Southern California Retail Scene [Archive]

Alta California

Sep 28, 2006, 11:14 PM

How come we never had one of these threads about SoCal? I've been itching to post something about the opening of H&Ms, Lacoste and Ben Sherman but couldn't find a thread to do it on. Prompted by the grand opening of the Westfield San Francisco Centre, I'll start with the expansion and upscaling of the Westfield Topanga mall. It opens next week on October 6th. It will have 100 new stores added to the 130 existing. H&M, Lacoste, MNG, Zara, Burberry, and Puma will open and I don't think I've seen so many European retailers concentrated in one place. Nieman Marcus will open in 2008.

While this article talks about the food courts of the new mall, it starts a series of Daily News articles leading up to Oct. 6.

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Not your mother's mall food
Flatware, pricey burgers signify sophisticated fare
BY JULIA M. SCOTT, Staff Writer
http://www.dailynews.com/business/ci_4407854
LA Daily News
One in an occasional series on the Oct. 6 opening of an expanded Westfield Topanga mall.

Say goodbye to wobbly plastic forks and dull knives at the Westfield Topanga mall.

When the new wing opens Oct.6 after a $500million face lift, the mall will have upscale dining options to match the high-end retailers, full-service concierge and acres of covered parking.

"We needed to take the typical food-court experience and enhance it to match the sophisticated level of shopping," Westfield spokeswoman Brandi Friel said.

Flatware and china will transform the food court into a "dining terrace" with views of a 300-foot-long glass arched ceiling, "the Canyon."

Two sit-down restaurants, an expanded bistro in the new Nordstrom and a made-to-order cafe will also make their home in the Canoga Park shopping-plex.

The Farm of Beverly Hills, renowned for its fudgey brownies and homemade ingredients, will open its first San Fernando Valley venue. The Farm's homey setting belies its sophisticated fare - and pricey menu.

"We're not cheap," conceded Fran Berger, who owns the chain with her husband, Howard. "We think we give incredible values for what you pay, but not everybody is willing to go over $14 for a hamburger."

The half-pound hamburger - beef, turkey or veggie - comes with oven-roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions and costs $14.75. Other menu fare includes crispy-duck lettuce wraps for $11.25 and a Nicoise salad with seared ahi for $16.75.

Amaranta Cocina Mexicana, which is slated to open in January, aims to bring a fully authentic experience in Mexican dining, said Eduardo Rallo, who owns the eatery with his wife, Sylvia. "A lot of what has existed in the past is a very mom-and-pop style of taqueria," Rallo said. "Or you have the Tex-Mex chainy style."

The menu for Amaranta is still under wraps, but it will be similar to one of the Rallos' restaurants in San Francisco.

There, handmade tortillas topped with stewed chicken, avocado and sour cream are $7. Pozole verde, chicken and hominy soup with jalapenos and tomatillos, is $9. Marinated chunks of pork are paired with mild guajillo chilies and arbol chilies salsa and go for $11.

In the food court, Coral Tree Cafe will have an express station offering its restaurant menu, sans the nightly special. Wine and beer also will be available for purchase.

Kalamata olive bread with eggs in the middle is $9.25. Baked macaroni with sharp cheddar, Parmesan and bleu cheeses is $9.95. Organic mixed greens with carrots, balsamic vinaigrette and grilled skirt steak is $13.95.

"Our food is not typical mall food," said Kevin Khalili, one of three owners.

julia.scott@dailynews.com

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Renderings:

http://westfield.com/newtopanga/gallery/canyon.jpg
http://westfield.com/newtopanga/gallery/new.jpg
http://westfield.com/newtopanga/gallery/nordstrom.jpg
http://westfield.com/newtopanga/gallery/tenants.jpg

Ok, the design is mallish blah. It's taking bits and pieces of other Westfield shopping center designs and plopping them in here. I think the inspiration is an enclosed Westfield Century City. Kudos for them though for narrowing the passageways between the stores instead of the superhighways that you use to navigate Beverly Center.

As a Valleyite, I can't wait for it to open! The future looks even brighter as you and I know that there's another Westfield a block away and integration is almost guaranteed. I also like the fact that the development is happening on the terminus of the Orange Line.:tup:

Buckeye Native 001

Sep 28, 2006, 11:21 PM

All we've got are shopping malls. And frankly, who wants to read about that? ;)

Alta California

Sep 28, 2006, 11:50 PM

^^ But I think we make better malls than everyone else. There's also a slew of new retail projects coming up such as the Valley Plaza Shopping Center, the Americana at Brand, another Caruso in Santa Anita, Grand Avenue, G8Way, etc. Not only that, it's also a thread for major retail developments such as who's coming in.

Buckeye Native 001

Sep 28, 2006, 11:55 PM

Yeah we build great malls, but how conducive is that to urban living?

POLA

Sep 29, 2006, 1:44 AM

classy...

Seriously, don't malls already have things like TGIFridays and Olive Garden?

bjornson

Sep 29, 2006, 3:10 AM

It will have 100 new stores added to the 130 existing. H&M, Lacoste, MNG, Zara, Burberry, and Puma will open and I don't think I've seen so many European retailers concentrated in one place.

South Coast Plaza arguably has more European retailers more than any other mall in the U.S. MNG actually had it's U.S. debut at SCP.

Now, let's try to lay off some malls with some exceptions of course and focus on the streets and districts.

ksep

Sep 29, 2006, 3:41 AM

yeah, this thread sucks. i hate most friggen malls. it's like shopping in a bathroom.....full of germs. :yuck:

bjornson

Sep 29, 2006, 4:44 AM

Me too! And "Lifestyle Centers!" Yeah this thread does suck...LAB will do something about it...

Alta California

Sep 29, 2006, 8:01 AM

yeah, this thread sucks. i hate most friggen malls. it's like shopping in a bathroom.....full of germs. :yuck:

I have no idea what to make of that comment.:shrug: But to each his own. If the urbanist wetdream of San Francisco can open a Westfield mall smack dab in the middle of the city and have people go gaga, I see no reason that SoCal can't. In fact, the article below shows that the SF mall experiment is being touted as a model for downtown LA.

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San Francisco Mall May Supply Concept for L.A.
A tall mall must draw shoppers in and up. It could serve as a model for other cities.
By Roger Vincent
Times Staff Writer

September 28, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — A new style of high-rise mall that may serve as a model for downtown Los Angeles and other big city centers will open its doors here today as the largest urban shopping center west of the Mississippi River.

The expanded San Francisco Centre in the heart of this city's historic commercial district at 5th and Market streets combines department stores, supermarkets, movie theaters, restaurants, shops, a spa and office space in two buildings, one nine stories and the other eight.

City leaders hope that the mall will further invigorate once-seedy Market Street and serve as a bridge between Union Square — now the city's main shopping attraction — and the grittier former industrial district south of Market Street known as SoMa, which includes new museums and hotels.

If successful, San Francisco Centre eventually could be a blueprint for renewing the once-vaunted shopping district of downtown Los Angeles, experts said. But it is a bold and risky bet that residents and tourists will frequent a so-called vertical mall that goes upward instead of outward in the style of most sprawling suburban shopping centers.

"Most American consumers, save for San Francisco and Chicago, aren't really attuned to vertical retailing," said Peter Lowy, chief executive of U.S. operations for Sydney, Australia-based Westfield Group, which owns the mall with Forest City Commercial Group. "Even New Yorkers tend to not shop vertically unless they are in a department store."

Los Angeles' most recent experiment in vertical malls, the four-story Hollywood & Highland Center, was widely shunned when it opened in 2001 in part because shoppers found it difficult to navigate. The developer sold it at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the new owners have labored to make it easier to get around inside.

Angelenos are expected to get another taste of vertical retailing in the $1.8-billion Grand Avenue project planned for Bunker Hill downtown that is to include a grocery store, shops, theaters and other entertainment features. Construction is slated to start next year.

But a high-end reworking of some of Los Angeles' historic department stores that have long since been turned to other uses will probably have to wait several years because downtown L.A. lacks the density of San Francisco.

Not enough people live in downtown L.A. yet, and it would take a lot of new development to restore its long-lost reputation as a daytime shopping destination, said Los Angeles retail consultant Greg Gotthardt of Alvarez & Marsal. San Francisco is also hotel-rich, with about 15,000 rooms near the city center, compared with about 3,000 rooms in downtown L.A.

Nonetheless, many shoppers are ditching traditional indoor suburban malls for so-called lifestyle centers that mimic Main Street, such as the Grove in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles.

The expansion of San Francisco Centre, which cost $460 million, is part of an industry trend toward making existing successful malls much bigger by adding shops and other uses, including apartments and condos. With the new addition, San Francisco Centre has tripled in size to 1.5 million square feet.

Remodeling and ambitiously expanding malls "is clearly something that is going to continue to happen across the U.S.," said competitor Art Coppola, chief executive of Santa Monica-based mall operator Macerich Co., which is also expanding some of its malls.

Retailers prefer to join proven centers, and the neighbors are less likely to object to expanding an existing center than they would to the creation of a new one.

And if the properties are near public transit hubs, public officials are often quick to approve the addition of office space and residential units, Coppola said. "It makes sense because it's smart growth."

San Francisco Centre is above an underground rail station and along one of the city's busiest bus routes. Across Market Street, the city's main thoroughfare, a turntable spins cable cars around and relaunches them back up Nob Hill toward Fisherman's Wharf.

"The whole mid-Market area has been difficult, but now I think it will come to life," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said. "It will ignite some long-range development."

He said he was also looking forward to the 25 million visitors the mall is expected to attract and the estimated $18 million it should contribute to the city's general fund through taxes.

The expanded San Francisco Centre combines the original Centre, a nine-story venue that opened in 1988 with a Nordstrom store, with an aged eight-story building that once housed the Emporium. It will contain, among other things, the nation's second-largest Bloomingdale's and a gourmet Bristol Farms market.

The Emporium building was built in 1896 and survived San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake but was destroyed by the subsequent fire. The building was rebuilt and has been a local landmark, offering through the years the city's first escalators, a circular bandstand for free concerts and a Christmastime department where only men could shop for women's gifts.

Restoring life to the cherished relic was a 10-year ordeal for owner Forest City Commercial, President Jim Ratner said. A combined project with San Francisco Centre next door made the most sense, but its owners weren't interested until Westfield, the world's largest shopping center owner, took it over in 2002.

"Melding the two buildings was the key to keeping the historical architecture while giving us the critical mass to go forward," Westfield's Lowy said.

The Market Street facade renovation brought back windows and storefronts on the sidewalk that had been boarded up for at least half a century, said architect Norman Garden of RTKL, the principal design firm for the renovation. "It restores the street fabric and original intent."

Bright natural light reaches most of the revamped addition through the facade windows, dome and new glass roofs, bathing floors below that open to the central core and are staggered in shape to evoke San Francisco's hilly topography. The light is a central part of the design scheme intended to coax shoppers to travel up and down several floors, which is rarely attempted in American retail centers.

"The challenge with vertical malls has always been getting the foot traffic flow worked out to attract people to each level," said consultant Gotthardt. "Otherwise you have significant dead zones and poor performance."

San Francisco Centre's multiple tiers are a gamble, Lowy acknowledged, but if the center works, the successful elements can be duplicated elsewhere. It's now one of very few vertical-style malls in the country

After today's opening hoopla, including Cirque du Soleil acrobats dangling from the high ceiling ends, San Francisco Centre will face the challenge of attracting enough of the region's demanding shoppers to prosper. Former Emporium patron Lillian Markinson gave it thumbs up so far.

"It's in good taste and not showy," said Markinson, who was there for a pre-opening tea. "It's one of the loveliest malls I have ever seen."

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Alta California

Sep 29, 2006, 8:19 AM

Yeah we build great malls, but how conducive is that to urban living?

Better than you think. The Orange Line has a stop right across the Westfield Promenade and is a block away from the Topanga mall. I think the intensification of developments would balance out the lopsided direction of Orange Line ridership that is focused towards the East Valley. Also, malls are not at all averse to transit-oriented developments. Witness Paseo Colorado and (cringe) Hollywood & Highland.

