Wunderkind opens multi-brand luxury women’s clothing store on Main Street

Photo: TownLift // Kirsten Kohlwey

PARK CITY, Utah — On Friday, Wunderkind opened its doors on Main Street in Park City after three months of onsite preparation.

For owner Philip Manghisi, the Park City boutique marks the fourth Wunderkind location and the company’s first store in Utah. Located at 440 Main Street, the shop sits next to Vuori and across the street from The Marquis.

After Manghisi opened his first store in Scottsdale, Arizona, he added two more stores in Montecito and Santa Barbara, California. Because summer tends to be a slower season in Arizona, the company surveyed customers to learn where they spend their summers. Park City topped the list.

After running successful monthlong pop-up stores at different Park City area locations such as Promontory, Talisker, and St. Regis, Wunderkind was happy to find a permanent location on Main Street.

The boutique carries a range of luxury designer brands that aren’t easily found in Utah. Shoes, dresses, and purses by Celine, Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Balenciaga, and Khaite are just a few of the luxury creations in the store.

Manghisi travels to Europe — Paris and Milan in particular — four times a year to source the latest trends that he believes will suit the local community.

“Fashion should be fun,” he says. He wants people to feel that they can touch things, try clothes on, and enjoy the experience.

Manghisi said being a good neighbor to other Main Street businesses is important to Wunderkind, adding that the company intentionally avoided recruiting employees away from existing downtown retailers. He also plans be a part-time resident of Park City, splitting his time between Utah and Arizona. When not working he likes to cook, eat out, shop, and exercise. He is hoping to ski next winter.

Fashion has been Manghisi’s life since he was a teenager. While he was attending the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), he started working as a cashier at Jeffrey, a designer retailer in New York City.

By the time he was 20 years old, he was a salesperson, and at 21 he was promoted to being a buyer. He traveled to Europe ten times a year to purchase products from well-known designers at luxury brands and up-and-coming designers.

His coworkers at Jeffrey gave him the nickname “Wunderkind,” which means miracle child in German, basically a child prodigy. Manghisi chose that moniker as the name of his store. The atmosphere in the store strikes a balance between sophistication and relaxation, playfulness and style.