Hanging with Howe at Ron Robinson
Jade Howe and Karen Meena
hat better way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon than hanging out with menswear designer Jade Howe and retailer Karen Meena at Ron Robinson at Fred Segal Melrose in Los Angeles?
Howe was the third participant in Ron Robinson’s L.A. Designer Series, in which a designer is invited to curate an in-store presentation and create exclusive merchandise for the event. Previous designers featured included designer Juan Carlos Obando, who recently launched his line of beauty products, and photographer Lisa Pearl. The series was created by Meena, vice president at Ron Robinson, after an impromptu meeting with Howe and his wife, Esmer, at the recent Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas.
Howe’s Designer Series was called “The Dawn Patrol to Last Call” collection, a reference to the designer’s surfing—and late-partying—roots. “[Karen] said let’s do all the departments, you can make anything or curate the department, that includes hair care, skin care, books, music,” said Jade Howe, whose in-store shop included custom-designed tees, as well as “The Stephen Sprouse Book.” The shop included Assouline’s “Barbie” book, which is an homage to Howe’s first marketing campaign in 2001, in which he used Barbie dolls in lieu of models. (In the campaign, the Howe Barbies professed their love for men who wear Howe.)
Sculptor Tom Andore created special skateboard decks (one features all the members of Kiss in full regalia), and jewelry designer Mimi Kim created a men’s line made from leather, silver and semiprecious stones for the event.
All afternoon, guests dropped in, greeting Jade and Esmer Howe—and their overalls-clad dog (Joan) Jett, Meena and boutique owner Ron Robinson. Shoppers perused the offerings and dodged the hula-hoopers extolling the virtues of Hoopnotica hula hoops (and the hula hoop classes in Venice and Santa Monica through Hoopnotica.com).
I didn’t stay until last call—or take the hoopers up on their offer to join them—but it was definitely worth the trip.
Howe inspiration on display at Ron Robinson
Ron Robinson and Jade Howe
A Hoopnotica hooper
Mimi Kim jewelry
Esmer Howe and (Joan) Jett
Howe tees on display at Ron Robinson
Tom Andore's Kiss skate decks
