Opened in 1967 as part of Newport Center, the center featured four department stores: Buffum's, J. W. Robinson's, The Broadway, and J.C. Penney. These four initial buildings were designed by architects William Pereira and Welton Becket, and were flanked by several smaller stores. The Spanish architectural theme which would later define the property was evident in the Robinson's building. Bullocks Wilshire opened in August 1977 and Neiman Marcus opened in March 1978. J.C. Penney closed its doors in April 1982, and the building it occupied was reconstructed and reopened as "Atrium Court," which contained numerous smaller shops and a food court on the lower level. The southwest entrance to Robinson's features a bronze wind-chime sculpture by mural artist Tom Van Sant, installed in September 1967, that was recorded by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest wind chime. In 1988, the center underwent a major expansion and renovation based on the design of Jon Jerde, adding the Island Terrace Food Court, an eight-screen movie theater, and three new avenues of shops, all of which converge in a circular courtyard with an animated fountain that shoots jets of water up to high. Known as the "Iris fountain", it was created by WET Design. In February 1990, the Bullocks Wilshire store became an I. Magnin. Buffum's closed in May 1991 due to the chain being liquidated, and its space was later subdivided into smaller stores. The Robinson's store became a Robinson's-May store in January 1993 due to both J. W. Robinson's and May Company California merging to form Robinson's-May. I. Magnin closed in January 1995 due to the chain being liquidated, and the site became a Bullock's Women's Store in June of that same year. The Bullock's Women's Store became a Macy's Women's Store in 1996. The last original anchor store The Broadway closed in 1996 due to the chain being purchased by Macy's and liquidated, and the site reopened as one of the first Bloomingdale's stores on the West Coast in the fall of that same year. In the early 2000s, the center underwent additional minor renovations resulting in the alteration and replacement of landscape elements, building facades, outdoor furniture, and floor materials to better reflect the Mediterranean theme. Included in this renovation was the installment of a carousel and a new wing with restaurants and shops, although the carousel was removed in January 2010 as part of major renovations of the center. The Federated-May merger in 2006 greatly affected Fashion Island, resulting in the closure and demolition of the Macy's Women's Store and conversion of the former Robinsons-May into a full-line Macy's store. On January 29, 2008, Nordstrom announced that it had signed a letter of intent to open a store in 2010 in the former Macy's Women's Store location. On April 16, 2010, Nordstrom officially opened at Fashion Island. In 2009, the Irvine Company began a $100 million renovation of the property. On September 12, 2012, Whole Foods Market opened on the east side of the mall near Barnes & Noble. The store is estimated to be 32,000 square feet in size and includes a bar and restaurant.
The large courtyard outside the Bloomingdale's building is occupied annually by a large Christmas tree. Every year, the tree is lit in mid-November The tree lighting is preceded by extravagant holiday performances. The trees are taken from a private timber area near Mount Shasta and shipped to Fashion Island in several pieces, which are then re-assembled using steel rods and a large crane. Fashion Island takes an environmentally friendly approach with the tree: its harvesting had no detrimental impact on the environment and is recycled once holiday festivities conclude. Since 1983, the tree at Fashion Island has generally been one the nation's tallest. The M Resort held this distinction for 2009. The tree is 90 feet tall with 20,000 lights and ornaments.
