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Made-in-LA Retail Opening Downtown
First came the fashion incubator, now comes the incubator store.
FactoryLA, which is just getting off the ground as a company that helps grow young labels made in Los Angeles, will be launching a store in early July just for “Made in LA” brands.
“A store was not in our initial strategy,” said Leah Garvin, founder of FactoryLA, a for-profit fashion incubator headquartered in a 100-year-old building at 840 S. Los Angeles St. “The idea is to feature start-up brands that are ‘Made in LA,’ all in a collective environment to really represent a singular voice for what is possible for ‘Made in LA.’”
The store will be by appointment only during the week and open without appointments on Saturdays.
Three levels of ‘Made in LA’ contemporary clothing will be showcased. The first level is for start-up brands whose designers have created a few pieces but don’t have a brand identity or a full collection. “We would be their first door,” Garvin said.
The second level will be emerging designers who have created a full collection for a few seasons, have a brand identity and have selling experience.
The third level will be for established brands that have experience showcasing themselves as “Made in LA.”
“We will be offering a retail lab which provides the designers with feedback on how the consumer feels about the product, such as ‘I love it, but the skirt is too short or too long or I don’t like the color,” Garvin said.
Clothing will be sold on a consignment basis. It is ideal for designers who want to try out a few styles to see how they do or for companies that want to sell extra inventory.
For more information, go to www.wearefactoryla.com.
