The Crowd: Fans of Laure Hériard Dubreuil turn out for her new store

The world of fashion design has evolved dramatically over the last decade. A demonstrably youthful influence has in many ways discarded long-held do’s and don’ts in the trade.

Tennis shoes are worn with sequined gowns. Leather biker jackets over Chanel blouses. Turquoise-dyed mink Eisenhower jackets accompany orange leggings.

Emerging designers are capturing the spotlight and the imagination of a broad base of consumers. In considerable part, this is thanks to social media. It is also thanks to celebrity worship.

Tune in to any number of mega-popular television programs and look at what the stars are wearing. One example: NBC’s “The Voice,” featuring Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys. Both young women choose what can easily be termed outrageously creative attire, breaking every so-called rule of acceptable dressing. Bill Blass is turning over in his grave. Then again, maybe he’s getting a kick out of it. Bottom line is there are no rules anymore.

Consumers seem to love it. This new freedom of choice has translated into an acceptance of every body size and shape wearing anything that makes the person happy. And it has driven big changes in fashion retail.

Recently in Orange County, fashionistas took notice of the opening of a boutique called Webster at South Coast Plaza. The store is the brainchild of Laure Hériard Dubreuil. Her pedigree includes working for Nicolas Ghesquière marketing the designs of Balenciaga. She followed that job as a top-level merchandising marketer for Yves Saint Laurent’s RTW division in Paris.

In 2009 Hériard Dubreuil opened Webster in trendy South Beach, Fla. Instantly, the concept attracted the attention of the young, rich and style-conscious, some with international reputations. Soon Webster expanded to the established upscale markets of Bal Harbour, Fla., and Houston, Texas. Next stop, where else but the nation’s most exclusive shopping destination, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

The concept is daringly direct. This is a store that wants the customer to feel as if they are at home in a very special walk-in-closet. Now, this is not just any home. The salon’s palette is daring too: mint-green terrazzo floors, dark-chocolate accent walls, museum-quality contemporary art, out-of-this-world modern furniture. All broken rules of design, just like some of the fashion lines.

Hériard Dubreuil has gone to considerable lengths to combine known luxury lines with the emerging, not-so-well-known designers. Balenciaga and Balmain will hang with Acne and Alexander Wang. Dior and Givenchy are displayed with Stella McCartney and Proenza Schouler. Also featured are Thom Browne, Tome, Olympia Le-Tan, Pierre Hardy and Edie Parker, among others.

For the recent opening in Costa Mesa, stylist Victoria Sekrier was enlisted to create an “A” event to impress a who’s-who roster of invited guests that are big fans of Hériard Dubreuil. A sit-down luncheon on the Garden Terrace with a serious fashion show worthy of a major runway presentation for a top designer introduced the store to O.C.

Celeb guests from the worlds of fashion and society included Alexandra von Fürstenberg, Dree Hemingway, Destry Spielberg, Ahlem Manai-Platt, Elisabeth Weinstock, Rebecca de Ravenel, Tori Praver and Lisa Marie Fernandez. Also front and center were Bill Skarsgård, Dax Miller, Ezra Petronio, Juan Carlos Obando, Langley Fox and Jayne Min, to name only a few of the high-profile fashion mavens checking out the new Webster.

Interestingly, in the new wide-open world of fashion marketing, the Webster concept is not just for the well-to-do. Hériard Dubreuil, with her marketing savvy, has taken her design concept to the mass marketing avenue with partnerships at Target and Le Bon Marché.

Clearly the proprietor of Webster has designs on dressing the planet. The fashion world is taking notice.

B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.