LOS ANGELES — Seeking a higher profile with the Hollywood set, Cynthia Rowley plans to open in mid-March a 1,200-square-foot store at 112 South Robertson Blvd. here, in the heart of a hot retail scene.
“I am like the training-wheels designer for new stars,” said Rowley in a phone interview from her New York office Friday. “People come to me when they’re younger stars to get something made.”
Rowley, who has already dressed emerging actresses Elisabeth Shue, Mary Stuart Masterson and Sarah Jessica Parker, said she has “a lot of special clients” in the L.A. area, who had been coming to New York for her clothes. Rowley also said she chose Robertson Boulevard because of its eclectic mix of new and established stores and destinations, such as the Ivy restaurant, one of Hollywood’s power eateries. In addition, Rowley’s store will be close to Agnes B. and Robert Clergerie shoes, and a MAC Cosmetics shop is set to open in March. In the past few months, Robertson has become a hip, upscale alternative to Melrose Avenue. Rowley’s shop will carry all of the designer’s products, including her women’s collection, knitwear, sunglasses and accessories. First-year volume is expected to exceed $500,000. An opening party is being planned for April, after the designer’s New York fashion show.
Like Rowley’s three existing stores in New York, Chicago and Tokyo, the L.A. store will be in the party spirit, decorated with pink padded leather walls, a hopscotch board on the floor of the entrance, and clouds and stars painted on the walls.
The designer said she is also looking at San Francisco and the South Beach section of Miami to open additional stores.
“I was so afraid to open a retail store, until we opened on Wooster in New York,” Rowley said. “It was so good so fast that I wanted to do another one. When Chicago turned out really great, it gave me the confidence to do L.A.”