Fire Before the Debut of Urban Outfitters Experimental Shop
A fire broke out in a section of Urban Outfitters’ Space15Twenty experimental shop in Hollywood the day before the Nov. 21 debut of the space.
The flames started at 12:26 a.m. on Nov. 20 in the Alife section of the sprawling Space15Twenty complex of retail and performance space. The flames did not spread beyond the origin of the fire, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, which said 40 fire department personnel successfully put out the flames in 55 minutes. One firefighter received minor shoulder injuries after the fire, according to fire department spokesperson Brian Humphrey. Significant clothing stock was stored at the building, but no fire damage costs have been tabulated. The LAFD said the cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Space15Twenty is located adjacent to an 11,000-square-foot Urban Outfitters on the 1500 block of North Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood, one block away from Amoeba Music, a noted retail draw in Hollywood.
Plans call for Space15Twenty to feature a performance space where DJs and bands perform, as well as a rotating group of vendors. The initial roster of shops includes a pop-up shop for Brooklyn, N.Y.–based designer Samantha Pleet. It is dedicated to Rapscallion, her line for Urban Outfitters. Also included are Los Angeles art curators Hope Gallery; New York vintage retailer What Comes Around Goes Around; art bookstore Hennessey + Ingalls; and Urban Outfitters’ contemporary line, Free People. New York–based streetwear line Alife also has space at the complex.
Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters Inc. has been on a roll lately. It is one of the few American retailers to report increasing sales during the past few months. Its same-store sales for its fiscal third quarter, released on Nov. 6, increased 17 percent, compared with the same period last year. —Andrew Asch
