Jordan Brand jumps into the downtown L.A. creative scene; Volcom opens at Westfield Century City
Jumpman LA, a behemoth of a store that opened late last month in downtown Los Angeles, is for those who take their athletic gear as seriously as their sports skills.
The nearly 25,000-square-foot space was opened by Nike’s Jordan Brand, Michael Jordan’s shoe and athletic wear label, in partnership with footwear retailer Footaction. In addition to the usual array of athletic wear — think hats, socks, T-shirts and sweats — the store allows customers to customize their products such as the sought-after Air Jordan 1s.
They can also test-drive products on the rooftop basketball court and in the Flight Lab, essentially a weight training room. There are also areas for gaming as well as locker rooms in a bid to focus on the “one-to-one experience offered to each and every consumer that visits Jumpman LA,” said Ken Side, vice president and general manager of Footaction.
Jumpman LA, 620 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, air.jordan.com
Volcom
To help celebrate its recent store opening in Century City, Volcom has launched a collaboration with designer and artist Rogan Gregory, exclusively available in its newest location. The skate-surf-snowboarding brand opened a 2,500-square-foot boutique early last month. (It’s the second space in the Los Angeles area.)
“It’s our flagship,” said Todd Hymel, chief executive of the Costa Mesa-based brand. “It’s our location to test and launch products as opposed to just a store with four walls and merchandise.” The new collaboration follows one the retailer did with hip-hop duo Run the Jewels. The Rogan Gregory tie-in is a capsule collection of five pieces, including a unisex coverall, T-shirts and a beanie.
“Being an artist himself, he wanted to make workwear for artists,” Hymel said. “The coverall is the hero piece of the collection. It has leather trend details, and the pockets are thoughtfully placed.” The piece retails for $300, with the T-shirts selling for $80. The store will carry the rest of Volcom’s core pieces, including its denims and chinos, which Hymel said are designed “for skaters who wear the same pair of pants for weeks on end.” Volcom items cost between $60 to $120 for denims and $55 to $100 for board shorts, tees and hoodies.
Volcom, Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, volcom.com
Designers’ trunk show
A group of prestige names is getting together for a trunk show on Tuesday. The one-day-only event will offer customers an opportunity to meet designers in person and shop their collections in a private setting.
“It’s nice for us to meet our clients directly,” said Carolina Santo Domingo, founder of the eponymous Los Angeles-based Italian-made handbag line that sells at boutiques such as Maxfield, Elyse Walker and Just One Eye and on global platforms Net-a-Porter and Moda Operandi. Santo Domingo will be joined by Paris-based designer Esteban Cortazar, who sells at Barneys New York; jeweler Sabine Getty, who will be jetting in from London and whose pieces retail at Maxfield; and Los Angeles florist and perfumer Eric Buterbaugh whose fragrances can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Santo Domingo said she’s planning to bring pieces from her spring/summer 2018 collections and fall/winter ’19, priced between $595 and $1,200. Those pieces will include her sculptural leather handbags and others embellished with tassels and hand-beading. Also, Buterbaugh fragrances average about $175 a scent; Getty’s jewelry is $2,500 and up; and Cortazar pieces are upwards of several hundred dollars.
Designers’ trunk show, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Beverly Hills Hotel, Room 102, 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills
Local Mercato
For those who are seeking a respite from the chaos of shopping malls and the isolation of online shopping, you might be in luck. On Nov. 8, Local Mercato will bring people together to browse and buy over cocktails and nibbles at its Autumn at the Avalon event.
“I grew up shopping with my grandmother, and the shopping was secondary to spending time with her,” said Janie Schwartz, who co-founded Local Mercato two years ago. “We wanted to bring back an in-person shopping experience.”
The upcoming event at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills will feature 10 local brands such as Jill Burrows, who makes leather babouche-style slippers; Mason Grey, who makes loungewear; and Malibu-based jewelry line Letterpresse, which will customize initials onto its pieces on-site. In addition to fashion and beauty products, there will be cocktail-mixing kits available from Twist Your Spirits and CBD-infused chocolate truffles from Calivolve. BoxUnion will have a demo of its boxing workouts, and MAC will provide quick beauty makeovers.