Orange Line ad inside Promenade (taken when the line opened):
http://static.flickr.com/120/255464321_5eafe0bbbc.jpg

Though they need to do something about getting from the stop to the mall. You have to go through a surface parking lot to reach it:

http://static.flickr.com/115/255464407_0248d014f6.jpg

glowrock

Sep 29, 2006, 1:20 PM

yeah, this thread sucks. i hate most friggen malls. it's like shopping in a bathroom.....full of germs. :yuck:

One of the stupidest comments EVAR... :sly:

Aaron (Glowrock)

Edit: For what it's worth, I think this is about the fourth time Topanga Plaza has been renovated/expanded. The first major renovation was completed just a few weeks (maybe a month or two?) before the Northridge Earthquake, and then of course almost everything that had been renovated had to be re-renovated due to the damage. I believe there has been at least one renovation since that time, and now this one would be number 4. Hell, I remember the OLD Topanga Plaza, the one BEFORE the 1992-1993 renovation. It was something right out of the 60's-early 70's, honestly!

RAlossi

Sep 29, 2006, 4:29 PM

Personally, I hate malls. I hate the Caruso-style malls as well. I only like Hollywood & Highland because I used to get shabu-shabu there -- but never again will I set foot in Koji's though -- and because they have a Beard Papa (Brig, you had better bring Beard Papa to DTLA like NOW!). I loathe CityWalk.

That being said, there IS a market out there for these types of malls. I think it's good for the city that the suburban West Valley is capturing (or will be capturing) some of the sales that would normally go to Beverly Hills (Bev. Ctr.) or maybe out in Thousand Oaks, or something.

Sure, the Orange Line has a stop right by the "Shoppingtown" (I really don't like that term), but the people that will be paying $14 for a hamburger aren't going to be taking transit, and the people that are taking transit aren't going to be paying $14 for a hamburger.

rs913

Sep 29, 2006, 5:23 PM

I remember visiting Topanga a couple times in the late 90s. Seems like this is LA's equivalent of Valley Fair here in the Bay Area...a mid-sized mall that Westfield has slowly turned into an upscale behemoth.

sf_eddo

Sep 29, 2006, 6:21 PM

I know - why NOT talk about malls? It's honestly the quintessential SoCal experience, I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but I can't go one day whenever I'm in SoCal without stepping into a mall.

A mall with more diversified offerings I think would be a complete success in L.A. - who needs more Borders, Gap, Banana Republics, J. Crew, etc.? Yes, formula retail is a tried and true success, but L.A. has a reputation for thinking outside the box, and a diversified mall, if successful, could result in a funky unique and independent urban mall which could be the next step for all cities.

I've been to the big non-mall retail areas - Chicago's Mag Mile, Midtown New York, Union Square - and honestly, yeah it's nice with the hustle bustle, but really? Meh. I'm not anti-mall, I'm anti-bland-formula-retail.

I also HATE HATE HATE those horrendous Caruso-lifestyle centers. TACKY.

rs913

Sep 29, 2006, 6:51 PM

L.A. has a reputation for thinking outside the box, and a diversified mall, if successful, could result in a funky unique and independent urban mall which could be the next step for all cities.

There's one in the O.C. (http://thelab.com) that fits the bill...

Buckeye Native 001

Sep 29, 2006, 6:59 PM

What you all fail to realize is that we are talking about MALLS which require PARKING LOTS which require you to travel to said MALL in a CAR.

bjornson

Sep 29, 2006, 7:24 PM

O.k. no more malls! Let's focus on the the districts and what not.

Rodeo Drive
Melrose Avenue/Melrose Place
Robertson Blvd
La Brea Avenue
Wilshire Blvd
SaMo
etc...

Oh and the Lab is quite the anti-mall. It has a different ambiance to it. It's not like a lifestyle center either.

dimondpark

Sep 29, 2006, 7:40 PM

The Garment District in Downtown Los Angeles has never failed me.

Sure there's a lot of cheap crap and heapes of designer knock-offs but I've found very fine imported silk and other materials that can be used to make clothing of the finest detail, all at the hands of some of the best tailors and seamstresses I have ever met(who are also located downtown)

When it comes to fashion, there are ways to look awesome and not spend a fortune yet still look like you did, and DT LA I think allows one to do that better then anywhere else on the west coast.

RAlossi

Sep 29, 2006, 7:57 PM

POLA

Sep 29, 2006, 9:20 PM

actually, the fashion district is split up into sections, and certain blocks are mens only. But, you most likely would do best at one of the marts.

dimondpark

Sep 30, 2006, 12:09 AM

Please please please share some info as to where to go! Most of the clothing places in DTLA are sooo women's-apparel-heavy that I've almost all but given up.
oh dear,
I've been racking my brains trying to remember where I put my palm treo....it has all my contacts but it was lost in the move from Sacramento...somewhere. But I know how to get to where I need to be...next time I come down I'll post info.:D

dragonsky

Sep 30, 2006, 3:02 AM

I like malls.

edluva

Sep 30, 2006, 7:33 AM

I hate it whenever an article or forumer attributes the lack of downtown whatever (in this case retail) to the lack of downtown residents. Michigan Ave and Union Square is patronized by tourists and suburbanites, not just residents of the tenderloin and loop. No downtown could support these shopping districts by themselves. I mean is Rodeo drive only there to serve Beverly Hills?

ReDSPork02

Sep 30, 2006, 6:44 PM

West Los Angeles: Boulevard of the Rising Sun
Stephanie Diani for The New York Times
http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/10/01/travel/01surf_600.jpg
An area around Sawtelle Boulevard, once a quiet Japanese-American neighborhood, has evolved into a thriving commercial center.

By JANELLE BROWN

SAWTELLE BOULEVARD in West Los Angeles may be 5,000 miles from Japan, but please don’t tell the locals. More than a decade ago, this nondescript street, strung with strip malls and modest apartment buildings, was a quiet community of second-generation Japanese immigrants that was mostly known for its botanical nurseries.

Things changed in the late 1990’s, when foodies hunting for authentic Japanese cuisine discovered the area and its family-run yakitori and teriyaki restaurants. In the last few years, as the vogue for everything Asian has exploded, so has the neighborhood.

Today, this three-block stretch between Missouri Avenue and Olympic Boulevard is an oasis of noodle and boba (pearl tapioca tea) houses, Tokyo street-wear shops and karaoke bars that are packed until the woozy hours of the morning — not just with fashionable Japanese, but with college students and hipsters as well. Call it Neo-Tokyo in the heart of Los Angeles.

Kick-starting the trend was Giant Robot (2015 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-478-1819; www.giantrobot.com), a miniemporium devoted to Asian pop arcana like wind-up Japanese robots ($2) or vinyl Ugly Dolls ($25). Eric Nakamura, 37, opened the store in 2001, not far from where he grew up. “I collected things like comics, baseball cards and toys as a kid,’’ he said. “And once you’re into clogging your house with stuff, stocking a store is just as addicting.”

Giant Robot has since expanded up and down the street like a real estate Godzilla. There’s an art gallery, GR2 (2062 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-445-9276; www.gr2.net), that features contemporary artists, including graffiti artists like Twist. There’s a cafeteria-style restaurant, GR/eats (2050 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-478-3242; www.gr-eats.com), that serves cheap, fast-food-style fare and chicken teriyaki ($7.75). There are even outposts in San Francisco and New York.

Hello Kitty fans have their own boutiques. Tokyo (2109 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-914-5320) specializes in all things kawaii (Japanese for cute), like heart-shaped stickers and Hello Kitty backpacks (starting at $19.99), while Happy Six (2115 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-479-5363; www.happysix.com) sells polka-dot shirt dresses with pink velvet bunny patches ($68).

But most visitors still go to Sawtelle Boulevard to soak themselves in soy sauce. You can sample nearly every style of Japanese cooking, from instant ramen to slow-cooked barbecues, from cold soba to hot curry.

Among the finest, and smallest, is Orris (2006 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-268-2212; www.orrisrestaurant.com), a Tokyo pub-style restaurant that serves izakaya — Japanese tapas — with a French twist. Favorites include Szechuan snapper carpaccio ($9.50) and squash blossom tempura ($8.25).

For a casual vibe, head to Mizu 212 (2000 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-478-8979), where a grumpy-looking Felix the Cat glares down at the customers who are busy cooking their beef shabu shabu ($11.50 to $45.50 for Kobe beef). Sushi lovers should go no farther than Kiriko (11301 Olympic Boulevard No. 102; 310-478-7769; www.kirikosushi.com), on the Sawtelle side of the Olympic Collection mall. It’s a serene, bamboo-screened sushi bar that serves glistening slices of fat-marbled toro (market price).

Finally, since no night in Tokyo — or on Sawtelle — is complete without singing off-key, stumble over to Karaoke Bleu (2064 Sawtelle Boulevard, 310-477-4794), the most popular of three karaoke bars on the strip. Don’t worry if you can’t speak Japanese. The song list includes plenty of Britney Spears ($1 a song).

Alta California

Oct 1, 2006, 12:43 AM

SFBoy

Oct 1, 2006, 8:36 AM

What you all fail to realize is that we are talking about MALLS which require PARKING LOTS which require you to travel to said MALL in a CAR.
And?

Are you too good for El Carro or El Buso?

ChrisLA

Oct 1, 2006, 9:44 AM

^^Sawtelle is a gem of a neighborhood. Beard Papa's opened its only L.A. branch here outside of H&H and it looks popular with Asians. For those of you intimidated by the thought of parking in the Westside, there is a parking garage that is free for customers underneath Beard Papa's.

Hey I've been there a couple of times, and I love this place. They have the best cream puffs I've ever tasted. Well at least the best ones since Helms bakery used to roam the streets of LA neighborhoods with what we called the dounut trunk. Ahh I can still smell the aroma of the fresh baked goods today.
They sold bread too, and the donuts I tell you there is nothing today that even come close to it. Opps it kinda of tells you my age because this was back in the late 60's and early 70's. :)

I highly recommend who ever visits Hollywood Highland check this place out. Their cappuccino are pretty good too, and they go well with the cream puffs.

Link to what their trucks looked like.
http://www.1-87vehicles.org/photo292/divco_helms.php

Buckeye Native 001

Oct 1, 2006, 6:10 PM

And?

Are you too good for El Carro or El Buso?

No I'm actually part of the problem, just like the rest of the suburbanites across the Southland.

jessie_sanchez

Oct 1, 2006, 10:50 PM

bjornson

Oct 2, 2006, 5:40 AM

I hate the Grove.
I like Melrose (Avenue and Place) and the surrounding areas.

Alta California

Oct 2, 2006, 6:00 AM

I happen to like outdoor shopping a whole lot more than enclosed malls.

My three favorites are Old Town Pasadena, Santa Monica Promenade, and The Grove in the Fairfax District. It's LA dammit!!! It's almost a crime to shop indoors when the weather outside is so gorgeous.

Each one of these places have the same kind of stores as any of the Westfield malls. Banana Republic, Gap, Barnes & Noble, they're all in each one. If the Promenade and OTP got its start today, everyone will scream in these forums: "BOOO, lifestyle-centers! Fake trees! Fake urbanism!"

Alta California

Oct 3, 2006, 11:57 PM

More Pinkberrys Not Solving Weho Congestion
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2006/10/more_pinkberrys_not_solving_weho_congestion_.php
The Pinkberry explosion across LA (koreatown and melrose/la brea are now open for business) has done nothing to stop the mayhem on Huntley Drive in Weho. As Wehonews reports, the city council has sparked more anger by cancelling a public hearing than holding one on Pinkberry's appeal against a July ruling that established new regulations designed to reduce traffic and garbage.

Apparently, Pinkberry's lawyer couldn't make the meeting (he was too busy counting his gold bullion, screaming at his jr. associates, and spending his money on hookers and coke to attend). Pinkberry seems to think the more stores they open, the less the crowd at the first location, so perhaps the "postponement" is just a brilliant legal tactic. However, the postponement has only strengthened Huntley Drive's residents' resolve, who have vowed to never give up the battle. Unless, of course, Famima!! opens on that block and they have a new evil-bobo-retailer opening-too-fast-in-too-many-places to fight against.

