Derelicteacute;
Cooper Building Suite 205 (213) 627-2987
At first glance, Jason Bates appears to be more of a surfer boy than the owner of an apparel showroom. His space, Derelicteacute;, is one of the latest additions to the redesigned Cooper Design Space, which is shifting its tenant base to include designer showrooms.
Bates named the showroom after one of his favorite movies, “Zoolander.” The airy 1,600-square-foot space has a swanky ultramodern feel that is reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Factory.
“I found that this space is welcoming and harvests a lot of potential to build from the ground up,” Bates said.
The showroom houses casual men’s alternative lines and a small selection of women’s items.
Analog and Gravis are both extensions of the popular Burton label that caters to snowboarder and skater types. Analog is a collection of streetwear and outerwear for highend, high-tech consumers. The collection includes leather jackets with zippered pockets for your Apple iPod or GPS (global positioning system). Triko is a new collection from the designer of New York label Mecca. The collection has a down-to-earth vibe with natural fibers and coconut-shell buttons. Howe is a premium denim brand that has everything from edgier everyday “play clothes” to tailored pants in Italian fabrics. Several other men’s sportswear labels—including Burn-n- Violet, Etienne Ozeki and Blue Guru—will also be renting space for the upcoming August market, Bates said.
Bates, who lived a surfer’s life in Huntington Beach, Calif., got his start in the apparel industry as a sales manager at action-sports label RVCA.
“My target is those guys in the 19-to-25 age group and those outside of the age group who want to identify with that younger, edgier male,” he said.
During market, buyers can chill out on some of the showroom’s retro furniture or practice their golf strokes on a putting green in the corridor. —Amanda Ezra
