Chloé Outpost Finally Opens in L.A.
After years of delays due to construction, Chloé finally opened the doors of its swanky new L.A. outpost on Melrose Place yesterday. The white-walled store — which feels more like an airy townhouse than a retail shop — features a landscaped courtyard, a VIP area, huge skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Yes, it’s gorgeous. But will it sell anything?
Most retail stores are suffering these days (save designer vintage shops, which are cleaning up), but the boutiques on Melrose Place, including Marni, Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta, have never exactly packed ‘em in. And now that the economy is in the crapper, the street is positively empty. “We’ve had so many zero-dollar days lately,” a sales associate at a high-end store on the street told me last month. And rumor has it, shop girls up and down the street are busy twiddling their thumbs instead of ringing up sales.
Chloé, which hasn’t been red hot since designer Phoebe Philo left the company in 2006, still has its share of devotees. But with Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus dramatically slashing prices to move merch, stand-alone designer shops have a hard row to tow.
Despite the gnarly odds, the company’s putting on a brave face — even feting the store with a party at Milk Studios on April 23 hosted by Kate Bosworth and Chloë Sevigny. So there.
source Hollywood Life thanks to 21 for the heads up!
And now the recent candid:
007 x 03/28/09: Kate and James in Los Angeles
