Avedon Says No to Robertson, Yes to Big Beverly Hills Store
Avedon's Reza Shekarchian, left, and Yasmine Farmanara
Veteran Los Angeles boutique Avedon held a party Dec. 15 to celebrate its stylish 2,700-square-foot store at 417 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. Avedon owners Yasmine Farmanara and Reza Shekarchian moved their store from high-profile fashion street Robertson Boulevard in November. Shekarchian said he and his business partner have no interest in looking back to their fashionable old digs.
The 2,700-square-foot Beverly Hills store is triple the size of the Robertson Boulevard boutique. The extra room will give Avedon, long a menswear store, an opportunity to offer women’s fashions. The new store also experiments with new décor such as the dramatic Joshua Tree sculptures in the loft-like space.
Shekarchian said Avedon’s business already has been wonderful. It specializes in refined premium and formal fashions with labels such as Agave and Belvest. Party guest and Avedon vendor Georg Roth was just glad to be toasting the debut of an independent, multi-line store, instead of observing the closing of another boutique, which has been one of the heartbreaking trend stories of the past few years. “There are fewer independent stores,” Roth said. “We see the same stores in New York, Miami and L.A. now. It’s a shame because if you don’t want to look like you are wearing a uniform, you need independent stores.”
Fred Segal Feet on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue also threw a party on Dec. 15. The guest of honor was Ugg Boots. For the adventurous Ugg fan, they could have their expensive Ugg boots screenprinted at the party with tribal graphics from the design team of the controversial artist Shepard Fairey. Presiding over the screenprinting machines were the hard-working folks of the Fresh Pressed Screen Shops of the bohemian Los Feliz neighborhood.
