Retail With a Vibe
Alex Mouracade and Darrel Adams know “edgy.” In their previous careers as DJs, the duo kept finicky party people glued to dance floors by playing new music that had rarely been heard on the radio or in nightclubs.
This is the same crowd Mouracade and Adams are catering to with their venture Kin Boutique & Gallery—a 1,900-square-foot boutique they have owned and operated since Nov. 15 in Los Angeles’ Sunset Plaza retail district.
Much of Kin’s fashions could be described as being infused with that proverbial edge. Case in point is one of the store’s recent top sellers. It’s a lavender T-shirt featuring a graphic of a very famous cartoon mouse shown smoking a cigarette and holding a bottle of booze. The Louse tee by Los Angeles–based Corpus sells for $70. If this specific shirt isn’t aimed at children, that’s fine by Mouracade and Adams, both 30.
They intend to offer clothes meant for sophisticated, streetwise men and women. They shop for clothes at trade shows not afraid to sport a little edge, such as Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas and Who’s Next in Paris. They also seek out California designers shaped by art and streetwear inspirations such as Los Angeles–based Anzevino and Florence and Serfontaine. For sophisticated fashion, they focus on labels such as J. Lindeberg and Alexander McQueen.
Their quest for the edge is also helped by their real estate.
Kin is located a couple of storefronts away from Poquito Maacute;s, a taco stand favored by young Hollywood and other Los Angeles in-crowd types. Although Jake Gyllenhaal and the ubiquitous Paris Hilton have been spotted at the taqueria, Mouracade and Adams believe they still need to keep the ambience on their sales floor lively.
“You want to keep a party atmosphere,” Adams said on keeping the crowd coming back for more. —Andrew Asch
