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Article: NY Times: Five New, Transporting L.A. Boutiques To Shop Now

NY Times: Five New, Transporting L.A. Boutiques To Shop Now

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L.A. is the land of plenty — at least for interesting fashion brands opening up shop. In May, the Italian luxury purveyor Bottega Veneta unveiled its second maison concept store in the world on Rodeo Drive, and in late June, the trendsetting Paris store L’Eclaireur will open on North Robertson with an interior design and home accessories–focused boutique, to be followed later this summer by the Paris fashion designer Vanessa Seward’s first L.A. shop. And Platform, the new retail development in Culver City, features the city’s first Linda Farrow outpost, a forthcoming Curve x Tom Dixon store and more, while Downtown L.A. offers a new open-air mall called the Bloc to rival the Grove. Below, five new stores that have opened recently — all the way from Melrose Place to Culver City to Hollywood.

 

1. Rachel Comey

“There were other spots in town that would have been more under the radar,” says the New York designer Rachel Comey of her first West Coast store, which is now open on Melrose Place, next to the Row and not far from Zero by Maria Cornejo, Irene Neuwirth and Isabel Marant. “But I like a challenge, I saw the space and fell in love with the area. I also love the juxtaposition of so many female designers on one street.”

Comey’s new 2,600-square foot boutique has an upscale earthiness to match her collection, which is known for its arty textiles (foam, linen, pebble, crochet), modern silhouettes and covetable shoes. There are terra-cotta-colored floors, wood beam ceilings, skylights and a wraparound wicker bench, and side windows open up onto a rock garden of cracked and broken concrete slabs.

Comey and her partner Sean Carmody worked with same team that designed the brand’s Crosby Street store in New York, the Brooklyn-based architect Elizabeth Roberts and the San Francisco-based interior designer Charles de Lisle, adding the L.A.-based architect Linda Taalman to the group for the project.

The L.A. store carries the full Rachel Comey collection, including denim culottes, off-the-shoulder tie-dye indigo sundresses, drapey trench coats, chunky, wood-soled sandals and round wicker purses. Prices start at $115 for a pair of earrings. “People don’t always understand the breadth and depth of the collection,” Comey says. “I’m hoping this will be a cool introduction.”

Rachel Comey Los Angeles, 8432 Melrose Place, Los Angeles, (323) 852-3152, rachelcomey.com.

 

2.Eckhaus Latta

“As soon as I saw this was a decrepit old weed dispensary, I knew we had to have it,” says Zoe Latta, half of the bicoastal design duo Eckhaus Latta.

Latta, who lives in L.A., and her New York-based partner Mike Eckhaus, have turned the storefront on an unlikely stretch of Fountain Avenue in Hollywood into their studio and first retail space.

“We’re not approaching it as a big brand flagship, but more as an experimental space where we can engage with customers in a hospitable way, and to allow friends and collaborators to work with us,” says Latta, who met Eckhaus when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design.

They collaborated with the architect Emma Price and the artist Skye Chamberlain on the design, which features an altar-like art installation with painted banners, found objects and handmade ceramics, in addition to the designers’ collection of gracefully deconstructed “spill” dresses, high-waist, tapered jeans, comic strip printed T-shirts and chunky, “not-clog” shoes, which range from $125 to $800. Many Eckhaus Latta pieces are made from deadstock fabric sourced in and around Los Angeles. The store also sells one-of-a-kind garments from designer Sophie Andes Gascon, and the artist Nora Jane Slade’s Waggy Tee.

“Opening a retail storefront would be quite the effort in New York,” Eckhaus says. “Here, there is space and opportunity… there’s a certain grit in L.A. that is fading a lot from New York.”

The opening coincides with the designers’ work being featured in the Hammer Museum’s “Made In L.A. 2016” exhibition, on view through Aug. 28.

 

Eckhaus Latta, 5204 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, eckhauslatta.com. (323) 90-LATTA.

 

 

3. Raquel Allegra

The designer Raquel Allegra’s unconventional design career started more than 10 years ago, when she began hand-dying and shredding castoff prison tees from the Los Angeles County Jail.

