Site Visit: Paul Smith, LA

We stopped by the new Paul Smith store on Melrose yesterday. It was hard to miss. Smith has painted his blocky building a bright pink. Outside in the parking lot sat a proud, if a little ironic, golden Bentley. The space inside is a mix of half warehouse, half French chateau. Ornate paneling covers facades that reach up to an open wide beamed ceiling.

There is a lot of space in this building and it helps fit the four main sections: two for the ladies, a suit section (heavy wood paneling) and a men’s section. At the back of the men’s section is a library of art books for sale – new and old. Throughout the store, Smith has left off items of ‘art’ that mix with his displays – in the display by the front door – Smith’s crockery sits beside doll-house size tins of Sainsbury’s soup and banana skin door stoppers. The crowd were a mix of hipsters drifted down from the flea-market back up on Fairfax and Melrose and some more affluent metrosexual couples in their effortlessly stylish casual attire.

Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Paul Smith, 8221 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles