California Apparel News

High-profile Los Angeles retailer Ron Robinson forged collaborations with the Missoni fashion house, as well as prominent hotels the Mondrian in West Hollywood and Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, Calif. But in his more than 30 years in business, he has never done a pop-up shop with another retailer.

Earlier this month, Robinson, who runs two Ron Robinson locations at the Fred Segal boutique compounds in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, opened a pop-up shop at Guerilla Atelier, a new specialty store that opened in May in downtown Los Angeles’ arts district. The budding retail neighborhood was, until a few years ago, better known for art lofts and homeless people than luxe shopping.

The deal to develop Ron Robinson’s first pop-up shop at an independent retailer started on Nov. 2, when Robinson and his wife, Stacy, were scouting real estate for a third location. They walked into Guerilla Atelier and started talking to the shop’s owner, Carl Louisville.

“No one has pulled together as beautifully a curated collection as Carl Louisville has in downtown Los Angeles,” Robinson said. Before opening Guerilla Atelier, Louisville was the director of the Prada Epicenter store on Rodeo Drive. Guerilla Atelier offers men’s and women’s apparel brands including Vénus et Judes, Mister Freedom, Barba, Lavera and Borrelli.

Since Guerilla Atelier opened, many entrepreneurs have pitched Louisville on collaborations. He hasn’t been interested, but he did think that he needed to extend the opening price point for his store, where items cost from $300 to $6,000. “So many people wanted to buy something,” he said, but not everybody could take something home.

The Ron Robinson pop-up shop will last throughout the holidays, Robinson said. Most of it is located in the middle of Guerilla Atelier. It sells his Missoni Home by Apothia fragrances and his Apothia Fine Fragrance collection, as well as books, gifts, homewares and sound equipment, which will be familiar to anyone who has stopped by the Ron Robinson shops in the past few years.

Meeting Louisville confirmed to Robinson and his wife that high-end retailing has a place in downtown Los Angeles. “We were impressed,” Robinson said, adding that there is a customer base in downtown LA who is fashion-savvy and willing to spend money on the right product. “It is a customer that not only has a very simple, urban, fashion direction,” Robinson said. “But it’s one with a great deal of style and the wherewithal to find the unique products.”

Robinson called 2013 a banner year for his business. His Missoni collaboration has been stocked in major department stores such as Barneys New York, Saks and Neiman Marcus. The collaboration will go on through 2014, Robinson said. He worked with Missoni matriarch Rosita Missoni on the collaboration. “There’s no tolerance for error,” he said of the Missoni fashion house. “There is no ‘almost there.’ You can go over 100 percent or better.” He manufactures all of the Missoni Home by Apothia fragrances in Los Angeles. Missoni distributes them worldwide.