Emerging Designer Breaks Into Designer Row

While the storefronts of Los Angeles’ exclusive Melrose Place have quickly filled up with high-profile fashion names in the past two years, Katharine Story proved there is still room for emerging designers among such exclusive boutiques as Marni and the soon-to-open Hermegrave;s and Oscar de la Renta.

Last month, the Laguna Beach, Calif.–based Story opened the 1,300-square-foot boutique that bears her name at 8428 Melrose Place. The address previously housed an antique store and more than 50 years ago the site was the atelier of Adrian, the single-named head of wardrobe at the MGM film studio.

Story confessed to initially feeling shocked at signing a five-year lease for the space because she is an upand- coming designer, while her neighbors represent some of the world’s iconic fashion houses.

But Story wanted to move from her former storefront on West Third Street in Los Angeles, a three-minute drive to Melrose Place, to push her 5-year-old label in a designer direction.

“The Melrose Place store sets me up as a designer,” she said. “I didn’t want to open just another boutique.”

The Melrose Place boutique debuted as Story’s label was undergoing a directional change. She started the label in 2001 with a focus on creating one-of-a-kind denim pieces. She stopped reworking denim in 2005. “I made holes in them, over-dyed, silk-screened and put patches on them,”she said. “I decided that I couldn’t do the same-old stuff.”

Since last year, Story has concentrated on bright wrap dresses constructed from over-dyed cottons and velvets, a process of dyeing finished fabrics that typically results in clothing with unique shades. She also makes Kabbalah Tshirts bearing Hebrew words that translate into “Unconditional Love” and “Happiness.” Her retail price points range from $200 to $800. The T-shirts retail for $48.

Story plans to expand her new wholesale operation to 10 boutiques. She doubts, however, if she will open another Katharine Story boutique.

“I got this store open in two weeks, which was a miracle,” she said. “It’s hard work.” —Andrew Asch