California Apparel News

After much debate for the past three years, the doors at Sunset Millennium, a $300 million multi-use project in West Hollywood, Calif., have begun to swing open.

While developer Apollo Real Estate Advisors mulls over the prospect of adding a hotel to the three-block project, which includes two office towers and the now-closed Tiffany Theater, apparel merchants Undercover and O have opened at the 105,000-square-foot retail component called the Plaza at Sunset Millennium. The largest tenant signed so far, Equinox Fitness, plans an April 2003 opening for its 30,000-square-foot health club. L’Occitane, eyewear company Senses Optical, Vertigo fashions, Madison shoes and restaurants Riki and Central will open in the first quarter of 2003.

Pietra DuBuclet, general manager at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., the project’s leasing agent, declined to comment. According to past reports, the Plaza is about 50 percent leased with negotiations for an additional 25 percent in the works.

The glass and stone Plaza at Sunset Millennium sits across the street from Sunset Plaza, a string of buildings housing a who’s who of retail, including Anna Sui, Nicole Miller, D&G, Billy Martin’s and Tracey Ross.

Undercover owner Adam Shaffer, who also operates a store on the Santa Monica Promenade, said he preferred the new development for his second location.

“I’ve been waiting for a new venue and wanted to set myself apart from the Sunset Plaza—I like the newness and energy here,” he said.

He modeled the 1,000-squarefoot boutique after a Parisian boudoir with hand-painted murals of a blonde nymph on the 15-foothigh ceiling, mosaic floor inlays, custom cabinetry with stainedglass windows, and velvet-curtained dressing rooms.

Betting on first-year sales of about $2 million, Shaffer said the Sunset store will carry more-highend clothing ranging in price from $200 to $2,000 for labels such as Voyage, Artico, Cinema, a French line known for bustiers, and other European designers.

He also plans to push his new private label line, called Boudoir by Undercover.

O is another upscale boutique at the center that opened Dec. 27. It’s the first retail venture for owner Oren Shepher, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and costumer designer who’s worked on Calvin Klein and Guess campaigns.

Shepher has created a glitzy backdrop—with a curved ceiling, pillars flanking the store, limestone floors and mirrored dressing rooms—for his ultra-pricey clothes, priced from $1,000 to $4,000, that he thinks will appeal to the celebrity and rocker set who frequent the Strip. Flamboyant looks take center stage such as the zip-up hoodie with fur trim and suede fringe by Gaetano Navarra, Carla Dawn Behrle’s handpainted goatskin strip blouse and Antonio Berardi’s hot pink leather pants suit. He also offers more-restrained pieces such as Luca Luca’s silk, sleeveless dress and Mila Schon’s floor-length cashmere coat.

“I also carry Chaiken to have a staple in the store,” Shepher said, holding a pair of black velvet pants. “These are $248—you can buy 10 of them for the price of some of my other items.”

With a $500,000 investment in the store, Shepher remains upbeat about the languishing economy and its impact on retail sales.

“My shoppers aren’t affected by the economy,” he said.

Shoe veteran David Assil and his wife, Bridget, will also open their fourth Madison shoe store this month, at the center. Like their other stores, the 1,500-squarefoot boutique will feature its own design theme with a rock garden in the front, oval-shaped seating in the center and pillars from an old Indian temple for shelving.

The store will carry men’s and women’s shoes, handbags, belts and jewelry. Prada, Chloe, Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Miu Miu and Dolce & Gabbana are the key lines at the store.

Assil, who opened his first store on Melrose Avenue in 1989 and then split from his partner in 1995, has California locations in Beverly Hills, Fred Segal in Santa Monica and Fashion Island in Newport Beach.