++++++++++++++++

I spied with my own eyes two other Pinkberry openings: Westwood Village and StudioCity/Sherman Oaks (next to DuPar's on Laurel Cnyn and Ventura). How many are they opening?!

Alta California

Oct 4, 2006, 12:02 AM

Answering my own question

From the LA Business Journal
Frozen Frenzy
Los Angeles’ obsession with Pinkberry, which is opening a preposterous 30 locations in the region this year, has ironically managed to obscure it, but frozen yogurt is back.

The Pinkberry obsession, rhapsodized as “the craze that launched 1,000 parking tickets,” a reference to the traffic crush created by the phenomenal success of the company’s Larchmont location, may be about to get its first test.

Kiwiberri, which recently opened in a strip mall across from the Beverly Center, is also enjoying early popularity with a similar style, green tea flavor and fruit emphasis.

Meanwhile, Lickity Split Café and Frozen Custard Factory opened a flagship store adjacent to the Egyptian Theater about a year ago, the third site to open since 2003. Co-founder Bruce Brown’s first licensed store will open in Westwood Village before the end of the year, with more expected to follow. The Lickity Split product is frozen custard, which has an egg yolk base and 30 percent less fat, sugar and salt that most premium ice creams. Atkins Diet devotees love it, but the product may have more fat than frozen yogurt.

Kosher palates won’t have to wait much longer, either. A Matter of Taste Inc.’s Tasti D-Lite will open a Los Angeles location by mid-2007, according to a company spokesperson.

johnnypd

Oct 4, 2006, 9:03 AM

The Lab is not really an "anti-mall". an anti-mall would have to be an outdoors street-based shopping area mixed in with other urban uses, and crucially not an island accessed by car (the grove). the Lab and it's sister Mall The Camp ( http://www.thecampsite.com/ ) are both malls accessed by car, the only difference being they are smaller than typical malls and are filled with boutique stores. almost everyone who goes there drives there, from what i can tell. I walk there, but i also walk to SCP, because i'm very close to both. though I will say they are pretty nice as far as Malls go, apart from the whole pretence.

bjornson

Oct 4, 2006, 10:16 PM

^Yes, I know. The Lab just has "anti-mall" on their sign that's all.

dragonsky

Oct 5, 2006, 4:30 AM

NEIMAN, TARGET SHARE MALL FOR FIRST TIME

BY DEBRA HAZEL

High fashion will meet high discounts when Neiman Marcus and Target enter Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga, in Canoga Park, Calif., in 2008. This is the first time the two will be under one roof.

Developer Westfield Group is paying $300 million to add 600,000 square feet to the 1 million-square-foot mall.

“We’re creating the gamut of shopping,” said Richard E. Green, vice chairman of Sydney-based Westfield’s U.S. operations. “This is proving to be the most exciting time in the business. Malls will be one-stop shopping.”

At one time, asking a discounter to coexist in the same center with one of the highest-end fashion anchors in the country would have been asking too much. But today’s retail realities say the two are not such strange bedfellows, says Green. Consumers shop both, for different needs.

Anchor consolidation has helped drive the trend. Federated Department Stores’ recent announcement of its acquisition of May Department Stores Co. only further drains the anchor pool.

“You do have dark anchor stores, and it is not as readily feasible for department stores to operate more than one box going forward,” said Margaret Gilliam, president of Gilliam & Co., a New York City-based retail consulting firm.

Westfield already has several Targets and one Wal-Mart in its malls, as well as big boxes like Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens ’n Things. Topanga, however, could become the ultimate combination of fashionable and discount anchors.

Given Topanga’s location in an affluent area, the addition of a Neiman Marcus to its existing anchor mix of Nordstrom, Robinsons-May and Sears made sense, observers say. The mall sits on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, between Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Street, in the center of the San Fernando Valley. Not only are the 1.5 million inhabitants very affluent, with an average household income of more than $76,800 in 2003, the closest Neiman Marcus store is 20 miles to the south in Beverly Hills.

Nordstrom is building a 205,000-square-foot store at the center, which is also adding more than 100 specialty shops, three covered parking structures and a café-style Dining Terrace. “Neiman Marcus and other Tenants enthusiastically agreed to add Target to their mix,” Green said. “All of the things Target is selling are the things that haven’t been sold in malls for years,” he said, referring to such as housewares, small appliances, electronics, and health and beauty aids.

Gilliam applauds the move. “It will be fantastic,” she said. She has been an advocate of combining discounters with fashion anchors for over a decade, citing the success of Mall of America. The Bloomington, Minn., megamall opened in 1992 with a mix that includes Bloomingdale’s and Marshalls.

The Topanga expansion broke ground in February. Target and the new Nordstrom will open next fall. Neiman Marcus will then break ground on the former Nordstrom site to open in the spring of 2008.

The odds are good that the Neiman-Target combination could crop up again. Said Gilliam, “It’s going to happen.”

dragonsky

Oct 5, 2006, 4:36 AM

deleted.

dragonsky

Oct 5, 2006, 4:43 AM

deleted. Please help me to remove my last two posts, if possible.

ocman

Oct 5, 2006, 6:06 AM

That's a lot of stores for something that just recently hit the scene. They have no idea if this is just some fad, like Krispy Kreme.

Alta California

Oct 5, 2006, 6:14 AM

That's a lot of stores for something that just recently hit the scene. They have no idea if this is just some fad, like Krispy Kreme.

I headed to the recently opened Westwood Pinkberry and tried the yogurt. The plain yogurt was $2.95. It's not bad, I could see myself stopping by occassionally. There's a crowd there already but not long lines. It would be interesting if it attracts the same interest as Diddy Reise. UCLA students are the toughest customers. The only business the students have inadvertently supported all these years is the repo man.

bjornson

Oct 6, 2006, 4:25 AM

Style Siren: Open Sesame

New York City vintage fave Some Odd Rubies now has an LA sister that opened this week in Los Feliz. The brainchild of Ruby Caner, Odessa Whitmire and Summer Phoenix (pictured below in that order), the boutique will sell hand-picked vintage clothing and accessories as well as lines from emerging designers. Cute vintage dresses aside, the shop also has superb celeb connections—Phoenix is Joaquin's sister and Casey Affleck's wife; Whitmire was once Ben Affleck's assistant and Matt Damon's girlfriend.

Re-opening this weekend is Planet Blue Venice. Larger and more comprehensive than the Malibu and Santa Monica branches, the 5,000-square-foot Main Street store will house men's and women's clothing from lines like Rock and Republic, Ya-Ya and Missoni as well as a home and beauty section.

Westfield Century City mall has taken a stylish turn with the recent openings of Cusp, Neiman Marcus' answer to Barney's Co-op, and Madewell, J.Crew's edgier sister line. Other boutiques slated to open there include Theory, Zara and MNG by Mango. We hear H&M may make its way to Century City sometime as well.

bjornson

Oct 6, 2006, 4:26 AM

A sassy kid sister's coming out
By Booth Moore, Times Staff Writer
September 2, 2006

Fall hasn't even arrived, but the shopping scene is already heating up with a flurry of new openings. Lisa Kline has a pumped-up new men's store on Robertson. On Melrose Avenue, Duncan Quinn is selling his rock 'n' roll suits, while Original Penguin and Paul Frank are slated to open next month, along with House of Petro Zillia, down on 3rd Street. Carolina Herrera is coming to Melrose Place, along with Chloe.

And in Century City, J. Crew has a new, edgier little sister. The preppy retailer is launching a funky casual brand for women called Madewell with its first West Coast store opening Monday at the Westfield Century City shopping center. The clothes have more of a downtown attitude than those from J. Crew, and they're cheaper too, with the average price hovering around $50 and a buttery, navy blue leather bomber jacket in the perfect shrunken shape for just $268. Think skinny jeans, broken-in chinos, utility jackets, T-shirts and twill blazers in interesting washes, and suede boots, all on par with what one might find at Abercrombie & Fitch or American Eagle Outfitters, and all logo-free.

Madewell also features some exciting collaborations with Brazil's Havaianas for flip-flops, France's Spring Court for Converse-like tennis shoes and New York-based Philip Crangi, known for his medieval-meets-Victorian jewelry.

Millard Drexler, the man who made Gap and Old Navy retail giants before joining J. Crew in 2003 as chairman and chief executive, developed the concept. And it began as it often does — with a name.

Madewell was a 1937 work wear company based in New Bedford, Mass. A friend brought the name to Drexler four years ago. "I immediately fell in love," he says. "It evoked a great image. And it's hard to find names for companies. I named Old Navy after a bar on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris."

Drexler negotiated to buy the name, which he leases to J. Crew for $1 a year.

For a national brand, it's oddly exclusive. L.A. is only the second location after a mid-August premiere in Dallas. Madewell isn't yet available online.

A canvas utility jacket ($96.50) is smartly nipped at the waist with elastic inserts. Chino shorts ($49.50) have a subtle herringbone pattern in the weave and cute rolled-up cuffs, and fall's chic beige herringbone menswear vest doesn't come off as cheap, even at $74.50.

The canvas shopper ($48) is a bit dull, as are the T-shirts. But white jeans have the quality of a premium denim without the price. Even at $78.50, they are substantial enough not to be see-through.

"I love the marketplace in L.A., but prices are high and a bit exclusionary and elitist," Drexler says. He hopes Madewell will appeal to the boutique shopper who also loves a good bargain.

The brand is trend-conscious, he says, but more inspired by "what's interesting about vintage, which is that the older something gets the more desirable it is."

"L.A. is exactly where Madewell belongs," Drexler says, "because the sensibility is the same…. Individuals bring style to clothes."

What else could a man want?

Kitson's Fraser Ross has expanded his retail empire on Robertson Boulevard to include men's and kids' stores, and now Lisa Kline is answering.

The longtime L.A. retailer, whose women's store first opened on Robertson in 1995, has revamped and reopened her men's store. And it's a beaut. Guys won't mind shopping with cocktails on offer at the in-store bar and a big-screen TV to watch. And, for the camera shy, there's a paparazzo screen that blocks out the store windows with a wall of trickling water at the press of a button. It's the first in a string of openings Kline has planned for the next year, with locations coming in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach.

The merchandise is pretty swell too, especially since Kline stocks plenty of sizes, including XL and XXLs "for real American guys who eat steak," Kline says, "and don't want to go to Rochester Big & Tall."

You'll find Greed pieced-together plaid blazers, Stone Island khakis, Modern Amusement sunglasses, Rogues Gallery rugby shirts, Goorin hats and Salvage polos, Chip & Pepper paint-splattered pants, Chrome Hearts bags, Theory sweaters and Crocs in manly army green and black. Kline even has her own T-shirts, with skull-and-crossbones logo, of course.

"Men are more into clothes now," says Kline, who first opened her men's store in 1999.

She's also carrying men's jewelry by Bill Wall, Soffer Ari and others. "There's something for everyone, even if you've never worn jewelry in your life. It's all about the evolution of the man."

A new way to support the troops

Not everyone feels a connection to the yellow ribbon. So John Betz, 32, a third-generation Marine living in Los Angeles, and his childhood friend, Patrick Gray, 32, who lives in New York, are hoping to rally people around their new line of fashion T-shirts, meant to be worn as a nonpolitical symbol of support for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

TakePride offers nine designs, each inspired by a U.S. service member. "One Land, Two Missions," inspired by Army medic Shawn Aiken of Minneapolis, is emblazoned with a medical cross, an outline of Iraq and the words "to fight" and "to heal," emphasizing the dual roles of a medic. "Iraq Imagined," inspired by Darren Hamilton, a Marine from San Diego, features a Humvee under a palm tree.

