LOS ANGELES— Gucci plants a flag on Melrose Place, bringing its successful collaboration with Adidas to the famous June 7 shopping stretch.
The Italian brand takes over the now closed Marc Jacobs space up the street, home to an ever-changing mix of luxury players including Balmain, Bottega Veneta, The Row, Chloé, Golden Goose, Oscar de la Renta and Marni . ; indie favorites Rachel Comey, Forte Forte, LoveShackFancy, Zimmerman and soon-to-open accessories By Far, and local Los Angeles brands Monique Lhuillier, Irene Neuwirth, Frame and Staud.
Alessandro Michele debuted the Adidas collection at his February Gucci show in Milan, telling WWD that it would be sold in dedicated pop-up stores around the world.
In addition to the 3,500 square foot ivy-covered LA space, which will feature the largest assortment, the Adidas x Gucci collection will also make an appearance at Jewel Court at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.
Adidas x Gucci installations will appear in Gucci stores on Fifth Avenue, Wooster Street and East Hampton in New York; Chicago’s Michigan Avenue; the Galleria in Houston, the Lenox Mall in Atlanta; the Aventura mall in Miami and the Holt Renfrew Yorkdale store in Toronto.
The luxury house also has numerous social projects, with a dedicated Adidas x Gucci Instagram filter, a TikTok challenge and TikTok Live.
The collaboration mixes the scorching streetwear category with Gucci’s Italian sartorial tradition to create elevated track dresses, tailored suits and more.
“The idea was to break the codes of sportswear”, explains Michele.
A look from the Adidas x Gucci collection.
Courtesy of Gucci
Sneakerheads will find a special version of the Adidas Gazelle style, available in a wide range of colors, as well as flamboyant rainbow platforms. Gucci’s Horsebit loafers in leather or suede are enriched with the three stripes of the two brands, while the Adidas trefoil appears on clogs and leather pumps. Terry cloth slides are another fun addition to the shoe department.
The handbags are made from sporty canvas with the brand’s signature equestrian-inspired hardware. Different sized duffel bags, as well as camera bags, either display the two brand names – with the Florentine house spelled upside down – or are rendered in the same geometric graphics that appear on the ready-to-wear. -carry.
Gucci’s relationship with Melrose Place won’t end with the Adidas pop-up. The brand will introduce a new concept for the space in the fall, signaling an intention to stay, and will make the location the brand’s third in the Los Angeles area after Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Center.
Since 2005, when Marc Jacobs opened, leafy Melrose Place is second only to Rodeo Drive as the epicenter of high-end fashion and retail in Los Angeles, boosting rents by 120 $ per square foot per year starting at $240 per square. foot in 2019.
COVID-19 has chilled the selfie and shopping scene, forcing several stores to close, including Jacobs. But a new dynamic has set in and the arrival of Gucci should further fuel competition from the luxury sector.
The street was devoid of restaurants except for the Instagram-popular Alfred Tea Room, but the three-storey Melroseplace restaurant opened earlier this month in Allbright’s former private club.
The 8,000-square-foot all-day dining space (with free valet parking) was designed by Sunset Collective, the hotel group behind neighboring Offsunset, and boasts streetwear store founder Shyon Keoppel among its ranks. and Sneaker Garden collectors.
Caviar Kaspia is also opening on Melrose Place as part of its US expansion, as is Catch Steak, both of which are expected to facilitate foot traffic.
A Globe Trotter store and the first U.S. flagship Biologique Recherche spa are also in the works, adding to beauty offerings from LA-based Facile and Violet Grey, now owned by Farfetch.
Whether the street can return to its previous glory in terms of sales per square foot remains to be seen. Rothy co-founder Roth Martin said the Melrose Place outpost is the worst performing store in his fleet, Maria Cornejo closed her Melrose Place store in 2020 and Carolina Herrera ditched the street a few years ago years in favor of a CH space on Rodeo Drive.
