Atlas Showroom
Cooper Design SpaceSuite 822(310) 728-6600 www.atlasshowroom.com
For Atlas Showroom owner Lindsay Smith, apparel sales are all about finding the right fit.
“It’s the most fun puzzle to find the personality of the line and the personality of the store and get them to fit together,” she said.
Smith opened Atlas first on the Cooper Design Space’s fourth floor a year and a half ago before moving up to the building’s eighth floor in December.
With more than 2,000 square feet, Atlas is packed with personality, from denim labels Corpus and Denim & Thread Australia to contemporary men’s and women’s collections, including Tankus from Korea and Good Vig, thenew label from Cosa Nostra designer and “Project Runway” winner Jeffrey Sebelia. Smith recently picked up two new lines, both from Australia. Vanishing Elephant is a men’s linethat quietly launched in New York earlier this summer, and Hussy—a women’s collection of apparel, bags and shoes—will be launching soon in Los Angeles.
Atlas serves as the West Coast sales base for Oak, the New York–based showroom, collection and boutiques owned by Louis Terline and Jeff Madalena. Smith recently leased an 800-square-foot space across from Atlas, where she plans to open an intimate installation space called Atlas South. She plans to begin in August with an installation of lines from the Oak showroom.
Assisting Smith at Atlas are Matthew Flynn, formerly with Ron Herman, and JoshuaKuyt, formerly with the Riot Showroom and Los Angeles premium-denim label Cassette.
Most of the collections in Atlas fall into a contemporary price point. For example, Tankus’ T-shirts retail for $40 to $50, while the brand’s coats retail for $500 to $600.
“The focus at Atlas is on up-and-coming lines,” Smith said. The showroom owner said she looks for lines with a clear identity that she can help launch in A-list, tastemaker stores and then watch the brands grow from there. “It’s more fun for me to get in on the ground level,” she said. —Alison A. Nieder
