Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Steps Forward and Back
The arrival of a Ralphs supermarket in downtown Los Angeles this summer was expected to iron out some of the rougher edges of urban living and pave the way for more retail in the area.
And in some ways it has, with two new clothing stores opening up. But one has shuttered its doors.
On Nov. 3, Los Angeles–based fashion label Candice Held opened a 450-square-foot boutique at 838 S. Spring St., one block north of the California Market Center.
Designer Candice Held and Jordana Magin, the managing partner of the Candice Held label, took out a six-month lease. They hope it will turn into a permanent space for the contemporary brand, which has been known to construct clothes out of dish towels and scarves. Retail space on that block of Spring Street is a bargain at under $2 a square foot, Held said.
While the 3-year-old label is sold at Planet Blue, the Candice Held partners hope their store will offer people a complete look at the line.
Fashion gallery
Another fashion store that debuted in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 3 was the New High (M)art, a gallery-style store in Chinatown at 741 New High St. The idea behind the 300-square-foot store is to treat a boutique like an art gallery, according to store co-owner Richard Brewer, who also goes by the name of T-Rik. He co-owns the place with Miho Ikeda.
Like a gallery frequently changing art shows the New High (M)art will be devoted to a new designer every six weeks. The store’s first collection will be filled with the fashions of emerging designer Brian Lichtenberg. By Dec. 14, the store will be scheduled to devote its space to another fashion designer.
Doors closed
One pioneering downtown fashion store that didn’t make it was Push Emporium at 400 S. Main St., adjacent to popular downtown watering hole Pete’s Cafeacute;. The shop recently closed its doors. When it opened around June 2006, Push Emporium offered a dry-cleaning service coupled with a fashion boutique in 2,500 square feet of space.
A significant number of homeless lived in the area. But Push owner Sally Daliege was bullish about the neighborhood, which has been attracting wealthy professionals to the area’s rehabbed buildings turned into residential lofts. “There’s the fear factor. You’re taking a chance here. But if you’re a self-starter, you can succeed,” she told the California Apparel News in July.
As of Nov. 1, Push Emporium had closed and art gallery M.J. Higgins Fine Arts & Furnishings had moved into its spot. Daliege did not answer e-mails to comment about the store’s closure.—Andrew Asch