Schwartz said the brands together offer an accessible price range — think $25 for chocolate truffles to $500 for some of the jewelry. She said every vendor would be including special offers such as a gift with purchase or additional discounts.
Local Mercato Autumn at the Avalon, 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 8, Avalon Hotel, 9400 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills, RSVP at localmercato.com/events
Indochino
With 34 showrooms across major cities in North America, menswear retailer Indochino wants to ensure that the opportunity to have a men’s suit made-to-order is never out of reach for fashionable guys.
The 13-year-old company, which operated for nine years strictly as an e-commerce brand, opened its latest showroom in late September. It’s the first in Orange County.
“California continues to be our focus,” said Drew Green, president and chief executive of the Vancouver-based company, which also has showrooms in San Francisco and Beverly Hills. “And what we want to do is bring something that’s been around for hundreds of years — the technique of bespoke suits — to a wide audience.”
Customers can get goods ranging from tuxedos and suits to casual khakis and shirts made-to-measure delivered direct within two weeks. Green said the delivery time would be shortened to one week starting in 2019. In addition to the fabrics and fit, shoppers can choose lapel style, buttons, linings and monograms. The average price of a suit is $399 and a shirt or pair of khakis starts at $80.
“For the general public, bespoke suits have been associated with only the rich,” Green said. “But we are now making this available to the mass market.”
Indochino, Fashion Island, 401 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, indochino.com
Nana Judy
Australian brand Nana Judy chose Los Angeles for its first U.S. freestanding store based on the popularity of the label at shops such American Rag and Fred Segal.
“We have a cool following here,” said Glenn Coleman, the brand’s founder, who has a personal connection with the name of the men’s and women’s label — Nana for his grandma and Judy for her dog. The company has another store in Melbourne, Australia.
The 2,600-square-foot space will feature limited-edition pieces, including a new collaboration with Disney, Nana Judy X 101 Dalmatians (coincidentally, Judy was that particular breed). That collection had its debut at New York Fashion Week in September. Coleman said the brand was a standout from its inception 12 years ago for “the minimalism in our designs.”
The new store will also feature some of the label’s best-known pieces, like the Montana hoodie, which has pin tuck biker sleeves.
Nana Judy, 344 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, nanajudy.com
Hatch
Ariane Goldman founded Hatch in New York in 2011 while pregnant with her first child — and unable to find the stylish, comfortable clothing she sought out. In late October, Goldman opened a second boutique, this time in Santa Monica near Brentwood. Its new location stocks the same top sellers as the New York store including jersey turtlenecks, denim overalls, robes and all-natural beauty products, specifically for pregnant and post-natal women.
Goldman said Hatch was “born out of a desire for something chic and elevated.” The cheerful and welcoming 1,400-square-foot space will have local exclusives such as the LA LA Mama T-shirt ($78), sales of which will benefit Alliance of Moms, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of foster care. Also on hand is a cravings bar, which offers pregnancy must-haves such as pickles and ice cream.
Prices at the store start at $98 and go to $378 for the brand’s signature overalls and cashmere rob. Hatch Mama, the beauty line, is priced from $12 for the stretch-mark-minimizing Belly Mask.
Hatch, 240 26th St., Santa Monica, hatchcollection.com
Ellery X the Outnet
The Outnet, the e-commerce site that offers discounted luxury brands, will bow an exclusive offering on Thursday with Ellery, the Paris- and Sydney-based brand known for its dramatic, architectural aesthetic.
Founded by Kym Ellery in 2007, pieces from the label have been worn by Cate Blanchett and Rihanna. The 12-piece edit with the Outnet will be priced between 50% and 70% lower than regular retail. Standouts include a shimmering shirt with exaggerated collar and a silky coral slip dress. Prices range from $325 to $625.
Ellery X the Outnet, theoutnet.com
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