{"id":41167,"date":"2026-02-14T05:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=41167"},"modified":"2026-02-14T05:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:11:13","slug":"inside-the-miami-penthouse-of-carmen-busquets-queen-of-ecommerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=41167","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Miami penthouse of Carmen Busquets, queen of ecommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Let\u2019s say you\u2019re a wildly successful entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist who craves all-white interiors, dramatically open spaces and beach sunsets fit for a postcard. Where do you buy your slice of paradise? One obvious option is Florida\u2019s Key Biscayne, the exclusive island retreat just south of Miami Beach. And if you\u2019re Carmen Busquets, the so-called fairy godmother of fashion ecommerce, you buy a sprawling beachfront penthouse where the storied Sonesta Beach Resort once stood and stuff it with bespoke design and contemporary art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my God, what happened to it?\u2019\u201d she recalls of seeing her one-time hangout demolished in 2006. Wearing a flowing red Vita Kin<\/a> dress, Gabriela Hearst<\/a> sandals and L\u2019Heure Bleue perfume by Guerlain<\/a>, she explains that the shock didn\u2019t deter her. Instead, she felt drawn to the spot that a decade later would be her home. \u201cI just had the feeling that I would love to live where the Sonesta was,\u201d says the feisty 60-year-old. When she learned that the site was earmarked for a 142-condominium building, she researched the reputation of its Argentine developer, Consultatio, and staked her claim.<\/p>\n

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The view of the Atlantic Ocean from Carmen Busquets\u2019 penthouse in Key Biscayne, Florida<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Venezuela-born Busquets has an eye for investment. The list of fashion and media platforms she has financed includes The Business of Fashion<\/a>, Moda Operandi<\/a>, Farfetch<\/a> and Lyst<\/a>. In 2000, she bought an initial 14 per cent stake in Net-A-Porter<\/a> for \u00a3250,000; when the company was sold in 2015, the business was valued at about \u00a3950mn. She went on to found (and fold) CoutureLab, an ecommerce site for craftspeople, which later became an investment vehicle for emerging luxury startups. <\/p>\n

Her most recent investment, though, is linked to Matches. In December it was announced that the London-based retailer, which went into administration in 2024, was being rebooted by Hulcan<\/a>, a newly formed luxury group helmed by Mario Maher and Joe Wilkinson, founders of the members-only shopping app Mile. They feel fortunate to have Busquets\u2019 support. \u201cShe is a true industry insider with a rare understanding of brands, customers and business,\u201d says Wilkinson.<\/p>\n

\"Busquets<\/picture>
Busquets in her TV room, beside a beaded Spotley Cru chair by the Haas Brothers and a Christian Astuguevieille ottoman. The sliding panels on the wall are Bambi and the Cat-Woman in the Garden of Delights (after Bosch), 2004, by Walter Goldfarb<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re building the business the way I did,\u201d says Busquets, referring to her first launch, Cabus, a boutique in Caracas. It rarely held overstock beyond the last two seasons, which was efficient. It also helped boost profits.<\/p>\n

Busquets has strong ties to Miami: her mother\u2019s Cuban family migrated there after the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, and she visited the city frequently as a girl. Her Catalan father was a metallurgist. \u201cMy mother was a sociologist and anthropologist, so her curiosity was endless,\u201d she says. Their visits to couturiers together sparked a lifelong interest in fashion. She also found it a useful tool for self-expression, given the struggles she had with communicating (at 22, she learnt she was partially deaf; later still, she found out she was dyslexic). Did either issue ever deter her? \u201cOh no, it didn\u2019t,\u201d she says emphatically.<\/p>\n

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She has owned the penthouse since the building\u2019s completion in 2014. When she got the keys to the space, though, she was horrified by the layout. \u201cI hated it,\u201d says Busquets, who also owns homes in Verbier and Paris. \u201cThe reason I bought this apartment was to be able to see the sunrise and sunset.\u201d That required two years of \u201cundoing the walls\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Busquets\u2019 living room, with \u201cStyle Piece\/Head Trip II\u201d, 1992, by Ashley Bickerton on the left-hand wall<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Looking down over the condominium building\u2019s pool<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThat Doofy Soul\u201d by Pedro Barrios<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Initially, there were eight bedrooms; now there are five. Ceilings rose 10cm. The dining room disappeared. The kitchen, which was partially closed off, is now mostly open. Only one bathroom and the load-bearing walls survived. \u201cI don\u2019t have children,\u201d says Busquets, striding toward the long hallway that leads to the bedrooms. \u201cYou close the rooms when you have children. You want to hide somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a rare cloudy day in Miami, but the ocean\u2019s horizon is still visible from the U-shaped balcony. All is quiet except for the low hum of the elevator, which opens on to the 13th floor. Two large digital images by the Shanghai-based art collective Liu Dao<\/a> greet visitors upon their arrival. Nearby, Busquets has installed a computer animation by American artist Jennifer Steinkamp<\/a> of fluttering butterflies. <\/p>\n

