California Apparel News

Prominent Los Angeles–headquartered skate lifestyle brand Huf will revive its retail operations and open a flagship store at 451 N. Fairfax Blvd. by the end of this year, said Keith Hufnagel, the founder of the brand, who formerly ran a shop at 410 N. Fairfax in 2011 and, since then, has occasionally produced pop-up shops.

“It will be a brand experience,” Hufnagel said of the upcoming Fairfax flagship. “It’s the feel, the vibe—you get to see the entire brand.”

Huf’s return to Fairfax will be important to the street, considered a capital of skate and streetwear. Huf is considered one of the market’s authentic brands, said Aaron Levant, founder of Agenda, a dominant streetwear trade show. “A lot of brands try to portray an authentic vibe with skate roots. Huf is one of the few brands with true skate roots and authenticity.”

The store also will feature a café from Santa Cruz, Calif.–headquartered Verve Coffee Roasters, which runs a few cafés in Northern California and has been a foodie favorite. Visitors to the shop also will see a sculpture from Haroshi, a self-taught Japanese artist who creates art by recycling old, used skateboards. Hufnagel directed the look of the upcoming shop, which will feature light woods, as well as Plexiglas and metal elements similar to a skateboard’s.

The shop’s apparel, footwear and accessories will be devoted to the Huf brand, which launched in 2002. There will be a shoe wall, as well as tables and racks with T-shirts, hoodies, wovens, caps, bags and wallets. Core retail price points range from $30 to $100. The flagship also will offer exclusive product such as a collaboration with San Francisco–headquartered Golden Bear Sportswear.

While Huf has been carried over the past few years by retailers such as Ron Herman, Active Ride stores and core shops such as Brooklyn Projects, the brand exited its own retail in 2011 due to a changing economy and a plan to focus on wholesale, Hufnagel said. He was glad to make a return to Fairfax. “It’s a good street for skateboarding,” said Hufnagel, who gained notoriety as a street skateboarder in the 1990s. “It’s a good place for a brand to be. It’s a family of brands.” High-profile streetwear brands such as Crooks & Castles, The Hundreds and Supreme also run flagships there.

If the upcoming Huf flagship is deemed to be a financial success, more stores will be opened, he said.