Internationally known wedding-dress designer Sareh Nouri opening shop in Chevy Chase

An internationally known fashion designer plans to open a bridal shop at The Collection at Chevy Chase, adding to a high-end tenant mix that includes Brooks Brothers, Porsche Studio and Tiffany & Co.

Sareh Nouri | Bridal Designs has inked a deal for roughly 1,866 square feet at 5471 Wisconsin Ave. now occupied by Whyte House Monograms, said John Ziegenhein, CEO of The Chevy Chase Land Company, which oversees the nearly 200,000-square-foot retail center.

The fashion designer’s bridal line can be found in shops around the world, including Anna’s Bridal Couture in Bethesda and Elegance by Royal Bridal in Tysons, though this will be her first brick-and-mortar shop outside of a flagship location in Livingston, New Jersey.

Nouri has ties to the D.C. area, having grown up in Springfield and Ashburn, and she moved to open a local shop after she and her husband met Jason Winans, executive vice president at The Chevy Chase Land Company.

The Collection at Chevy Chase is the new home of Sareh Nouri | Bridal Designs.

“They said that they have so many customers from the D.C. area that it made sense for them to open here, and they picked The Collection,” Ziegenhein said in an interview.

Nouri’s arrival is part of a larger reshuffling of the deck for The Chevy Chase Land Company, which has sought over the past few years to freshen up the mix at The Collection. The landlord has recruited Brooks Brothers, which relocated from older space across Wisconsin Avenue; the early-childhood education chain Bright Horizons; and Porsche Studio, a concept related to the Porsche dealership at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda.

Other notables include Joy by Seven Reasons, from the duo of Enrique Limardo and Ezequiel Vázquez-Ger; an Amazon Fresh, which replaced a Giant grocery store; and Dunkin’, which opened last month. The landlord is also relocating Whyte House Monograms to another part of The Collection.

The Chevy Chase Land Company launched a plan before the Covid-19 pandemic to put more focus on neighborhood-serving shops and restaurants, a shift that included replacing the shuttered Ralph Lauren store with a collection of eateries, including the local chain Junction Bistro, Bar & Bakery.

On the face of it, Porsche might not seem to fall into that basket of neighborhood-serving retail, but don’t let the luxury brand name fool you, per Ziegenhein. The new, 3,765-square-foot studio will feature a barista bar, lounge and showroom, and it’s designed to welcome both tire kickers and those seriously in the market for a high-performance automobile. The first U.S. Porsche Studio opened in Portland, Oregon, last year.

“They’re obviously marketing and promoting the brand, but it’s not necessarily meant to be, ‘Hey, come buy a car,'” he said. “It’s really meant to be more of an experience to promote the brand.”

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