Howe Homme: My Home, My Store
Up-and-coming rock band West Indian Girl performed by the kitchen, and a premium-denim boutique opened for business in the living room. That’s the way Jade Howe turned his residence at the Artists Village of Santa Ana, Calif., into menswear store Howe Homme on Nov. 6.
More than 250 people crowded the 2,000- square-foot home, which not only features a wet bar but also a jeans bar. Howe, owner and designer of Howe Denim, said he prefers mixing business with domesticity.
“Coming from the active market, I always had a team of athletes representing the lines,” said Howe, who designed for Huntington Beach, Calif.–based Quiksilver Inc. and was creative director of Hawaiian Island Creations in Irvine, Calif. “In contemporary fashion, I don’t have a team. It’s the independent men whom I’m dressing. I wanted a special place for them to come, a comfortable place for guys to hang out.”
Larry Hymes, co-founder of the Westcoast Exclusive trade show, and Lisa Bist, a Santa Ana city councilwoman, nibbled on hors d’oeuvres catered by Orange County hipster eatery Memphis at the Santora. Per Welinder, president and chief executive officer of Howe Denim’s distributor, Blitz Distribution of Huntington Beach, said the store offers enough space to show the entire Howe line and there are no plans to open more stores in the near future.
Howe Denim is currently sold at boutiques such as Metropark in Glendale, Calif., The Closet in Costa Mesa, Calif., and S2 at Fred Segal Santa Monica. Welinder said he hopes the line will sell in more than 400 boutiques during the next 18 months.
Howe Homme is open by appointment the first Saturday of each month for the remainder of 2004. It will be open by appointment Saturdays and Sundays in 2005. Call (714) 953-1120 for more information. —Andrew Asch
