to Gonzalez’s design, and Cartier’s vision for the boutique. “The complete redesign, and the artistic choices made in the interior design and decoration, reflect [Cartier’s] contemporary, forward-looking vision,” Gonzalez says.
Miami’s exuberance played a role too, with Gonzalez infusing the project with the city's inimitable spirit. One example is a staircase fresco featuring Cartier’s bestiaries alongside Miami’s design-oriented, pop spirit characteristic. The result: Cartier’s boutique becomes a collaborative space where traditional craftsmanship and precious finishes meet refined glamour and innovation. “We combine tradition and modernity, savoir-faire and innovation in the service of creation, reflecting the DNA of Cartier,” explains Gonzalez.
Gonzalez drew inspiration from the archives of Maison Cartier, which has always been deeply inspired by botanicals, bestiaries and the natural world.
Speaking exclusively to Cabana, Gonzalez reflects further on the major project, sharing behind-the-scenes insights and unique details, from the challenging monumentality of the space to the original works of craftsmanship she incorporated into her design.
How did the spirit of Miami — its tropical exuberance and Art Deco heritage — guide your vision for the store? What materials and colors did you incorporate?
I really sought to translate and convey Miami's artistic and contemporary energy by using a bright and cheerful color palette for this boutique. We took Cartier's color codes even further to visually anchor the boutique in the Design District, in the colorful atmosphere so unique to the city, from its lush vegetation to its Art Deco façades.
Coral and sand tones were used on the ground floor, for example, as a direct reference to the ocean and beach. On the first floor, lush green tones and palm tree motifs adorn the monumental plaster columns, carpet patterns, and fabric embroidery, nodding to Miami's tropical flora. The palette becomes sunnier on the top floor and terrace, with yellows and oranges evoking the golden hour so characteristic of the city's sunsets.
The Cartier boutique features unique, original designs and works of craftsmanship, including marbled walls and a vibrant staircase mural.
The spirit of the city is also expressed through the choice of materials. Mother-of-pearl, pink marble, and contemporary acid-hued resins combine nature and innovation, modernity and tradition. Finally, a monumental fresco by painter François Mascarello has been created in the staircase that welcomes visitors.
It is a unique original creation. Spanning three floors, it depicts a fantastical landscape evoking the silhouette of Miami and populated by creatures from the Cartier bestiary. It embodies the spirit of this boutique and the link between Cartier and the city.
Details of refined craftsmanship, including a striking pink marbled wall and Cartier homewares, at the reopened Cartier boutique in the Miami Design District.
Were there any architectural or decorative challenges you had to overcome, as is often the case with large-scale commercial projects?
Indeed, the monumentality of the spaces and the high ceilings required a sophisticated concept and significant spatial planning. We favored large circulation spaces that allow customers to stroll around, and open spaces that offer total visibility of the store's different worlds. There is no fixed route, as in a museum.
On the contrary, there are a multitude of possible paths, creating an architecture in motion. Each space, like a microcosm, evokes a different emotion, combining elements of pure architecture, refined craftsmanship, and meticulous details that are the hallmark of luxury retail. Vitality and movement are expressed in the entrance and on the ground floor with Pierre Mesguich's mosaic craftsmanship, characterized by curves and intertwined patterns. Intimacy, comfort, and tropical luxuriance are highlighted in the VIP lounges on the first floor, creating a Miami-style home feeling.
On the top floor terrace, conviviality and sharing are emphasized, with welcoming, custom-made undulating benches and a hanging garden. The entire journey is designed as a succession of landscapes intended to arouse curiosity and wonder.
The top floor terrace of the Cartier boutique in Miami's Design District, featuring custom-designed undulating benches and a hanging garden, designed by Laura Gonzalez.
Are there any decorative features that feel particularly special or unique?
For me, the entire store is an experience in itself. We had to work on different scales, combining elements of pure monumental architecture, refined craftsmanship for the finishes, and meticulous details that are the hallmark of luxury retail.
I invite customers who discover the store to pay attention to all the refined finishes that we have scattered throughout. From the marble veins in the staircase that accompany the sense of ascent, to the doors on the first floor (handmade from recycled leather) and the mother-of-pearl mosaic walls in certain VIP areas, the project is a visual and sensory experience designed to showcase Cartier's production and collections.
Cartier, Miami Design District
147 NE 39th Street, Miami, Florida
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