Local-fashion-filled ‘Pop Carts’ roll into the Grove Nov. 15

We’ve had pop-up restaurants, pop-up shops and pop-up concerts. Now, get ready for pop-up carts.

In the decade since it has opened, the Grove has become a pedestrian center in a city that doesn’t have many, a gathering place for locals and tourists alike. And next month, the Grove is bringing a little local fashion flavor to its shopping alleys and courtyards in the form of Pop Carts, stylish new pop-up vendors selling clothing and accessories from three up-and-coming L.A.-based designers and brands.

The Pop Carts will roll out Nov. 15 and remain on site through Valentine’s Day. Rather than selling Crocs and doggie T-shirts, these haute carts will offer ban.do’s $45 heart-shaped clutches and $350 jeweled head bands, Clare Vivier’s butter-soft leather coin purses, purses and weekend bags from $55 to $500, and Heidi Merrick’s silk print PJs and decorative pillows from $39 to $325.

The Pop Carts will not look like any others on the property. The designers will give them their own individual look and feel. The fashion carts have the same ephemeral appeal as food trucks and pop-up stores, and the potential to make the Grove feel even less like a homogeneous mall. They also come at a time when the shopping center is trying to up its style quotient with several new, more fashion-forward tenants, including TopShop, a J. Crew Men’s store and Vince.

“There are so many designers who want to be on the property, and we starting thinking about where else we could put people,” said Galit Shokrian, senior vice president for marketing and communications at Caruso Affiliated, which owns the Grove. “We thought, we have these carts all over the property, why not change them to designer carts rather than carts selling iPhone cases. We reached out to designers and they loved the idea.”

Shokrian intentionally tapped L.A.-based designers. “Our tag line for the Grove is that it is where L.A. comes together. This gives L.A. designers a chance to showcase their products to a huge audience. It adds a bit of local flavor, and brings designers who have more of a cult following a platform where they can showcase their products to a huge audience.”

She hopes the project will expand and be ongoing. “We would love to turn every single cart at the Grove into a designer cart. The goal is to bring these designers who otherwise couldn’t afford the rents at the Grove, and to incubate them, so maybe someday they can get a store at the Grove. It serves everybody well.”

Pop Carts, Nov. 15 to Feb. 14., at the Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, www.thegrovela.com.

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