TakePride gives 20% of its profits to military-related charities. The shirts, $18 to $22, are available at http://www.takepride.com .

bobcat

Oct 7, 2006, 2:52 AM

Blogdowntown (http://www.blogdowntown.com) reports that DTLA will soon be getting both a Famima!! (http://famima-usa.com/aboutfamima/index.html) and a 7 Eleven. The Famima!! will be located on 6th between Grand and Olive, while 7 Eleven will find its new home at Mandell Lofts at 7th and Olive.

ksep

Oct 7, 2006, 4:08 AM

Each one of these places have the same kind of stores as any of the Westfield malls. Banana Republic, Gap, Barnes & Noble, they're all in each one. If the Promenade and OTP got its start today, everyone will scream in these forums: "BOOO, lifestyle-centers! Fake trees! Fake urbanism!"

i highly doubt that anyone with half a brain would seriously call old town pasadena or santa monica a lifestyle center, or a fake anything - same stores, or not. on the contrary, these are exactly the type of places we like to see flourish. i understand that you feel the need to defend your beautiful mall, but i think you are a little bit confused here. a healthy and functioning urban enviroment is more than just what type of retail exists within it's neighborhood. for example: i really dislike westside pavilion or the beverly center, but i would be beyond exstatic if each and every store from those malls would open up a branch in downtown l.a.

btw, where are those fake trees you are talking about?

ksep

Oct 7, 2006, 4:10 AM

bjornson

Oct 9, 2006, 3:52 AM

Just because I'm bored and there's nothing going on...Juicy Couture is now open in Malibu.

The two other SoCal locations that are opening are Santa Barbara and Newport Beach.

Mulberry is also going to open on Melrose Place.

RAlossi

Oct 9, 2006, 4:14 AM

see, now that's the kind of news i like to hear.

I just went to the Famima!! in Pasadena (on Raymond). I love it! I hope they open one up in the NoHo/Studio City area...

Anywhere I can get Calpis Water and O-nigiri in one shot without having to drive to Little Tokyo is a great place, indeed. ;)

bobcat

Oct 9, 2006, 5:20 AM

A poster at Blogdowntown also mentions seeing a help wanted sign at the Pasadena Famima!! for a store opening at 800 S Figueroa! Could this mean two Famimas for downtown?

ocman

Oct 10, 2006, 1:33 AM

South Coast Plaza news.

Bloomingdales is opening a major space in South Coast Plaza in the Spring. In 2007, H&M will open 2 stores at South Coast Plaza (also one at Irvine Spectrum, one in Anaheim) and more surprising is that the bigger of the two stores will be in the smaller mall (the small mall is becoming a real attraction nowadays). Theory, Ted Baker, Pucci and Carolina Herrera just opened up recently.

bjornson

Oct 10, 2006, 1:48 AM

Hahah you're right. The Bear Street Location is known as the trendier part.

ChrisLA

Oct 10, 2006, 2:16 AM

A poster at Blogdowntown also mentions seeing a help wanted sign at the Pasadena Famima!! for a store opening at 800 S Figueroa! Could this mean two Famimas for downtown?

Cool, I love Famina I hope one of those are open 24 hours like the one in Torrance. I was in the Torrance store the other day and they have a now hiring sign for one opening in Culver City as well. I've also picked up one of their flyers and there are plans for one in Long Beach too. I hope its in downtown LB where I live, and not on 2nd Street down in Belmont Shores neighborhood.

Alta California

Oct 10, 2006, 7:58 AM

Tower Records closes all its stores. That means speculation as to what will the replace the two premier sites--the one on Sunset and the one in the S.O. Galleria. They're huge spaces so it might be fun to think what would go on there. If the buzz is any indication, Angelenos would like to see either the world's largest H&M and Pinkberry locations. ;) Or just a mega store called Pinkberry introduces H&M. Whatever goes on there, I just wish it fills up quick as they will become prominent eyesores and god knows, LA doesn't need another one.

++++++++++++++++++++

Tower Records to Sell Off Inventory
Liquidation specialist Great American Group, which bought the bankrupt music retailer for $134.3million, plans to close all 89 stores.
By Alana Semuels
Times Staff Writer

October 7, 2006

The new owner of Tower Records will begin liquidating the music retailer's 89 stores beginning today, just hours after a 29-hour-long bidding war.

"We're going to have discounts for consumers to enjoy as they've never been seen before in the history of Tower Records," said Andy Gumaer, president of Great American Group, a Los Angeles-based firm that won the auction and plans to liquidate the company.

Great American, which specializes in liquidation, paid $134.3 million for Tower — $500,000 more than the bid by runner up Trans World Entertainment, which had hoped to keep some stores open. The bidding started Thursday morning and lasted through the night. The offer was approved Friday by a judge in Wilmington, Del.

Tower store managers who were contacted Friday had not been informed of the liquidation sale. "Really?" said one staff member answering the phone at Tower's flagship store on the Sunset Strip. "I had no idea."

Calls to Tower's corporate offices were not returned.

Great American Group is deploying representatives to Tower's 89 stores to facilitate the liquidation, which is expected to last about six weeks, said Gumaer, who used to shop at Tower. "It's sad to see a dynasty like Tower be liquidated," he said. "It's emotional for all of us."

The chain has been struggling for years. It filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2004, recovered, and then filed again in August 2006. At least three major music companies stopped shipping CDs to the chain in August, saying the retailer had not paid its bills. Tower owes creditors about $210 million.

Founded in Sacramento in 1960 by Russ Solomon, Tower isn't the first beloved music store to close: Others such as Camelot Music, Musicland and Strawberries have closed as shoppers migrated to the Internet or to discount stores. Retail music sales fell 17% from 2000 to 2005, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America.

But Tower's demise is not a death knell for traditional ways of buying music: More than half of album purchases are from retail outlets, said Geoff Mayfield, an analyst at Billboard. "That would be an obituary that is too early to write."

SpongeG

Oct 15, 2006, 11:42 PM

SSLL

Oct 17, 2006, 2:28 AM

delete

bjornson

Oct 20, 2006, 7:30 AM

Not too important. No ones going to read it. It's quite hilarious actually. Almost as funny as the proposal to have the sidewalks of Rodeo replaced with granite.

On a more serious note. I hope that the city doesn't decide to make part of Rodeo pedestrian, rather the idea of Parisian-style wrought-iron tables and chairs and "sponsored" umbrellas. It might as well be called the Grove Phase II if it does happen.

Strolls, not Rolls on Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills officials are considering banning cars on part of the famous street to create a pedestrian attraction.
By Martha Groves, Times Staff Writer
October 20, 2006

Would "Rodeo Promenade" have the same ring?

The Beverly Hills City Council could in the next month consider whether it's time to take the "drive" out of world-famous Rodeo Drive — at least on the block between Wilshire Boulevard and Dayton Way — and turn it into a pedestrian-only zone.

Beverly Hills Vice Mayor Jimmy Delshad wants the city to study the feasibility of banning Mercedes-Benzes, Ferraris, Rolls-Royces and Porsches (and lesser vehicles) from the 200 block. They would still have the run, or the roar, of the 300 and 400 blocks of the elite, petite street.

Delshad said he planned to study foot-traffic zones in cities "with high-class areas" such as Paris and Cannes and discuss the idea with many people before proceeding.

But would Rodeo lose some of its luster if fancy cars disappeared?

Fred Hayman, who has spent decades promoting Rodeo, thinks so.

"I don't think the street should be closed," he said. "Exotic cars are part of the attraction of California."

Others had their own concerns.

"It'd be a nightmare," said Gillian Cohen, a Rodeo regular who was shopping at Ralph Lauren on Thursday. "I think it will have benches and bring homeless people around. They'll sit, and people will start playing music."

To Cohen, that raises the specter of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, which she finds "horrific." Heaven forfend that Rodeo, a watchword for luxury with such designer boutiques as Gucci, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Tiffany, Chanel and Ferragamo, would reduce itself in such a way.

But Yanique Barnes, assistant manager of Cole Haan in the Two Rodeo shopping area at Wilshire and Rodeo, said an appealing pedestrian zone would be a draw. "We're excited," she said.

The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce has yet to take a position. But Anita Zusman Eddy, director of economic development and government affairs, said the chamber was "certainly open to considering any business model that works, and certainly that model has proven to be successful in other places."

A recent economic report, she noted, painted Rodeo Drive as a retail engine. In 2005, Rodeo retailers generated $350 million in sales, out of a total of $1.2 billion for the city's so-called golden triangle area.

In addition to contemplating a pedestrian-only block, Delshad would like to see stylish food and beverage kiosks up and down Rodeo, where people could stop to enjoy cappuccino, gelato or finger sandwiches. Hmm, sounds a lot like the Grove, next to the Farmers Market at 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue.

In fact, the Grove, Century City and other high-tone retailing destinations have been siphoning customers from Beverly Hills, city officials have said. Seeking to spiff up their most opulent street, the city and merchants recently invested in a nearly $18-million, two-year makeover that included new and wider sidewalks.

Delshad said he was not wedded to the idea of turning a portion or all of Rodeo into a pedestrian zone. Canon Drive might make more sense, he said, given its reputation as a restaurant row where people tend to linger at night. Rodeo, on the other hand, turns quiet as soon as darkness descends.

Despite his concerns about closing the street, Hayman said he does agree that more outdoor seating would lend the street charm and warmth. He likes the idea of Parisian-style wrought-iron tables and chairs and "sponsored" umbrellas.

He would also welcome strolling mariachi musicians and jazz players. "The street has to be more fun to walk," he said. "It must be more of a destination."

One merchant keeping an open mind, Delshad said, is Bijan, the legendary men's clothier at 420 N. Rodeo. "He said he wanted to think about it," Delshad said.

If a trial run is approved and if it demonstrates that all of Rodeo could thrive as a pedestrian street — both big "ifs" — one important question would remain: Where would Bijan park the navy blue Rolls-Royce that is usually stationed outside his store?

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAH!

Oh yeah, Bijan claims to be the most expensive store in the world...you have to make an appointment before you enter the store which could take months.

rs913

Oct 20, 2006, 4:54 PM

The idea of mariachi bands strolling down Rodeo is just plain hilarious. Maybe the street can be taken over by Westfield.

These people must have flunked out of Marketing 101. In a crowded marketplace (of tourist venues) it's necessary to differentiate yourself. Rich locals aside, out-of-town visitors come to Rodeo because it's something different from what you see elsewhere. This idea of making it more "tourist-friendly" by homogenizing it into the Grove or Disneyland is horribly misguided. And isn't Via Rodeo already a pedestrian block just off Rodeo? OK, rant over.

bjornson

Oct 20, 2006, 7:54 PM

Wang Heads West
Vera to open L.A. flagship

Thursday, October 19, 2006

(LOS ANGELES) Vera Wang seems to have been bitten by the West Coast retail bug. According to sources, the designer is said to have leased a space at 8424 Melrose Avenue, in what was the former home of the Farnese Gallery, which will serve as her L.A. flagship. Represented by luxury commercial real estate firm Hilton & Hyland, the Croft Avenue corner location boasts an all-white façade and walls of glass through which natural sunlight pours in. The space is located directly across from the Diane von Furstenberg and Marc Jacobs stores, and adjacent to Marc by Marc Jacobs. One block over, Melrose Place boasts such boutiques as Marni, Tracy Feith, and Carolina Herrera, with Chloé and Oscar de la Renta on the way and a rumored Balenciaga store as well. Wang, who currently has a flagship salon at 991 Madison Avenue, debuted her first-ever full lifestyle boutique this past January at Halekulani in Hawaii. A spokeswoman for Vera Wang was unavailable for comment.

I hope these are within the city limits rather than in West Hollywood like the John Varvatos store.

Buckeye Native 001

Oct 20, 2006, 8:36 PM

Haha, you said wang.

bjornson

Oct 21, 2006, 12:26 AM

Hahah, I should have made the article much more classy and posted Vera instead. Oops how idiotic of me!

Anyway, more retail news:

Published: Thursday, October 19, 2006
Beauty Beat: Perdis Maps Out West Coast Growth Plan
By Rachel Brown
LOS ANGELES — No one can accuse Napoleon Perdis of lacking ambition.

In less than two years, the 35-year-old Australian makeup artist of Greek descent shepherded his cosmetic products into the U.S. market, surged up north with a Canadian launch in department store chain The Bay and is now planting four concept stores in California.

Century City Concept Store
OPENING SOON
Store No: 680, Century City Westfield Center
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles California 90067

Hollywood Concept Store + Academy
OPENING SOON
6621 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood California 90028

American Rag Cie, the Los Angeles-based retailer known for its eclectic mix of vintage and hip designer apparel, has launched a 13,500-square-foot flagship at the open-air Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach, Calif.

bjornson

Oct 21, 2006, 2:34 AM

This is the first half of an article from the L.A. Times about L.A. Fashion Week. It goes on to point out that much like L.A.'s residents, L.A. born fashion even hates it's own city.

