Shopping: Leather with a lighter touch at Illia in Venice
When it comes to fine leather goods, Los Angeles might not have the manufacturing cachet of Florence, Italy, but here in our Venice, you can discover Illia, a leather sportswear collection for women, which opens its first signature boutique on Friday.
Illia is designed and manufactured in downtown L.A. by partners John Murrough and Robbie Moray. Murrough, the lead designer, is a South African who came to Los Angeles in 1983 via London, where he learned leather-making techniques while working in retail for Manolo Blahnik. Murrough and Moray founded Illia 15 years ago as a contemporary women’s collection that was rooted in leather sportswear. After a five-year hiatus, Murrough decided last year to resurrect the label after he witnessed developments in leather treatments, including washes, laser cutting and tailoring.
Although leather sportswear sounds like it would be heavy, cooler-weather dressing, Murrough designs for an L.A. woman.
“I’ve always joked that I make clothes that happen to be in leather,” he says.
Illia’s leathers are often paper-thin and perforated or laser-cut.
“They’re layering pieces not meant to keep you warm,” he says.
Moray and Murrough picked a 1920s façade building on Abbot Kinney Boulevard for their new 600-square-foot boutique. They are both longtime Venice residents, and they’ve welcomed the transformation of the arty beachside community into a retail destination.
“Venice is still bohemian,” says Murrough. “But now it’s upmarket bohemian versus an old kind of Venice bohemian.”
Illia’s spring-summer collection, displayed on a single floating steel rack, features warm-weather leather styles such as a tank top with asymmetric zip ($390), a sleeveless belted blazer ($550), a short-sleeve leather pea coat ($655) and a fitted leather blazer with chain closure ($774). A motorcycle jacket is summer-ready with perforated leather ($375). White leather tank dresses ($425) feature laser-cut arabesques. The store also carries layering pieces to wear with leathers, such as a cami-style pocket-T ($295), cotton canvas shorts ($145) and a tie-dye chiffon dress ($400).
1638 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice. (213) 623-5055. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
https://www.illia.com
Opening
Intimacy Monday: Intimacy, known for its 30-minute bra fit makeovers, is opening two new West Coast stores, beginning with South Coast Plaza on Monday and followed by Century City in June. Intimacy boasts an “eye candy” brassiere wall showcasing brands La Perla, Lisa Charmel, Chantelle and Prima Donna, plus a gilded “bra bank” display of thousands of cup sizes, from A to K.
3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. (657) 622-0595. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
https://www.myintimacy.com
H&M Thursday: H&M opens it newest doors in Southern California at the Block at Orange, and the first 200 shoppers in line at noon on opening day will get an H&M T-shirt and an Access to Fashion Pass worth from $10 to $250. New items include the Fashion Against AIDS music festival collection — 25% of sales proceeds go to HIV/AIDS awareness projects — featuring clothing, accessories, tents and sleeping bags.
20 City Blvd. W., Orange. (714) 634-3834. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
https://www.hm.com
Events
Stuart Weitzman Trunk Show Wednesday through Friday: Stuart Weitzman features on-trend handbag and shoe styles for fall 2010, including $895 faux snow leopard flats, $675 thigh-high combat-style lace-ups and a selection of new boots. Sizes from narrow to wide in 4 to 12.
437 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 860-9600. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
https://www.stuartweitzman.com
John Frieda Salon Tour Friday through May 30: John Frieda’s Style on Site tour bus salon hits L.A. for three days and will be parked in front of Hollywood & Highland. Celebrity stylist Harry Josh and his team are offering free 15-minute walk-in consultations, including a style tutorial and product recommendations. For every potential client who sits in the chair, John Freida will donate $2 to the Children’s Hospital in Boston.
6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
https://www.johnfrieda.com/salontour2010
Sales
Camarillo and Desert Hills Premium Outlets Friday through May 31: Outlet stores celebrate Memorial Day weekend by taking 25% to 65% off already-discounted merchandise. Two new outlets have joined the 160-store lineup at Camarillo: 7 for All Mankind and Forever 21. There are 130 stores at Desert Hills.
Camarillo Premium Outlet, 740 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo. (805) 445-8520. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
https://www.premiumoutlets.com/camarillo
Desert Hills Premium Outlet, 48400 Seminole Drive, Cabazon. (951) 849-6641. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
https://www.premiumoutlets.com/deserthills
