It's Showtime at the Cooper Building
The Cooper Building at Ninth and Los Angeles streets in downtown Los Angeles has long been a haven for manufacturers, designers, retailers and almost every other aspect of the apparel business—except for wholesaling. But now a redesigned second floor called the Cooper Design Space has brought in wholesale tenants for the first time in the building’s nearly 80-year history.
Showtime, an independent wholesaler of several contemporary women’s apparel lines, is one of the first to move into the second floor. Henry Aberger, formerly of Bebe Stores Inc. and Bella Dahl, and Desi (who goes by one name), formerly of Sanctuary Clothing and Michael Cohen Showroom, run the 2,800-square-foot space, which has an open floor plan, white walls and concrete floors.
“It has a clean, contemporary and relaxed feel, still with a sense of Zen,” Desi said.
The showroom houses Olivia A., Aberger’s casual basics line featuring twill, cords and denim; Dead Sexy, contemporary denim; Soleil Rose, contemporary sportswear; Biscote, contemporary sportswear from France; Michelle DeCourcy, dresses; (Un)designed by Carol Young, contemporary clothing; Uma, leather goods from Argentina; Blithe, knitwear; and C&E Engineering, vintage sportswear.
The lines wholesale from $16 for some knit goods to $500 for leather goods.
“We try and outfit the mother and daughter here,” Desi said. “Buyers can shop and fill up their stores in one stop.”
Among the up-and-coming trendy lines at Showtime is Michelle DeCourcy, an Oregon-based designer of contemporary dresses who gained fame recently for outfitting musician Norah Jones for this year’s Grammy Awards show. Showtime also features San Francisco resources such as Blithe, which specializes in tops and knits.
The choice of the Cooper Building made sense for Showtime since The New Mart is at full capacity and the Designers & Agents contemporary market has moved into trade-show space on the seventh floor for market weeks.
“We want to promote this building,” Aberger said. “We want others to come here. It’s got lots of strengths and is very accessible.”
“Their space looks great,” said Mona Angkala, the Cooper Building’s director of leasing.
Angkala added that other tenants will be moving onto the 32,500-square-foot second floor as demand dictates.
“There’s lots of potential here,” she said. “We have a great lobby, and it’s a great location.”
The Showtime showroom, in suite 201, will host an open house from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 6. For more information, call (213) 228-1210.
—Robert McAllister