L.A. Fashion Week: Hello, is anybody home?
The William Rast show pulses to the city's rhythm, but too many L.A. labels are MIA.
By Booth Moore, Times Staff Writer
October 21, 2006

There was so much to look at during Justin Timberlake's runway show you almost forgot it was about a denim line — B-boys in sweater vests somersaulting over each other and cholo girls shaking their booties in short shorts, flirty farm girls in frilly dresses and Beverly Hillbillies in rockabilly pompadours.

The A-list front row — including Eve, Wilmer Valderama, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Patrick Dempsey and Timberlake's girlfriend Cameron Diaz — was literally whooping for jeans from Timberlake's William Rast line, with the stylized W on the back pockets. The denim looked great, the skinny fits cuffed and topped with gingham Western shirts for men or bow-front blouses for women. Shorts cut off at the knee and a postage-stamp miniskirt came in a cloudy gray wash, while pinstripes looked cool on a cropped jacket, worn over a sweater dress.

Between the dancers, the celebrities and the after-party next door at Boulevard3 (where Timberlake performed with pals Adam Levine from Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am and 'N Sync bandmate JC Chasez), the show was the best example yet of the synergy that can and should be happening at L.A. Fashion Week. This show was as exciting as any in New York or Europe — but in a completely L.A. way. And instead of hearing "SexyBack" as the soundtrack for Dolce & Gabbana, there was Timberlake shaking it live, right in the middle of the crowd.

Too bad that kind of synergy wasn't happening at Smashbox Studios, the Culver City venue that hosted 30 shows this week and is now in its fourth year of partnering with New York-based IMG to produce the event.

Looking back, the problem with L.A. Fashion Week is that it has never reflected L.A. fashion. Between shows, I had an hour to kill on Robertson Boulevard, so I wandered into a few boutiques and nearly every piece I touched was from an L.A. label.

Not one of them was on the spring runway here.

Around the world, stores are filling their racks with clothes designed and made in this city, the largest manufacturing hub in the country. Trina Turk, Vince, Robert Rodriguez, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, even Kitson, not just a boutique anymore but a clothing line, could all profit from the brand-building that comes from presenting a designer's full vision on a runway. Powerhouses such as True Religion, Juicy Couture and Chrome Hearts have all benefited from their association with the Southern California lifestyle. Surf and skate brands Quiksilver, Roxy and Volcom have made billions in this market.

Again, not one showed here this week.

Why not?

"I can't tell you how many times I have asked, begged," says Fern Mallis, vice president of IMG. "But they pooh-pooh their own town."

According to Davis Factor, co-founder of Smashbox Studios, more than 250 designers applied to show at Fashion Week this season, submitting photos and reels of their work. "There are a lot we say no way," he said. But, considering the number of flops, that seems unlikely.

Money is sometimes given as a reason, but how could it be? The price of renting a venue at Smashbox is low compared to fashion weeks in other cities. Venues can be had for as little as $5,000, the largest going for $10,000. A designer of any note should easily be able to secure sponsorship money to pay for a show, which costs $25,000 minimum.

Mallis admits IMG could do more, employing someone year-round in Los Angeles as it does in New York, to schmooze with the fashion community here. She is also rethinking who should be showing.

Critics, myself included, initially complained that premium denim did not need to be on the runway. But it is a defining part of L.A. style, with more than 100 brands based here. And the William Rast show proved that it can be exciting and intelligent on the runway.

"In the beginning we got feedback that people wanted to see the Magda Berliners, the Richard Tylers, the Michelle Masons and Eduardo Luceros," Mallis says. "But in this industry, they are in one season and out the next. We resisted denim, but the more time we've spent here, maybe it's what people want."

Space is also an issue. Some designers, such as Timberlake and his partner Trace Ayala, do not want a traditional runway presentation. But the Smashbox setup requires it. So, L.A. Fashion Week organizers are shopping for a new, more adaptable venue. That doesn't mean the end of the partnership with IMG. And with Mercedes-Benz signed on for another three years as title sponsor, the shows aren't going away any time soon.

"For better or worse, we are in this together," Factor says.

Right now, L.A. has a fashion week that's neither about Los Angeles nor the world of fashion. It attracts few tastemakers from the fashion press or trend-makers from store buying offices — when the world can't take its eyes off L.A.

Alta California

Oct 21, 2006, 4:04 AM

^^Sad to know about the disconnect between the shows and the LA fashion scene. LA's own Jeffrey Sebelia's win in Project Runway due to his successful show at Olympus Fashion Week is very encouraging. I hope next year, the LA Fashion Week becomes the "Off-Broadway" of fashion shows.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 25, 2006, 6:05 AM

and the other half....

Naughty and nice

There are those who do support the event season after season, even if it does occasionally resemble a bad celebrity sideshow. In the final days, Kevan Hall was the star, with his superbly styled collection of refined evening gowns. Drawing inspiration from the heavens, he started on a chicly simple note with a silvery slip of an evening shift. Twinkling sequins showed up again on elegant evening pants paired with one of Hall's now signature white blouses.

A white satin bubble dress with a tornado of twisting black tulle over the top, belted at the middle, touched on spring's volume trend, while a flocked tulle tea dress textured with sequin tendrils may just have been the season's perfect white dress, if it weren't for the dazzling white silk jersey plunge gown with a sterling silver orb belt later in the show, which recalled Hall's days at Halston.

But it was when Hall started to move into color that things really heated up, on a sunset orange draped ball skirt and a night sky-blue taffeta creation with a perfectly pleated bustier and a single shoulder strap. The hair was sophisticated and slicked back; the jewelry from Hall's new line was spectacular, especially the silver earrings dangling planetary orbs. And judging by the stars in Virginia Madsen's eyes in the front row, Hall will have them waiting in line come awards season.

Chan Luu brought the understated elegance of her jewelry designs to clothing, most notably everyone's favorite basic, the T-shirt. She paired a hot pink T-shirt with trompe l'oeil necklaces with a simple pleated cotton skirt with a chiffon hem, and a black T-shirt with delicate pleating at the neckline with a black silk dirndl skirt. Spring being the season of the dress, there was a silk taffeta Empire waist version with the patina of old paper, with layered rosebud and ribbon necklaces on top, and a white flutter-sleeve style with allover floral embroidery that had the charm of a single strand of pearls.

Elsie Katz's Donna Baxter went for the English rose theme with a lovely white soutache shift with an oversized black bow at the neck and some very campy white hot pants with a bustle in back, while Sheri Bodell's woodland nymphs wore earthy beaded shifts and the teased-out '80s hairstyles that have been all the rage here this week.

Erica Davies showed a sweet collection of dresses on a sandy runway outside the store Iconology, the best in a lime fan print with a silk racer back and studded details, and a rainbow tulip print with a triangle top and raw edged cross-back straps.

Elsewhere, designers mixed naughty and nice, bringing some of the sexual undertones seen in collections in Europe to L.A.

Jennifer Nicholson paired cutie pie baby doll dresses in eye and lip prints, and wood grain leggings, with Latex thigh-high boots and necklaces dangling ben wa balls.

Joy Han's Voom collection was the surprise hit of the week with adorable bubble and puff-sleeve dresses in children's characters Raggedy Ann, Bonnie Bonnet and Elephant Parade prints, paired with spiky fetish boots for a kind of Harajuku chic. Denim bloomers with colorful buttons had a Butterick sewing pattern/DIY appeal, paired with a tank top with Woodsy Owl on the front, and a black trench coat looked fresh with bubble sleeves. The vintage lace print silk dresses at the end were winners too, the best cinched with a patent leather obi belt.

But nobody was naughtier than David Cardona at Collection Bebe.

After last season's refined tulip skirts and cropped jackets, the spring collection included a white shift dress with peekaboo panel over the cleavage, a black gown with half a bodice and half a black corset, and a see-through lace flight suit. (Who doesn't need one?).

There were 1980s undertones with Versace-like gold hardware on dresses, and one or two wearable pairs of skinny pants paired with hourglass shaped jackets. But mostly, it felt like these girls should have been on a coffee table at a bachelor party, not a runway.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
booth.moore@latimes.com

ocman

Oct 25, 2006, 6:55 AM

But seriously. If you have Kristen from OC:Laguna Beach, a bunch of skanky Hollywood scavengers, and Jessica Simpson in your front row, would you want to show in LA?

If you're Monique Lhuillier or Trovata, you want to show in NYC along with Proenza Schuler and Marc Jacobs where the shows aren't "a celebrity sideshow." There are a lot of legitimate local designers, but you get upstaged by the C-list celebrity freakshow. I wonder why some still haven't learned that having Jessica Simpson in your front row will do worse for your image.

bjornson

Oct 25, 2006, 7:13 AM

It's not so much the fact that the C-list shows up, it's the fact that L.A. Fashion Week is not really fashionably L.A. at all. I mean you have the contemporary fashion capital of the world that spouts out brands like Juicy Couture, and almost every single denim brand and not one of them want to show up in town because they hate it. Fashion born in L.A. hate L.A. That's not the end of it. The way Fashion Week is set up not the way it should be. But whatever.

ocman

Oct 26, 2006, 10:35 AM

But I think a big reason why they hate showing in their own town is because of the audience that come to LA fashion week, which are Hollywood opportunists. I don't even think LA fashion week needs to rely on big name local designers. Even if they love LA, good famous designers are naturally going to go to prestigious NY. If you have a chance to show in NY, you'll go to NY. NY audiences are there to see fashion, not celebrities or after parties. It's better business and more glamourous. LA can't compete with nyc at this moment. But LA can do something about its audience.

I think if LA had a legitimate audience of ACTUAL fashion industry people instead of relying so heavily on celebrity, fashion week would still be small, but it wouldn't be embarrassing to show here. It would have a legitimate niche, even without big names like Juicy or Rock and Republic.

But currently, it's seen as one big see-and-be-seen "LA stereotype" party masquarading as fashion week. It's got a silly reputation and it need to take itself more seriously. And the first step should be restricting the guest list.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 26, 2006, 5:29 PM

ocman

Oct 27, 2006, 6:09 AM

bjornson

Oct 27, 2006, 6:43 AM

^ Well, maybe not "restricting" Jessica Simpson from going, but just not allowing her to sit in the front seat. ;-)

And do you have any suggestions how this can be accomplished? I think a good way would be to contact the organizers of the LA Fashion Week and tactfully convey the need to amp-up our low-grade audience.

Let's figure something out! I may have the connections to get in touch with the right people, but I want someone very familiar with fashion to help me.

Fashion Week is rather young, but the people who do Fashion Week in NY do Fashion Week in LA. If you know connections, get on with it! Ha. IMG does both Fashion Weeks or try to contact Fern Mallis.

Anyway, I hope Fashion Week does move out of Smashbox and gets a more suitable location that is definitively L.A like the article states.

But I think a big reason why they hate showing in their own town is because of the audience that come to LA fashion week, which are Hollywood opportunists. I don't even think LA fashion week needs to rely on big name local designers. Even if they love LA, good famous designers are naturally going to go to prestigious NY. If you have a chance to show in NY, you'll go to NY. NY audiences are there to see fashion, not celebrities or after parties. It's better business and more glamourous. LA can't compete with nyc at this moment. But LA can do something about its audience.

I think if LA had a legitimate audience of ACTUAL fashion industry people instead of relying so heavily on celebrity, fashion week would still be small, but it wouldn't be embarrassing to show here. It would have a legitimate niche, even without big names like Juicy or Rock and Republic.

But currently, it's seen as one big see-and-be-seen "LA stereotype" party masquarading as fashion week. It's got a silly reputation and it need to take itself more seriously. And the first step should be restricting the guest list.

Oh, and I think it is about who's showing their lines, not soley the audience. If people come to see fashion, then where is it?
I'm not saying that the city's spawned and big named designers should show, but the designers that are showing need to be changed or something (like Fern Mallis is thinking about). Then once the designers are much better, the industry types will be more attracted to the event. In the end, it will hopefully turn out less C-list.

bjornson

Oct 27, 2006, 9:02 AM

J.Mendel on Fast Track
By Beth Wilson
CHICAGO — Designer Gilles Mendel of J.Mendel is setting his sights on expanding his luxury brand in the U.S. and abroad.

