Trying on New Era cap at its D-Lab store. Photo by Andrew McClees.
New Era Unveils One-of-A-Kind L.A. Flagship
L.A. Live and Staples Center are places to grab a bite to eat, see a game, a concert, a movie, and maybe check out some music history at the Grammy Museum. Not so much a place to shop. But the story changed on Jan. 26.
New Era unveiled its one-of-a kind New Era D- Lab shop on the L.A. Live campus. The “D” stands for Design Lab, and it is the second place to buy clothes at the sprawling entertainment/dining/sporting complex in downtown Los Angeles. The New Era shop is adjacent to Team LA Store, a place for sports merch, mostly for Staples Center teams the Lakers, the Clippers and the Kings.
New Era recently closed its flagship store on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue after the lease ran out. The Buffalo, N.Y. –based label moved its shop to LA Live because the 97-year-old cap company and L.A. Live owner AEG both wanted to try a new store concept, said Janelle Randall, New Era’s senior manager of visual merchandising .
Tech is one of the new store’s unique features. People can design caps, with a palette of colors and logos at the flagship’s kiosks. (On a side note, will there be a limit to design at the store? Can someone design a San Francisco Giants cap in the colors of arch-rival Los Angeles Dodgers!? We wanna know!) The shop also features a blocking machine, which can stretch a cap to fit a wearer’s head more comfortably. There’s a heat seal machine which can affix patches to a side of cap. New Era D-Lab will release patches for special events, according to a company statement.
Also at the shop, the latest in New Era team looks, as well as New Era apparel. There’s also a VIP room in the back of the shop reserved for parties, and yes, a big screen for watching the game.
