Free Market Playa Vista opens May 1 as a retail center and brand incubator as a 21,000 square-foot space, which rotates a selection of fashion brands, dining-and-bar experiences, and cultural installations. Image: Free Market
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Experiential Collective Free Market Playa Vista Opens
The much-anticipated Free Market Playa Vista experiential collective of boutiques, restaurants, and event spaces opened May 1 at Runway Playa Vista as a retail center and brand incubator. Free Market founders Paolo Carini, Raan Parton, and Lindsay Parton have enlisted management company DJM for the 21,000 square-foot Invesco Real Estate-owned space that boasts a concept of a rotating array of carefully selected leading fashion brands, dining-and-beverage experiences and cultural installations.
“After a difficult year and rightful pause on retail, we’re so excited to bring Free Market to Runway,” Raan Parton said in a statement. “We’ve pulled some of our favorite restaurant groups together with forward-thinking brands, merchants, and services to rethink the traditional department store as a collection of things that are bought, not just sold, all while offering something fresh and new for the Los Angeles community to discover.”
Within Free Market Playa Vista's open-format space, visitors will find home retailer Alchemy Works; Abigail Spencer's County Line Florals, which specializes in unique bouquets, branches and plants; Heyday personalized skincare; Studio C by C Magazine, a California-inspired lifestyle boutique; Natural Rough, a natural and sustainable handmade clothing retailer; Teressa Foglia's handmade bespoke hats; art retailer Please Do Not Enter; Period Correct, a motorsport-centric brand; and L.A. stationery company Urbanic Paper Boutique. Dining-and-beverage options include Joliet Café & Bar from Ben Adams and Alex Meza, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Loqui Mexican eatery.
“As retail continues to evolve, we’re working to bring only the most-dynamic retailers and experiences to Runway,” said Chad Cress, chief creative officer at DJM. “Free Market is one of those progressive tenants; it merges traditional retail with an innovative marketplace format that enables leading brands to coexist and benefit from shared communal space, programming and integrated food and beverage. As its innovative model does more to further support and encourage retail and consumers alike in the new world, we’re thrilled to welcome Free Market to Runway.”
Free Market is also setting out to be a home to the arts and culture, beginning with a programming launch through a collaboration with Nicholas Konert, the New York artist who will present his Spread Love project.
