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Fashion Icon Karl Lagerfeld to Design Lobbies of Miami Condo

The German designer will leave his mark on the Estates at Acqualina, a luxury development coming to Sunny Isles Beach

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The Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach has commissioned fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld to design two of its lobbies.

Rendering: The Estates at Acqualina
The Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach has commissioned fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld to design two of its lobbies.
Rendering: The Estates at Acqualina

Another Miami residential development has teamed up with a fashion brand. This time, it’s the Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach, which commissioned fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld to design two of its lobbies.

The Miami-based Trump Group, led by Eddie and Jules Trump, is the project’s developer.

“Eddie and I wanted our entrance lobbies to be the piece de resistance of our new project, and who better to create these than the master of modern creativity: Karl Lagerfeld,” Jules Trump said in a statement. (Mr. Trump is not related to Donald Trump, the real-estate developer and presumptive GOP nominee.)

When finished, the Estates at Acqualina will consist of two 50-story towers with 265 residences, ranging from three- to seven-bedrooms. Prices start at $3.9 million and top out at $40 million for the penthouses. The development will boast more than 45,000 square feet of amenities, including a spa and fitness center, a restaurant, an ice skating rink, a movie theater and a FlowRider for surfers, among other perks.

Mr. Lagerfeld — who designs for his own eponymous label, Chanel and Fendi — is joining the ranks of other fashion brands that have lent their names to South Florida developments.

Developer OKO Group recently unveiled Missoni Baia, a 57-story tower with 146 residences coming to Miami’s up-and-coming Edgewater neighborhood. Fashion house Missoni, known for its signature color palette, will design the building’s amenities and common spaces.

Also in Sunny Isles Beach, Dezer Development has teamed up with the Related Group to launch the Residences at Armani/Casa, which broke ground in January. As its name may suggest, fashion designer Giorgio Armani will design the building’s interiors and finishes.

According to a spokesperson for Dezer Development, 70% of the homes have sold to a set of buyers that mirrors those in the general South Florida market: about 60% Latin Americans, 20% Europeans and 20% Americans.

In neighboring Surfside, the Italian fashion house Fendi and Argentina’s Château Group are developing Fendi Château Residences, a 12-story building with 58 apartments. Fendi is designing the interiors with Colombian designer Fanny Haim.

Although it can be an effective way to create buzz around a project, a number of South Florida developers have opted not to align with fashion brands.

“It definitely is a pop and it does create recognition,” says Ryan Shear, principal of the New York-based Property Markets Group (PMG). “But I don’t think that’s what leads to a great building.”

PMG is developing a number of luxury residential projects in Miami, including Muse in Sunny Isles Beach and Echo Brickell downtown. Rather than team up with fashion brands, the developer would prefer to partner with prominent interior architects or hotel groups, where the synergies between service and real estate are more apparent.

Mr. Shear notes that hotel brands have spent decades establishing and perfecting customer-oriented services that make the brand desirable to buyers — a perk that fashion brands can’t replicate, at least at this point.

Write to Gina Faridniya at gina.faridniya@dowjones.com