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\"Busquets\u2019<\/picture>
Busquets\u2019 kitchen and TV room featuring custom marble work and bar area by Adam Wasilewski of D-Coded International, Spotley Cru beaded chair by the Haas Brothers, sofa and ottomans by Christian Astuguevieille and (on left wall) detail of Bambi and the Cat-Woman in the Garden of Delights (after Bosch), 2004 by Walter Goldfarb<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Colour is a theme throughout her art collection. In the living area, an installation of neon-painted aluminium flowers is by Florida artist Soraya Abu Naba\u2019a<\/a>. The furniture, meanwhile, stands out for its beauty and versatility. \u201cEverything has to be flexible,\u201d she says. Israeli designer Arik Levy<\/a>\u2019s polished stainless-steel coffee tables join together to make one large table or double as ottomans; two marble-clad kitchen islands roll across the wooden floors on castors and can be commandeered to serve cheese trays and wine, or function as sushi bars when she\u2019s entertaining. She also hosts pyjama parties with friends. <\/p>\n

For years, the sloping cushions of Paulin Paulin Paulin<\/a>\u2019s Dune sofa were moved around when friends came to visit. Then Busquets, an avid reader, panicked: \u201cWhere am I going to put all my books?\u201d Benjamin Paulin, son of the brand\u2019s namesake designer, solved the problem with a custom bookshelf set discreetly beneath the cushions, albeit with one caveat: it locks the seats in place.<\/p>\n

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The guest bedroom, with artisanal African sculptures and (on wall) a Balinese door. The bench at the end of the bed is by designer Bea Pernia<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Busquets likes being able to rearrange things as the mood suits her. She would even sell the penthouse if she found the right buyer. \u201cI see it as selling a company,\u201d she says. \u201cYou need someone with more money and power to match your emotional attachment.\u201d <\/p>\n

But one constant is her love of craftsmanship. An intriguing example in her home is the hemp rope stools by Christian Astuguevieille<\/a>. The French artistic director for fashion houses and fragrance brands such as Herm\u00e8s<\/a> and Comme des Gar\u00e7ons<\/a> Parfums, as well as a creator of sculptural furniture, is one of many artists Busquets has remained loyal to since her CoutureLab days.<\/p>\n

\"Busquets<\/picture>
Busquets in her living room, in front of \u201cStyle Piece\/Head Trip II\u201d, 1992, by Ashley Bickerton. To her right is an aluminium Single Prong seat by Rick Owens<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year, she launched the Carmen Busquets Foundation<\/a>, a philanthropic initiative to honour her late mother and support education and other forms of creative impact. She also debuted the Carmen Busquets Couture Prize at the Latin American Fashion Awards to celebrate the creators blending \u201cheritage craftsmanship with innovation, slow fashion principles, sustainability and cultural significance\u201d.<\/p>\n

In her home, she doesn\u2019t shy away from artworks that are politically charged. On one wall, photos by the Venezuelan-American artist Lisu Vega<\/a> \u201cshow how eight million Venezuelans migrated as a result of 25 years of oppression\u201d, she says. (She does not think that President Trump\u2019s removal of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro will solve \u201cthe complex problem of Venezuela\u201d.) Another series consists of life-sized portraits of Native American women by artist-curator Dyani White Hawk<\/a>. \u201cMore than your desire\u201d, reads one woman\u2019s black T-shirt.<\/p>\n

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The master bedroom, where the onyx bed was designed by Busquets in collaboration with Adam Wasilewski of D-Coded International<\/span> \u00a9 Josh Aronson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

There\u2019s plenty of room, too, for the playful \u2013 such as her assortment of cast bronze Mini Beasts by the LA-based Haas Brothers<\/a>, artist twins Simon and Nikolai. \u201cI love them,\u201d she says of the furry creatures that she moves from room to room. \u201cI live in a world where everything has to be perfect,\u201d she says of the fashion industry. \u201cBut inside we cover our little monsters.\u201d <\/p>\n