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Dries Van Noten first American home in Los Angeles, located on La Cienega Boulevard.
Each Dries Van Noten shop houses his collections in a space designed to reflect the spirit and energy of its host city and Los Angeles is no exception beyond the habitual retail experience. The great freedom for experimentation offered by the location’s sheer size and variety of space should be put to good use. While showcasing the Dries Van Noten collections this place will be a haven for creative encounter and gathering experiences that embraces the creative pulse of Los Angeles and its creative and fashion community.
With an open layout of 800 sqm, the shop in Los Angeles is the largest of all Dries Van Noten retail locations. Great care is taken to maintain the existing architectural attributes of the space. Decorative artifice is kept to a minimum with its design a uniquely spare expression of the world of Dries Van Noten.
THE LOCATION
The site comprises two houses separated by a vast parking lot. It comprises ‘The Big House’ on two floors, the ground floor for the women’s collections with those for men upstairs. ‘The Little House’ is one open plan space. Verdant foliage outside the houses and cut flowers within express the botanical legacy of Dries Van Noten.
This is heightened by the work of Japanese artist Azuma Makoto, with whom Dries has previously collaborated on scenography for a Paris fashion show and exhibition. Makoto’s translucent photographs of flowers on windowpanes refract vivid coloured light into the space.
Visitors are welcomed into a world of bright and stark contrasts with a playful juxtaposition of architecture, furniture, colour and perspectives. Walls are optic white, and floors grey concrete. In places structural elements are heightened by the vivid yellow that is synonymous with all Dries Van Noten locations and expressed throughout this space in a wide variety of materials, from textiles, carpets to enamel.
The Big House will be home to the women’s and men’s collections. A Grand Steinway piano and a large yellow sofa mark the white of the entrance. Pianists, from young members of the music academy to more seasoned musicians and even clients will be invited to perform. A dramatic corridor leads from the entrance and provides a distant glimpse of an ornate chandelier in Murano glass.
Most furniture for the space has been repurposed. Elements created by the French furniture designer, Johan Viladrich, are also featured throughout the houses. His process for architectural designs generate ‘zero waste.’ Viladrich uses pre-existing, often industrial materials, and grafts them onto existing furniture to extend functionality and create a new purpose.
EXHIBITIONS AND INSTALLATIONS
A diverse group of local and international L.A. based artists are invited to paint directly on walls throughout the rooms dedicated to the collections for Women and Men. Both women’s and men’s floors will feature an archive room presenting a selection of garments and accessories from past collections for purchase. In time, post Covid19, this service will extend to allow customers to re-sell their Dries Van Noten pieces that will be restored and refreshed.
The Big and Little Houses will each be a place to exhibit works by artists, designers and craftspeople whose work has impressed Dries Van Noten. Exhibitions within The Big House will reflect the inspirations of the current collections for either Women or Men. Exhibits at The Little House will follow an independently curated and constantly evolving program. Upcoming exhibitions have been planned with artists from varying disciplines and media ranging from ceramics, textiles (carpets), photography, furniture and music.
In time and again, post Covid19, the shop will also have an open kitchen on the upper floor where one can enjoy drinks and small bites.
by AN shopfitting magazine no.162 ©Photos courtesy: Dries Van Noten © Jim Mangan © Jeff Forney