After the successful opening in August of a 1,300-square-foot boutique next to Louis Vuitton along Michigan Avenue here, the fifth-generation French furrier is searching for additional in-store or freestanding boutique space in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and in Moscow, London and Hong Kong, Mendel said during last week's opening party for the store. The event benefited Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, where the party was held.

J.Mendel currently has U.S. stores in New York (Madison), Chicago, and Aspen.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 27, 2006, 8:33 PM

^ This space belongs on Rodeo Drive obviously.

bjornson

Oct 27, 2006, 9:42 PM

You never know! Melrose (including Melrose Place), west of Fairfax is getting very designer savvy.

The designers there now include: Carolina Herrera (not CH Carolina Herrera, a flagship store), the ony Max Azria store in the world (not BCBG), 3 Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, Cynthia Rowley, Marni, Miu Miu, Chloe, Oscar de La Renta, Tracy Feith, Betsey Johnson, Mulberry, Duncan Quinn, John Varvatos, Vera Wang (coming soon), and possibly even a Balenciaga.

I'm not too sure which side the Paul Smith Store is located, but it's on Melrose also.

EDIT: Miu Miu closed it's doors in August. Just like Anna Sui.

rs913

Oct 27, 2006, 10:39 PM

Not to interrupt the L.A. stuff, but I hear Bloomingdale's is opening in San Diego. I wonder if this basically makes Fashion Valley the dominant mall in SD, verging on South Coast Plaza-like prominence?

ksep

Oct 28, 2006, 12:28 AM

I'm not too sure which side the Paul Smith Store is located, but it's on Melrose also.

paul smith is also west of fairfax - next door to penguin.

Quixote

Oct 28, 2006, 1:27 AM

We need a street filled with designer boutiques that actually IN THE CITY!

bjornson

Oct 28, 2006, 1:38 AM

I agree! Most of the stores (that I've listed) on Melrose are within city limits with the exception of Duncan Quinn and John Varvatos (both in West Hollywood), but their websites list the locations as Los Angeles.

More downtown hopefully! No more Rodeo! No more West Hollywood!

It's hard also because all the streets that designers decide to set up shop are near the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood/Los Angeles border. Those streets are Robertson, Melrose, Sunset, and Rodeo/Wilshire.

Thanks ksep. I wasn't sure which side the store was on and the store's design is very east of Fairfax. I like Melrose east of Fairfax more anyhow. I love Penguin.

Oh and to answer the question regarding San Diego's Fashion Valley. I think it'll bring it's prominence up more, but it won't ever be on the same level as South Coast Plaza is for a while. Bring in more veryyyyyyy exclusive retailers like SCP and maybe just one day. Keep in mind SCP is getting a Bloomingdale's as well.

bjornson

Oct 28, 2006, 6:15 AM

From Curbed:

From Downtown LA we get this just in from a frantic emailer:

We know there are two Famima!! locations coming to downtown. The one at 6th and Olive is still unbuilt.

But this morning, I was on my way home from breakfast at the Pantry and took a peek at the 8th and Figueroa location...IT'S DONE!

Not open yet, but the lights were blazing. The shelves were well-stocked with Pocky. The coolers filled with bottled green tea. There was a wet-dry vac sitting ready to clean the floor. The only thing missing were the sushi and panini sandwiches in the gondola cooler.

This could easily be open in a day or two with just a final going over by the staff. When will it open??? This puts the lie to the skeptical commenter some time back who doubted they could open so many locations by year's end.

Blogdowntown

Famima!!: A few weeks back I mentioned that Downtown is getting two Famima!! stores. Walking by both this week it's clear that the one at 8th and Fig is much farther along than the one on 6th. The one next to Roy's has shelving up and was working on its exterior. The 6th street location still needs walls and a ceiling. Not sure when either will open.

Also, L.A.'s getting a bunch of Whole Foods. Some are on the Westside, the valley, Hollywood, Orange Co., Pasadena (a huge one!), and then one just lists Los Angeles. Perhaps this is going to be a downtown location?

dragonsky

Oct 28, 2006, 11:54 PM

Monday, October 23, 2006
NEW DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE SHOPS AT SANTA ANITA AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
New EIR reflects input from Arcadia community

ARCADIA, CA – A new draft environmental impact report (EIR) for Caruso Affiliated’s proposed project at Santa Anita Park was released by the City of Arcadia and began circulating for public comment today. The new EIR reflects changes based upon input received from the community that have been incorporated into the project including free office space for the Arcadia School District, a community performing arts theater, reduced building heights, and free parking for Arcadia residents. The new EIR also reflects the decision by Caruso Affiliated to remove housing from the project in response to community feedback.

“Arcadia residents have helped us make our proposal for The Shops at Santa Anita even stronger,” said Rick J. Caruso, founder and CEO of Caruso Affiliated. “We want to build a place in Arcadia that local residents will be proud to call their own and we have found that the best way to do that it is to involve the community in designing the project from the beginning. Arcadians have made and will continue to make their mark on The Shops at Santa Anita with ideas such as a new community performing arts theater, walking paths that allow families to enjoy a stroll around the grounds, space for the Arcadia school district, and free parking for Arcadia residents.”

The State of California requires that EIRs for development projects assess the physical impact a project will have on the community where it will be located. The EIR was prepared by the City of Arcadia and analyzes a wide range of issues, including the impact on sales tax revenues for the city, the project’s impact on local businesses, city infrastructure, the environment, and traffic.

EIRs are required by state law when a developer submits a project application. In 2004, Caruso Affiliated submitted a project application to the City of Arcadia that included retail and residential components and a draft EIR was produced and distributed in December 2005. Acting on its commitment to incorporate community input into the project, Caruso Affiliated withdrew its original application in March 2006 and resubmitted a new one that included features suggested by Arcadia residents such as the school district office space, performing arts theater, free parking for Arcadia residents, and the elimination of housing. As required by law, Caruso Affiliated has reimbursed the City of Arcadia for all costs related to the preparation and production of both EIRs, including the city staff time, hiring of outside consultants, and printing of the documents.

“We are proud to partner with Caruso Affiliated to bring The Shops at Santa Anita to our community. We strongly believe that this exciting new project will not only be a great place for Arcadia, it will be vital to the long-term viability of Santa Anita Park. We hope that everyone who values the track as a part of our community will support The Shops at Santa Anita,” said Santa Anita Park General Manager George Haines.

Key findings in the DEIR include:

· Upgrades made to 15 Arcadia intersections. The EIR identifies 15 intersections in Arcadia that would require upgrades by Caruso Affiliated. Solutions proposed in the EIR will improve these intersections so that after the project is built traffic will flow better at 10 intersections than it would if no project was built and at the remaining five intersections traffic would flow at the same rate as it would if no project was built. Caruso Affiliated will pay for all improvements to these intersections. The EIR also identified five intersections outside of Arcadia, in unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County, in the City of San Marino and within CalTrans’ jurisdiction that will be impacted by the project. With the approval of those jurisdictions, Caruso Affiliated will also complete mitigations at these intersections.

· More than $2 million annually in additional sales tax revenue for Arcadia. As with the previous EIR, the economic analysis in the EIR concludes that The Shops at Santa Anita would generate a net sales tax gain of $2.23 million for the City of Arcadia during the project’s first full year of operation. This revenue will directly offset the City’s future budget deficits and provide funding for crucial services such as police, fire, parks, and libraries. Although the EIR specifically estimates a $2.23 million gain in sales tax revenue in its first full year, the project is expected to generate at least this amount every year thereafter.

· No significant impact on local businesses. As with the previous EIR, the economic analysis in the EIR concludes that The Shops at Santa Anita would have no significant negative impact on local businesses and suggests that “the surrounding area could experience an improvement in overall sales levels due to the recapture of sales now leaking from the community…” (Speer study, p. 6).

In other areas where Caruso projects are located, local retailers have experienced significant increases in business. For example, in the year following the opening of The Grove in Los Angeles, businesses in the area around The Grove showed a 66 percent increase in sales tax receipts according to County of Los Angeles records.

By even the most conservative assessment, the consultant who prepared the economic study estimates that the new project will garner the bulk of its sales from new customers and increased spending generated by continued economic growth in the trade area, which includes an approximately six-mile radius around the site.

· Important Grandstand views preserved. Caruso Affiliated and Santa Anita Park management are working together to ensure that The Shops at Santa Anita will complement and enhance the beauty of the grandstand rather than detract from scenic views. Both the original and the new EIR concluded that Grandstand views would be preserved in accordance with Arcadia’s General Plan. The removal of housing from the project reduced all buildings to one- and two-stories thereby further preserving important scenic views of the grandstand and its San Gabriel mountain backdrop.

The more than 3-acre paddock garden area that will be created outside the grandstand as part of the project will provide stunning views of the grandstand and mountains. It will also allow many more people to enjoy the views in a much more pleasant setting than currently exists on the paved parking lots.

· No significant impact on public safety services. As with the previous EIR, the new study finds The Shops at Santa Anita will have no significant impact on police and fire services. Included in the EIR are letters from police chiefs in cities where Caruso Affiliated projects are located who praise the company for its security record, including highly-trained security personnel. In a letter to Arcadia Police Chief Bob Sanderson, Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton wrote: “…since The Grove security personnel have been trained, any resulting radio calls are handled in a more efficient manner, resulting in fewer police resources being utilized.”

“I want to thank the staff at the City of Arcadia for preparing this new version of the EIR. We are committed to continuing to work in cooperation with the City to answer any questions or concerns and to ultimately bring a great project to Arcadia,” said Caruso.

In accordance with state law, members of the public will have 45 days after the EIR is issued to review and comment on the draft report. After the public comment period closes, the city and its EIR consultant team must respond in writing to each and every comment, and include these responses in the Final EIR. The Arcadia City Council then reviews the Final EIR including responses to all comments submitted, and decides if the document meets the requirements of state laws and if the project and the mitigation measures are acceptable. If so, the city can certify the EIR and approve the project. The vote by the City Council is expected to occur in Spring 2007.

http://www.shopsatsantaanita.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=46

bobcat

Oct 30, 2006, 7:00 AM

On the Wholefoods website (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/newstores.html) there's a list of stores in development and one of the locations listed is for a 48,000 sf store in Los Angeles. Now, normally when a store is located in a large city with several locations they will include the specific neighborhood in parentheses. Examples: Los Angeles (Brentwood), Los Angeles (Fairfax), San Francisco (Portrero Hill), San Jose (Alameda), etc. In this case it just says "Los Angeles" which would lead me to believe it's probably in the central LA region, so I wonder if this is a downtown location, either Grand Ave or Fig Central.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 30, 2006, 7:23 AM

^ Could be since I believe the one in Hollywood at Selma/Vine will be smaller? Does anyone know how big the one in Hollywood is gonna be?

bjornson

Oct 30, 2006, 7:34 AM

The website states that the Hollywood location will be 61,183 sq. ft.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 30, 2006, 7:39 AM

^ Hmm, 48,000 seems pretty small then for Fig Central (if it goes there), but since the whole complex isn't going to be larger than 250,000, perhaps they need to save on space for other tenants.

bobcat

Oct 30, 2006, 7:44 AM

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/business/econdev.asp) site confirms the Hollywood store will be 60,000 sf.

LOL, I remember the "good ole" days when 50,000 sf was considered a decent size grocery store

bjornson

Oct 30, 2006, 7:56 AM

^ Hmm, 48,000 seems pretty small then for Fig Central (if it goes there), but since the whole complex isn't going to be larger than 250,000, perhaps they need to save on space for other tenants.

Maybe, it's going on Grand Avenue?

colemonkee

Oct 30, 2006, 5:49 PM

^ That's what I was thinking. There is a supermarket in the models (on First and Olive). A Whole Foods would make a lot of sense there with all the high-end residential going in there.

bobcat

Oct 31, 2006, 4:54 AM

So Blogdowntown (http://blogdowntown.com/blog/2396) now reports the Famima!! at 8th and Fig is opening tomorrow. Wow, that was quick!

