Planet Brings Luxury Downtown
Los Angeles’ Fashion District is the place where many of California’s boutique owners buy goods for their luxury stores, but Jacques Artine Kevorkian thought the place was missing its own luxury boutique. Make that a Beverly Hills–style store a couple of blocks away from a downtown freeway onramp to the 10 freeway, according to Kevorkian.
On Dec. 12, he opened Planet, a 1,000-square-foot boutique that sells premium jeans such as True Religion and brands including Joystick. Store price points range from $28 for a T-shirt to $450 for a blazer. Kevorkian is hoping to attract fashion-industry players who work downtown but don’t always have the time to shop elsewhere in the city. Kevorkian also expects the downtown loft boom to attract a wider clientele within the next five years.
Planet is the retail arm to his manufacturing company, Planet USA. The 7-year-old company sells casual contemporary clothes under the labels Artine and Planet to stores such as M. Fredric. Kevorkian hopes to build as many as seven Planet stores nationwide.
Clients of the Santee Street boutique said they were first taken by the novelty of Planet’s real estate. “It pops out,” said Jack Katri, president of import company Mikmac. “If it was on Melrose, it would do well, but it wouldn’t stick out.”
For more information, call (213) 741-1060 or visit www.planetusadesign.com. —Andrew Asch
