Friends Join St. John’s Founders to Do Launch

It was in the middle of the holiday season, and party organizers were hoping a few regular customers would take the time to launch St. John Knits’ new West Coast flagship store in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa.

More than 300 women showed up, wearing assorted St. John wear. Many brought along husbands and children. One even showed up with the family hound.

Store manager Razieh Bagheri said the guests were close friends and customers of Marie and Bob Gray, who founded the label almost four decades ago.

The company’s western flagship store used to be in Beverly Hills, but the Costa Mesa store recently became top dog because it’s bigger and carries more merchandise. The East Coast flagship is on 5th Avenue and 57th Street in New York City.

The Costa Mesa “townhouse” has two floors and 15,000-square-feet of space to display the entire collection, with separate departments for evening, sport, classic and shoes.

“There’s even a men’s waiting area with a big screen [TV] and a bar, a place for him to relax and watch sports as she shops,” Bagheri says.

One woman at the party confessed to the Grays that her husband had to add a room to their home just to handle her collection of St. John duds.

Adjoining the boutique is the company’s Amen Wardy Home store.