Stone Island opens in ‘guy’s gulch,’ Bonton unwraps a Bonbon on Melrose Place
Stone Island plants a U.S. flagship
Italian technical menswear brand Stone Island has opened its first permanent bricks-and-mortar store in the U.S. on the stretch of La Brea Boulevard we’ve come to call “guy’s gulch.” And by technical we don’t mean gadgety, but envelope-pushing manufacturing processes like using a laser to etch designs onto reflective fabrics or garment-dying down jackets (more difficult than you might think given the feathers’ propensity to clump together in the dyeing process).
The upscale brand, which until now has been mostly available in the U.S. at department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s, is best known for its sturdy and snazzy light outerwear pieces (jackets start at about $600), which are showcased in the new 3,000-square-foot space alongside its knitwear and fleece pieces (in the $200-to-$250 range) all just dyeing (see what we did there?) to meet you. Temporarily on display in the front-of-store exhibition space is a retrospective focusing on the brand’s experimental relationship with textiles and treatments including some rare and prototype garments such as a zip-front cardigan-like sweater knit with reflective thread and a jacket with the kind of crackly finish you’d find on worn leather but done in gray and white reflective material.
Why open a standalone store? Stone Island president and creative director Carlo Rivetti put it in terms anyone living within eyesight of the Hollywood sign could understand: “We’re like the small, independent movie makers – to show the movies we want, we have to own our own cinema. “Reflective Research ‘992 – ‘015 / Los Angeles,” on display through March 13 at Stone Island LA, 145 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.
Bonbon bows on Melrose Place
This week, Bonton, an alarmingly cute children’s brand based in France opened the doors of a 2,200-square-foot standalone store on Melrose Place under the Bonbon nameplate, marking the first time the providers of pretty things to the pint-sized (think stylish trousers and T-shirts for baby, leggings and polos for the toddler to tween set) have had a stateside store. The boutique will stock clothes for the newborn to 12-year-old set as well as accessories, decorations, toys and books. Bonbon Los Angeles, 8473 Melrose Place, Los Angeles
Vince hits the Promenade
Vince, one of the contemporary brands that’s found success in the accessible-luxury arena is about to get a little more accessible, especially if you happen to live in the Westlake Village area. That’s because the label is set to open its eighth Los Angeles-area store later this month at the Promenade at Westlake shopping center. The 2,520-square-foot store, which will stock men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, footwear and handbags is set to officially open its doors on Feb. 26 in the part of the center that’s also home to the Intermix, Lululemon Athletica, Sephora and Restoration Hardware stores. The Promenade at Westlake, 100 Promenade Way, Westlake Village.
Shop the sidewalk — then watch the Oscars
A post-Valentine’s Day, pre-Academy Awards sidewalk sale? Why not? Co-op 28 in Los Feliz is hauling it out to the sidewalk next weekend with handcrafted artisanal goods, discounted 50% to 80%, outside and furniture floor models (discounted up to 40%) on sale inside. Co-op 28 sidewalk sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 28, 1728 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles.
