Connected Showroom
The New MartSuite 1201(213) 622-7750
Luxury may meet its match with irreverent street style in the Connected showroom, according to the space’s new owner, Steeve Bohbot.
On Dec. 14, Bohbot became the sole owner of the 2,500-square-foot showroom, which carries several contemporary lines, including the highly detailed men’s shirting line Clean Laundry by English Laundry, as well as the luxury streetlooks of UNIF (a snarky moniker that stands for “You’re Not in Fashion”).
The showroom has placed socially conscious T-shirt line Social Atelier in high-profile boutiques such as Milk, based in Los Angeles. It placed its other clients such as the Los Angeles–based women’s casualwear line Andrew Lauren in the stylish Lisa Kline boutique.
Bohbot’s new job will put him in a sole-ownership position for the first time in his career.
Most of his prior ventures have been partnerships, such as the now-defunct Vicious Design Showroom, which was located in the California Market Center until closing in 2006.
In April 2007, he signed on as a partner to the Julian Showroom with showroom executiveJulian Medina. In December, Medina took a sales management position with Tarrant Apparel Group, which produces denim and fashion labels such as American Rag CIE. The split was amicable, and Medina will do some work at Connected during the Jan. 11–15 run of the Los Angeles Fashion Market. In between showroom gigs, Bohbot worked inproduction for streetwear brands such as Los Angeles–based Indecline.
Bohbot anticipates a smooth ownership transition. The showroom’s lines will remain the same. The room’s design of spare walls and exposed ceilings will continue to give the place a clean, industrial look.
Connected’s other clients include Los Angeles–based labels Scandalous Social Club and Troy Kingdom, a collection that produces a Swarovski crystal–studded T-shirt that wholesales for $140.
The showroom also offers T-shirt lines with a conscience: Social Atelier and Rock The Vote. Rock The Vote is Social Atelier’s license from the MTV youth voter-registration campaign. It wholesales for $20. Social Atelier produces fashion T-shirts and emblazons them with inspirational messages with a political edge.
The showroom also represents a women’s line from Original Penguin by Munsingwear. Bohbot said that the luxury street looks mixed with some casualwear makes for a fashionable wardrobe. “It’s the rebirth of cool,” he said of the Connected showroom. —Andrew Asch