A couple of photos:

http://static.flickr.com/104/284244713_06cc0d9eac.jpg?v=0
http://static.flickr.com/114/284244606_016caeb0f4.jpg?v=0

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 31, 2006, 5:12 AM

^ I'll be there supporting it with my first cup of coffee for the morning! :)

BTW, Starbucks is building out its new location at 6th/Grand as we speak! As well as the OTHER Famima!!! right next door to the new Starbucks.

bjornson

Oct 31, 2006, 7:27 AM

I've never been to a Famima!! Are the products good?

In other retail news, L.A. based True Religion brand denim is opening it's second L.A. area store on Robertson Blvd. The company currently has the flagship store in Manhattan Beach.

Looks like the Melrose Heights district and Robertson Blvd are the places for hip designers to set up shop now.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 31, 2006, 7:42 AM

^ GOOD NEWS

Do you know where on Robertson? My guess is near Kitson.

bjornson

Oct 31, 2006, 7:55 AM

It's here...
Robertson Store - Opening November 2006
130 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Soooo Kitson is at...
115 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90048

So yep you're right! Everything's near Kitson haha.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 31, 2006, 8:02 AM

bjornson

Oct 31, 2006, 8:16 AM

Kate Spade was going to open on Robertson over a decade ago it seems. But it never happened for some reason or another. I heard of something as ridiculous as the piping system not being up to code or something and they changed their mind? Whatever.

Anyway, it seems ODD that Kate Spade doesn't have a store on Robertson.

Personally, I think Roberston is a perfect place to build a critical mass of designer shops all the way up to Melrose where Varvatos is.

I really don't like Melrose West where Fred Segal is now. It's the most pedestrian unfriendly street right now. They can do so much by improving that stretch of road. Get rid of that SHITHOLE on the corner of Melrose/Fairfax on the NW corner and get rid of that gas station as well. Build some strong mixed-use project that can tie together Melrose West and East.

Oh, I was wondering why Kate Spade doesn't have a store in L.A. at all. The only store in the L.A. area is at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. ODD.

You're right, Robertson is the perfect place to build a critical mass all the way up to Melrose!

I know what you're saying about that part of Melrose. It's just downright nasty. It could use some landscaping, trees, and anything to make it more pedestrian friendly. At least Robertson is much more pedestrian friendly. As lengendary as Fred Segal is, shouldn't the surrounding area look better. Get rid of the parking lot, too. Wait, what's at the corner of Melrose and Fairfax? I am for the destruction of the gas station!

You're right some big mixed use project should be built in order to tie together the street where west is completely different from east.

LosAngelesBeauty

Oct 31, 2006, 9:01 AM

^ Sometimes I wish I was a developer!!!

I would do something really interesting with the Melrose/Fairfax corner. Since we're talking about connecting Melrose East with West, I would have a unifying structure that would actually exist on opposite sides of the street that would form a bridge or arching gateway of some sort tying together the two disparate sides.

Both sides would include retail space and I possibly public space such as a park.

LosAngelesBeauty

Nov 5, 2006, 5:25 AM

STYLE NOTEBOOK

For $349, 'I do'

By Booth Moore
Times Staff Writer

November 4, 2006

THE lawn was scattered with white rose petals, Pachelbel's Canon and Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" were being played by a string orchestra and the bubbly was flowing, and French by God, served in crystal flutes. Last weekend, H&M threw a wedding — and maybe the ultimate cheap-chic affair: The venue was a Bel-Air manse, but the "bride" wore a $349 gown by Viktor & Rolf.

The party was a blowout premiere for the store's newest designer collection for men and women. It arrives Thursday, the same day the chain opens its new outpost in the Beverly Center. Naturally, the designers, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, were outfitted in modern tuxedos and two-toned wingtips from the collection.

The 600 guests — including Owen Wilson, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, China Chow, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kanye West and Chloë Sevigny — wound their way around the Champagne fountain to a tent that had been erected over the tennis court. Truffles were passed, cigarettes smoked, and finally the runway show started.

Models descended a staircase that curved around a 12-foot-tall wedding cake and onto the runway, wearing filmy blouses, flirty dresses and the ultimate high-low piece, a denim tuxedo, all from the fabulous forthcoming collection. White confetti rained down on the crowd at the close of the show. Then a bouquet toss and cake cutting capped the affair, the biggest H&M has ever produced.

I got a preview of the clothes earlier in the week, and up close, they look even better. They reflect the girlish aesthetic that Viktor & Rolf have become known for in the six years since they launched their own collection, and the quality is better than you'd expect for the price. The fabrics are sturdy, and plenty of attention has been paid to details — arrow-print silk linings, heart-shaped buttons, quilting.

This is the third designer collection H&M has produced. Previous partnerships with Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld were enormously successful, with pieces selling out in a matter of hours and lines snaking around the block at stores.

"These collections have become iconic in fashion," Horsting said, sitting on a couch in his Chateau Marmont penthouse room. "We tried to avoid doing the 'best of' Viktor & Rolf," added Snoeren, who was wearing some killer Kermit the Frog sneakers. "We wanted to create a new story."

It's a love story that began with a wedding dress. "We thought it was symbolic of the union of the democracy of H&M and us coming from the other extreme," Horsting said.

The romantic theme plays out in the women's wear with a heart motif — heart-shaped lace cutouts on the lapels of a black tuxedo jacket, a ruffled heart on the front of a sheer cream blouse and heart-shaped buckles on the belt and cuffs of an amazing full-skirted trench coat. Satin sandals come with a heart-shaped heel and a silk scarf in a bow print. Prices range from $12.99 for a pair of heart tights to $129 for a white puffer jacket with heart-shaped quilting.

The men's collection revolves around arrows — embroidered on a silk necktie, on pajamas, even incorporated into the argyle on a red-and-white sweater vest, priced from $9.90 for a cheeky bow-tie underwear brief to $299 for a tux. For those who want to not only dress in Viktor & Rolf but also look like them, there are eyeglass frames based on the nerdy ones the two wear.

In their other life, Horsting and Snoeren are known for their over-the-top Viktor & Rolf productions. Their Blue Screen and Russian Doll collections will be featured in the upcoming "Skin and Bones" exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Snoeren said, "It's great that we can be in H&M here and in a museum at the same time."

In L.A., that means the Beverly Center location. The line will not be sold at the Pasadena store.

Also arriving in stores in time for the holidays is the newest Go International collection at Target designed by Behnaz Sarafpour. The New York-based designer, responsible for Barneys New York's private label collection before launching her own line in 2001, is known for her ladylike aesthetic and for her use of lace, both of which translate here.

A faux Persian lamb bolero ($89) is sophisticated, as is a gold silk blouse ($39), but the jewel appliqué T-shirts ($19.99) and lace-trimmed cardigans ($39.99) look as cheap as they are. Sarafpour follows Luella Bartley, Tara Jarmon and Paul & Joe's Sophie Albou in the design program. Her collection will be in stores and online for 60 days.

Even Gap is getting in on the class-to-mass trend, trying to interest shoppers in its flailing brand by collaborating with indie talent Roland Mouret. Using signatures such as his folded cap sleeves, the French designer created a collection of wool jersey dresses and tunics (from about $85 to $144) that, sadly, will not be sold online but only in seven New York stores and all European stores.

And look out, Japanese fast-fashion company Uniqlo is invading the U.S., opening its first store in New York's SoHo next week with plans to quickly expand west. The brand is taking a page from H&M too, tapping Phillip Lim, Lutz & Patmos, Alice Roi, Cloak's Alexander Plokhov and other up-and-comers to design capsule collections.

'Little Black Dress'

charity auction

Louis Verdad, Petro Zillia, Jennifer Nicholson and other designers will offer their versions of the little black dress to be auctioned at the fifth annual "Little Black Dress" charity gala held at the Holmby Hills Fleur de Lys mansion on Nov. 18. Proceeds will benefit the Pediatric Epilepsy Project.

Christie's will be on hand to conduct the auction, and to display the famous black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." This will be the only appearance of the iconic Givenchy dress on the West Coast before it is auctioned in London next month.

And man, has that dress been busy. Natalie Portman wears it on the cover of this month's Bazaar. For more information, go to www.lbdevents.com.

Paper looks to

party in L.A.

Paper Magazine is coming to Los Angeles on Tuesday for six days of special events celebrating neighborhoods. There's a cocktail party in Venice, an art show in Chinatown, a beach bash with surf brand RVCA in Malibu and a special appearance by the Detroit-based "Hair Wars" styling pros at Rudy's Barbershop in Silver Lake. Of course, the whole beer-soaked experience will be documented for the February 2007 issue.

Founded in New York in 1984, Paper was one of the first glossies to bring the underground to the mainstream. Long New York-centric, last year the magazine turned its eyes on L.A. where, said editor-in-chief and publisher Kim Hastreiter, the underground is thriving.

"Unlike New York, where the cost of living limits things, there's so much creativity here because people can keep moving into new territory, creating new neighborhoods," Hastreiter says. "My favorite one now is Frogtown," she adds, referring to the area just north of downtown and named after the frogs that used to inhabit the L.A. River.

Paper moves into an event space on Hollywood Boulevard at Western Avenue next weekend, where London fashion sensation Gareth Pugh will show his clothes, along with Benjamin Cho and Threeasfour from New York, and local talents Jeremy Scott, Rodarte, Show Pony and more. On Sunday, the magazine's Fashionmobile will be parked out front, where Hastreiter, fashion maven Mr. Mickey and special guests will be waiting to offer advice to (and get inspired by) any and all designers-in-the-making. For more information, go to www.papermag.com.

dragonsky

Nov 6, 2006, 2:40 AM

The Brookfield Gambit

http://www.downtownnews.com/content/articles/2006/11/06/news/news06.jpg

With Purchase of Trizec Complete, New York Company Makes Big Downtown Plans, Including a 7+Fig Renovation

by Kathleen Nye Flynn

When New York-based Brookfield Properties Corp. chose Los Angeles for its West Coast hub, it did so with a bang. Last month, the firm closed an acquisition of Trizec Properties for $4.8 billion. In the process, it gained three Downtown high-rises and an outdoor mall that together hold more than 4 million square feet of office and retail space. Brookfield now owns Bank of America Plaza at 333 S. Hope St., the Figueroa at Wilshire property at 601 S. Figueroa St., Ernst & Young Plaza at 725 S. Figueroa St. and its adjacent 7+Fig shopping mall. The latter will soon undergo a major renovation.
Brookfield Properties Corp.'s acquisition of Trizec Properties gave it control of three Downtown skyscrapers and the 7+Fig mall. A major renovation is planned for the latter, and Brookfield is eyeing tenants such as Target, Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma. Photo by Gary Leonard.

The Los Angeles Downtown News last week spoke with Anthony Manos, senior vice president of Brookfield's Southern California region, about the company's next steps.

Q: What are Brookfield's plans for its Downtown properties?

A: 601 Figueroa is one of the foremost iconic buildings in Los Angeles and we are looking at some new ideas for the ground floor of the building that might potentially add retail and amenities. It's considered one of the best-operated buildings and we will continue that excellence.

At the Bank of America tower, we are looking at adding potential retail amenities to the plaza and the concourse levels of the building and just studying the future development for the plaza itself. We are looking at some interesting alternatives of additional development on the plaza. This year the elevators will get renovated and we are looking at updating the lobby of the building a little bit.

At Ernst & Young, that building will also have elevator modernization and updates over a period of two years. For 7+Fig, we are looking at a complete major renovation of the retail complex and retail repositioning. We plan to bring in some new tenants and new anchor tenants to replace the former Bullocks there.

Q: What is the occupancy rate in the buildings?

A: Occupancy is very high at Ernst & Young and at the Bank of America building. It is almost 70% leased at 601 Figueroa. When we bought that building, we knew that Sanwa Bank would be moving out, so we have about 300,000 square feet to lease there.

It was part of our thinking when we acquired the asset to have a multiyear lease-up strategy for the building. Basically, that means that when you have trophy Class A office space you are selective and thoughtful about the nature and caliber of the tenants coming into the building. We have a certain cadre of tenants there, and while we are going to be aggressive and competitive to fill the space, that type of building is not for every type of tenant.

Q: How is the market affecting your buildings' occupancy?

