Dover Street Market Takes on Los Angeles
Fashion

Dover Street Market Takes on Los Angeles

On November 3, Dover Street Market opened its sixth store in Los Angeles. A 15,000-square-foot, single-level fashion playground, it maintains cohesive synergy with the brand's other locations under the theme "Beautiful Chaos."

"I want to create a kind of market where various creators from various fields gather together and encounter each other in an ongoing atmosphere of beautiful chaos; the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision," design and creative director Rei Kawakubo said in a statement detailing the launch.

The kindred souls who have come together for this store's interior experience includes the works of six international artists: Warren Muller ("Cannot Tell a Lie"); Lyn Dillin; Bjorn Dahlem; ("Black Hole (Messier 22) 2016"); Yuichi Higashionna; Gary Card (two works); and Stuart Haygarth ("Dark Matter"), whose chandeliers are displayed throughout the shop.

Additionally, original sound has been created by DSM's global sound director, Calx Vive, to complement the store's ever-changing visual concepts. And adding to the store's highly visual appeal is Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, who was commissioned to make video dispatches exclusively for DSMLA (Those can be viewed here).

As for the industrial-chic design of the store itself, it is notably without street-facing windows, instead relying on the artists and designers who regularly re-envision the store with changing installations every January and July. (This biannual happening is called "New Beginnings," and serves as a introduction of the new season's collections and merch).

Kawakubo designed the store's entire interior — which is essentially two adjoined buildings — wrapping the walls in white, handmade ceramic tile to capture the abundance of light and sprawl in Los Angeles. The store's iconic hut logo was also replicated literally, with two large white translateral huts, made up of scrap metal and other textures. The huts intersect, joining the walls between each building. And like an homage to her native Japan, Kawakubo situated the interior layout with a number of spiral, arched fixtures, using elemental metals. The new space also features reimagined Comme des Garçons brand areas, a hint of future retail spaces.

The store will carry a range of international luxury brands, from Sacai to all Comme des Garçons specialty lines to Y/Project. Some brands will honor the store opening with a "Welcome to LA" theme exclusive to the new store, including a number of fashion partnerships with Nike, Nick Cave, Ignored Prayers, and others. Gucci is also launching a Chateau Marmont-themed collection, slated for release around November or December. Other collaborations include Off-White x DSM and Pat McGrath Labs x The MET. And while you browse, stop at the new Rose Bakery, which seats 40 people and offers fresh coffee and produce indoors and outdoors.

See exclusive photos inside the new Dover Street Market in Los Angeles, below, and follow them on Instagram for more updates.

Photos courtesy of Eric Staudenmaier

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