L'ecole: School's in Session on Melrose
The headmistress, the teacher’s pet, the troublemaker. L’ecole, (meaning “school” in French), has a cheeky uniform for every academic character. The new shop marks Laura Sfez’s resurrection of L’ecole after pausing production for 2 years. But the French designer says the “sexy secretary” and “schoolgirl” look is timeless, the “French way” of dressing. Indeed, as some of her best-sellers were conceived years ago.
Sfez comes from a family of garmentos in Los Angeles. Her father owns the men's and women's label Z-Brand, which her brother designs for. Coincidentally, the retail space next door on Melrose Ave. was open too, so Z-Brand moved in. The shops are not necessarily related, except of course, in the sense that the respective owners are blood related.
The store ambience runs with the school theme (vintage desks and books) plus a bit of randomness tossed in, like an illustration on the wall of a bare-chested girl in a cuddle sandwich between two grizzly bear heads. Get it? “Bear/Bare breasts!” And the fox and wolf masks that the mannequins wore for Halloween were so popular she’s going to keep them on. It inexplicably makes total sense, however all tame in comparison to the naughty schoolgirl antics on the L’ecole inspiration Tumblr.
Inside the store. In its original incarnation, the label was named L'ecole Des Femmes (School of Women). Now it is shortened to simply, L'ecole.
And now for something totally different, Z-Brand next door. It stocks all of Z-Brand's offerings for men and women, as well as a new contemporary workwear-ish label, 8 Penny Nails that is under the Z-Brand umbrella.
