Spanish fashion label Desigual will open a physical store in Australia again, re-tapping the Melbourne market first.
The brand ran stores in Melbourne’s CBD and at Melbourne Airport just over 10 years ago, and all of them later closed. It has since built an online presence in Australia. Desigual will now open an 87-square-metre store on High Street Armadale, in Urban DC’s Heirloom development, which is set to open before Christmas.
The move is backed by Tim O’Rourke, director of O’Rourke Showroom, which is the Australian and New Zealand distributor for Desigual. He said the precinct was a natural fit for the label’s return.
“The location has the right mix of premium fashion, lifestyle and dining operators, so it was an obvious choice when considering where Desigual should return to the Australian market,” O’Rourke said.
“We’re excited to be joining a premium mix of operators at Heirloom and establishing a presence on one of Melbourne’s best-known fashion strips.”
Founded in Barcelona, Desigual is known for colourful, bold designs. Its Autumn/Winter 2026 campaign, Born to Disobey, features model and activist Vivian Jenna Wilson and takes a stance against the use of artificial intelligence in creative work.
At Heirloom, Desigual joins Australian activewear brand LSKD. The development was designed by Woods Bagot and has about 80 metres of High Street frontage, with retail spaces below luxury residences.
Ruby Koop and Tom Larwill of Colliers handled the lease. Koop said the development was drawing interest from national and international retailers, and described the strip as one of Australia’s most resilient retail corridors. Larwill said the final tenancy offered retailers a last chance to secure a spot in the development.
According to Colliers, the property firm that handled Desigual’s lease, High Street Armadale has annual consumer spend of about $613 million and a retail vacancy rate of 2.3 per cent.