A: We are continuing to see an influx of new names looking at Downtown Los Angeles and those are a lot of Westside tenants who have been priced out there or cannot find the amenities or contiguous square footage that we can offer in Downtown. For example, Worldwide Services, which we brought into Ernst & Young, was a Mid-Wilshire tenant.

Q: What type of retail are you looking for?

A: We will continue to bring in retail that adds new and different tenant amenities. We are looking at the appropriate kinds of restaurants, more of the fast casual that is becoming very popular right now like Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Express and the Daily Grill, as well as staples like Morton's Steak House. It's interesting that the Morton's at Ernst & Young in October was the number two [seller] in the entire country. That's really saying something about the vibrancy in Downtown.

At 7+Fig, it could be a new soft goods retailer. And I think that soon you will see one of the major home stores want to come into Downtown, which could be a Target, Crate & Barrel or a Williams-Sonoma.

Q: What does Brookfield think about the new neighbors planned for the area, such as the building announced by Maguire Properties adjacent to 7+Fig?

A: For a new building to start in Downtown, we need to see additional tenant migration from outside the market, which is a positive element, and rental rates that are $4 to $6 higher per square foot per month than they are today to justify new construction. We would be optimistic and supportive of a business environment in Los Angeles that was that healthy.

Q: It seems that Brookfield's other markets are pretty well established. What does the company think about coming into Downtown while it is still forming?

A: I think that Brookfield looks at markets that have a great world class [central business district]. Whether they are at a mature stage or on an upswing we underwrite each market with the appropriate risk and return. We see a great vibrancy in the Southern California office market and Downtown will definitely participate in that.

Contact Kathleen Nye Flynn at kathleen@downtownnews.com.

page 3, 11/6/2006

http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2006/11/06/news/news06.txt

bjornson

Nov 9, 2006, 5:25 AM

Melrose Place Gains Momentum With de la Renta
By Emili Vesilind
Oscar de la Renta is the latest designer to see opportunity on Melrose Place, the two-block strip in West Hollywood that has become prime retail real estate in less than two years.

Oscar Heads to Hollywood
De la Renta to open Melrose Place boutique

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

(LOS ANGELES) Oscar de la Renta, Ltd. on Tuesday announced plans to open a sixth freestanding boutique at 8446 Melrose Place that will serve as the company’s West Coast flagship. The 4,000-square-foot, bi-level store is expected to open in February 2007 and will offer the complete ready-to-wear collection, select items exclusive to de la Renta boutiques, and a full range of shoes, including handbags and jewelry. Later next year the company plans to showcase the Oscar de la Renta home collection on the boutique’s 1,000-square foot second floor, which will also accommodate VIPs.

De la Renta’s store, located on a two-block strip right off La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood, is in an area already home to Marni, Carolina Herrera, Alice Temperley (in WeHo limits), Diane von Furstenberg, three Marc Jacobs stores, Paul Smith, Monique Lhuillier, Mulberry boutiques, a coming-soon Chloé, and a rumored Vera Wang West Coast flagship. Balenciaga is also said to have been scouting in the hip, offbeat neighborhood. “This is an exhilarating time at Oscar de la Renta. I am so pleased that we finally found the perfect home on the West Coast,” the designer said.

Not sure what the city limits are, but a lot of the addresses for the stores are listed as in L.A. not WeHo. However, the neighborhood has a WeHo feel to it.

Hugo Boss Gets Bigger on Rodeo
By Emili Vesilind and Marcy Medina
BEVERLY HILLS — Hugo Boss celebrated the relaunch of its Rodeo Drive store with a lavish block party last month after a renovation that doubled the size of the unit, raising it to flagship status.

The first H&M in the city of L.A. is opening tomorrow at the Beverly Center. The store will feature the Viktor & Rolf collection.

Oh yeah, Brentwood Country Mart is apparently getting a bunch of new stores.

Quixote

Nov 9, 2006, 5:32 AM

LosAngelesBeauty

Nov 9, 2006, 5:35 AM

^^ Interesting how they grouped Monique Lhuillier with the Melrose Place bunch when her boutique is in Beverly Hills right off of Rodeo Drive on S. SM Blvd. *shrugs*

bjornson

Nov 9, 2006, 5:41 AM

This is all great news. But I don't like how it's all spread out and inaccessible by rail. Hopefully Melrose Place will establish itself as the premiere high-end shopping district of The City by adding other major designers like LV, Chanel, Gucci, etc.

I hate that as well. L.A.'s got just about every designer, but they're all over the place like LAB posted in another thread. Subway to the sea? Hopefully downtown can establish itself as the center to put designers. It might, however, take much longer than Melrose Place did. 10 years perhaps (after the first designer decides to set up shop of course)?

I kind of hate the fact that it runs on the border of WeHo. Melrose also isn't as great looking as it should be. More trees and pedestrian oriented development could help bring those other boutiques in.

^^ Interesting how they grouped Monique Lhuillier with the Melrose Place bunch when her boutique is in Beverly Hills right off of Rodeo Drive on S. SM Blvd. *shrugs*

Oh you're right! I didn't even notice!

Kind of irrelevant, but I always seemed to wonder why the articles never mention Miu Miu. I now know why. It closed it's doors in August. What a shame. It was the first U.S. store. Now there's only the one on Madison in NY. Hopefully it might open another somewhere else!

LosAngelesBeauty

Nov 9, 2006, 8:00 AM

^ Yeah it bewilders me why Miu Miu closed down since I had insider information that it did actually very well in sales from its strong client list. Perhaps that area is just not fit for a Miu Miu caliber store. That's why Costume Nationale moved over to WeHo.

My guess is Miu Miu is gonna search for space elsewhere. Perhaps Robertson? Maybe even Melrose Place.

LosAngelesBeauty

Nov 17, 2006, 2:13 PM

I hate that as well. L.A.'s got just about every designer, but they're all over the place like LAB posted in another thread. Subway to the sea? Hopefully downtown can establish itself as the center to put designers. It might, however, take much longer than Melrose Place did. 10 years perhaps (after the first designer decides to set up shop of course)?

I kind of hate the fact that it runs on the border of WeHo. Melrose also isn't as great looking as it should be. More trees and pedestrian oriented development could help bring those other boutiques in.

Oh you're right! I didn't even notice!

Kind of irrelevant, but I always seemed to wonder why the articles never mention Miu Miu. I now know why. It closed it's doors in August. What a shame. It was the first U.S. store. Now there's only the one on Madison in NY. Hopefully it might open another somewhere else!

I passed by Melrose Place a few days ago and it looks like Monique Lhuillier is actually opening up there as well! It's right at the corner of La Cienega and Melrose Place. :)

Anyway, here's a fun article about CH:

FASHION

Herrera takes a look at Herrera

The fashion icon visits her flagship boutique on Melrose and her luxury-for-less store at South Coast Plaza.

By Valli Herman
Times Staff Writer

November 17, 2006

Boutiques are opening so fast along Melrose Place that even their owners aren't able to keep up with them.

Three months after fashion designer Carolina Herrera opened the West Coast flagship for her namesake collection, she and her daughter, Carolina, finally were able to visit it and another in Costa Mesa this week.

On Monday, Mrs. Herrera and Carolina Jr., as they are called by their friends and associates, gathered at the new Carolina Herrera New York boutique at 8441 Melrose Place for a party hosted by Couture Cares to benefit the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center.

The two-room, 3,800-square-foot boutique was packed with the social and the famous, including Angie Harmon ("The Good Mother"), Brittany Murphy ("Happy Feet"), Ginnifer Goodwin ("Big Love"), Tracee Ellis Ross ("Girlfriends"), Lauren Graham ("Gilmore Girls"), Rebecca Gayheart ("Vanished"), Gabrielle Union ("Running With Scissors"), Lauralee Bell ("The Young and the Restless"), Rose McGowan ("Charmed") and stylists Rachel Zoe and Tod Hallman. The event's heavily promoted co-host, the just-filed-for-divorce Reese Witherspoon, skipped the chance to be surrounded by paparazzi and reportedly headed back to her family in Tennessee.

On Tuesday, the Herreras headed to South Coast Plaza, where they hosted another fundraising party at the CH Carolina Boutique, which offers a less-expensive lifestyle collection for men and women. The store was slated to donate 10% of sales from Monday through today to the Pacific Symphony.

Though the Carolina Herrera label is a frequent presence on red carpets throughout Los Angeles, the designer has lagged behind competitors who long ago set up free-standing boutiques to help cement relationships with clients. Nearly seven years ago, Herrera opened a flagship boutique on New York's tony Madison Avenue to showcase her sophisticated eveningwear, bridal wear, daytime separates and accessories. The South Coast Plaza CH Carolina Boutique is now one of six North American stores, including others in Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston.

Unlike other fashion designers, Herrera doesn't fine-tune the collection to suit each city, she said in a post-party interview at the store. The L.A. customer just happens to toss on a jacket, or add tights, to suit the weather, said her daughter.

"Women are women," said Carolina Jr. "You can't make a new collection for L.A."

"Fashion is seasonless," her mother added. "Women will take the look and give it her personality."

The main personality present at the flagship is that of Carolina Herrera, fashion icon. Indeed, upon entering the boutique, shoppers encounter a large black-and-white portrait of Herrera, which hangs above copies of the 2004 Assouline Publishing book, "Carolina Herrera: Portrait of a Fashion Icon," the 208-page ode to her beauty, glamorous lifestyle and aristocratic past as one of Venezuela's oldest and most prominent families.

The Melrose Place boutique reflects a certain effortless sophistication for women who don't bat at eye at $5,000 leather jackets, $4,000 camisoles, $1,200 cotton blouses and $19,000 jewel-encrusted evening gowns. Herrera's exclusive collection of Manolo Blahnik shoes, Judith Leiber and Faraone Mennella accessories round out the selections, which were evidently quite tempting as shoppers rang up many purchases during the party.

Though the boutique has a charming side entryway and a celebrity-friendly back door and parking lot, it's a particularly stark rendering of Herrera's trademark elegance, which is odd coming from a woman who said, "the most boring movement in fashion is minimalism." The boutique's walls are plain white, racks are simple chrome, mirrors are no different than department-store issue, and the tightly upholstered furniture is stiff and uninviting.

Except for the layout, the boutique matches her New York flagship, the designer said. "The stars of the place, the decoration of the place, are the clothing," she said. "It's not overpowering."

The designer takes a completely different approach to the CH Carolina Herrera boutiques, which are loaded with retail's favorite lifestyle props: pool tables, bars, cozy living room furniture, fireplaces and libraries. The CH collection is lower-priced luxury, with full-length evening skirts ranging from $1,000 to $1,200; pants from $350 to $560; and the new top-sellers, handbags from $590 to $1,665.

Having entire collections presented cleanly is a huge benefit to shoppers, as Carolina Jr. can attest. Having been grounded by a new baby and other commitments, she missed her mother's spring fashion show and had to view the collection on the Internet. She now knows firsthand that fine clothing must be viewed in person to be appreciated.

"I thought the dress I was wearing last night was a silk print when I saw the photo," said Carolina Jr. Instead, it was richly outlined with pleated rows of thin ribbon. "There was not one thing that was as I had imagined it to be. They were much better in reality."

"I'm delighted to hear that," teased her mother.

Herrera's highly detailed surface decorations that may be pleated, beaded, woven, topstitched and more, are difficult to appreciate in photos. That's why having the boutiques helps stylists such as Hallman make more informed decisions for clients, particularly when they can shop a number of high-end collections already along the street.

Marc Jacobs has commandeered three locations along the block, while Marni has moved into an ultra-modern space near the under-construction or just-opened Monique Lhuillier, Colette Fine Jewelry, DV women's wear and Republic restaurant and lounge. Tracy Feith has moved out, and Oscar de la Renta is slated to move in, and there is talk that Balenciaga is hunting for a location. And maybe Bastide will reopen someday and deliver dinner to shoppers.

Of course, in L.A. the ultimate status symbol isn't leaving a boutique with loads of shopping bags; it's having clothes delivered to your home. Herrera understands that, so naturally, the Melrose boutique will offer not just delivery, but in-home fittings for alterations.

valli.herman@latimes.com.