The collection has grown to include slouchy linen jackets and coats, raw-edged denim, tie-dyed and shredded cashmere sweaters and knit pants stocked at more than 200 retailers worldwide, and now at Allegra’s first store, on West Third Street.

“There’s an art element to what I do,” says the Los-Angeles based designer. “And I wanted to have someplace where I could do experimental things — like create a hand-painted crochet tapestry in the front window — and share all the work that comes out of our studio that has nowhere to go.”

The 1,300-square-foot boutique is a mix of old and new, with two large skylights installed within the original 1950s wood ceiling joints, vintage furniture sourced from J.F. Chen in L.A. and Modern Way in Palm Springs (including a leather couch that no doubt saw some good times in the 1970s), and a particularly welcoming brass, copper and pewter peacock.

The store’s door handle is made from a tree branch Allegra found at her Topanga cabin that has been dipped in brass, and the dressing rooms are floor-to-ceiling glass (with linen curtains that can be drawn around) so as not to interrupt the flow of the space.

In addition to Allegra’s women’s wear and a small selection of children’s wear, the store features vintage jewelry the designer sourced herself from the Rose Bowl Flea Market and other places. And come fall, the store will start exclusively selling a limited number of those prison-issue tees from her original collection.

 

Raquel Allegra, 8372 West Third Street, Los Angeles, (323) 433-4245, raquelallegra.com.

 

4. Magasin

When Josh Peskowitz, the former men’s fashion director at Bloomingdale’s, decided to launch his own retail venture, he set his sights on L.A. — or more specifically Culver City, where he and two partners have recently opened Magasin in the new Platform retail and restaurant development next to the Metro Expo Line station.

“We were looking to outreach to the creative community, which has a growing presence in L.A.,” he says. “We saw a real need for business-adjacent clothing because no one changes out of work clothes to go out at night anymore, or from weekday clothes to weekend clothes.”

The 1,600 square-foot men’s store, which has a living wall and free beer for shoppers, specializes in refined, casual clothing by under-the-radar European and Japanese brands — knit blazers by Massimo Alba, upcycled military pants by Atelier & Repairs, hand-stitched shirts by Salvatore Piccolo, handmade leather sneakers by FEIT and serape stripe bucket hats by Monitaly. Starting in the fall, the store will begin offering a private label cut-and-sew program.

“It’s about clothing that can be taken seriously by other people but doesn’t look like the person wearing it is taking himself too seriously,” says Peskowitz of his vision.

 

Magasin, 8810 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, Calif., (213) 458-8424. platformla.com

5. Reservoir

“When we moved here from New York, the retail world wasn’t that exciting,” says Alissa Jacob, who opened Reservoir late last year with her childhood friend Aliza Neidich, both vets of the fashion and marketing industries. “There was the beachy boho girl and the West Hollywood Kardashian little-black-dress girl, and we were New Yorkers with a more relaxed aesthetic.”

They marry East and West Coast sensibilities in their multilabel boutique featuring clothing, accessories and home goods with an easy sophistication, from designers in L.A. and beyond, including Ryan Roche hand-knit sweaters, Denis Colomb ponchos, Ellery sleek crepe dresses and tops, John Patrick Organic slips, RE/DONE denim, Opening Ceremony slip-on sneakers, skinny neck scarves by Rockins and chain-link chokers by Jennifer Fisher.

Home furnishings and gift items have a handmade modern or a whimsical vibe, including leather tech organizers by the downtown L.A.-based brand This Is Ground, resin wear Champagne buckets by San Francisco designer Tina Frey, chairs by L.A.’s Bend Goods, and acrylic trays and dishes by the New York artist Baron Von Fancy.

The two partnered with Tappan Collective to curate artwork for the store, and the Cartorialist’s Carly Kuhn to create murals for the walls. “It’s so easy to shop online now, we really wanted our customers to have a reason to come into the store,” said Neidich. “We’ve tried to create an experience that combines art and culture with fashion, beauty and lifestyle.”

 

Reservoir, 154 S. Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, (323) 300-5309, reservoir-la.com.