EM & Co. to Sell Clothes From the Other Europe
The race to find exclusive labels can make retail a cut-throat business, and Eveline Morel thought she was at her wit’s end before she opened her boutique EM & Co. on Los Angeles’ West Third Street on Oct. 12.
“I wanted to be able to get Desanka,” Morel said of the up-and-coming Los Angeles–based label. “But she’s already sold on this street. So I thought, why don’t I get up-and-coming designers from Europe?”
Morel took that idea one step further and began scouting beyond the familiar fashion centers such as Paris; Milan, Italy; and London. She sells Dead Bird & Lionheart from Finland, and by Spring 2006, Morel is planning to sell Greek labels and Romanian lines such as Angela Arapu and Irina Marinescu.
Although the emphasis of the store will be on lesser-known European designers, Morel also will focus on new Los Angeles designers such as Alicia Lawhon, Single, Rachel Pally and Cyrus & Sonny, co-created by 18- year-old Cyrus Shepherd, son of actor Cybill Shepherd. She explained, “I want to sell clothes from all around the world, but they must be appropriate for the West Third Street customer.”
Morel introduced her labels EM Reconstructed and the self-named Eveline Morel earlier this year at Fairfax Avenue boutique Late Bloomer, which keeps late hours, often staying open past midnight to serve the nighttime pedestrian traffic on the street.
The Romanian-born Morel was a partner at Late Bloomer, and she sought to find more traffic for the store by adding more daytime hours. Then, she decided to change course. If she was going to look for more consumers, she wanted to sell clothes on a street she believed had more retail traffic.
A space opened at 7940 W. Third St., and using personal savings and investments from family and friends, she took a three-year lease on the 1,800-square-foot place. Two more Late Bloomer partners, Amy Buhler of Seed and Sarah Szikil of Muschka Design, followed her. By the end of the month, her business partner Allison Schultz will join the store. She formerly ran boutique Ali Kays in Kansas City, Mo. —Andrew Asch
