California Apparel News

After almost a decade of selling high-end suiting and casual clothes for men and women at 461 N. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Italian fashion house Etro will move its boutique down the street to 9501 Wilshire Blvd., in the Two Rodeo Drive retail compound, which also houses CH Carolina Herrera, Versace, Lanvin and Agent Provocateur boutiques.

Etro’s Two Rodeo Shop will open in November and will sell the fashion house’s women’s, men’s and accessories as well as fragrances in a 4,500-square-foot space, according to a company statement. The walls of the new shop will be lined with gray lacquered paneling, and the flooring will feature color-blocked carpets.

Another celebrated fashion name is moving to Rodeo Drive. Vera Wang will shutter its 3,500-square-foot store at 8445 Melrose Ave. and move to a 5,500-square-foot flagship at 428 N. Rodeo Drive in the first quarter of 2014, said Jay Luchs, executive vice president of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, who brokered the deal.

Vera Wang’s new space had been the temporary store for Hermès. The venerable French fashion house returned to its permanent Beverly Hills address at 434 N. Rodeo Drive after an 18-month hiatus to remodel the space. Hermès debuted its remodeled space with a gala of parties over Labor Day weekend.

Wang was moving her shop to Rodeo after a three-year stint on Melrose Avenue, Luchs said, because she wanted to showcase her celebrated bridalwear and her ready-to-wear in front of the international crowd that shops Rodeo.