New Hillary Rush Boutique to Provide Fashion Alternative
When looking for a niche in the crowded world of Los Angeles boutiques, Hillary Rush knew what the boutique bearing her name would not emphasize: jeans andT-shirts.
“That’s where all the competition is,” said Rush, who also worked as director of advertising for Gap Inc. from 1996 to 2000 and in sales and marketing for Lulu Guinness until 2005. “It’s dresses and skirts for now.”
Rush opened her 900-square-foot boutique in the burgeoning independent boutique district on West Third Street on April 12 in the space formerly held by the Lulu Guinness store.
A Lulu Guinness employee who did not want to be named said that the English design house left the space because it was off the beaten path for the company’s demographic. “It’s younger and funkier; we wanted to get out of our lease,” said the employee. “And [Rush] wanted to open her store.”
Rush concentrates on an eclectic mix of designers from New York and Los Angeles, including Harkham; Twinkle by Wenlan; Martin East Village; L.A. Made; lingerie line Araks; and Le Tigre, the brand her father, Bob, helped create more than 30 years ago.
While Le Tigre cast a long shadow over 1980s sportswear, Rush hopes her boutique will serve as a spotlight for her style. “It’s only stuff I love,” she said, overlooking the boutique, designed with gray floors and linen-white walls. “I’m really eclectic, I could be punk rock one day and preppy another.”
And the mix does include jeans. Rush said denim labels James Jeans and 575 Denim are both doing quite well in her store. —Andrew Asch
