Inside Proenza Schouler's First Los Angeles Store

While many fashion brands reside in New York, very few of them feel as quintessentially New York as Proenza Schouler. The “New York woman” has been a focal point for the label from its founding in 2002 by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, to its current era under Creative Director Rachel Scott. And New York City has been home to the brand’s only standalone store, until now.

In late September, Proenza Schouler opened its first West Coast flagship on Melrose Place, an iconic shopping street in Los Angeles. It boasts a prime location next door to the always-bustling Alfred Coffee (IYKYK), its clean, white custom plaster façade standing out amongst the surrounding ivy-covered brick. Proenza Schouler’s neighbors do include many fellow NYC exports, like Thom Browne, Khaite, The Row and Rachel Comey.

“Our point of view is unmistakably New York… the precision, the construction, the approach to fabric,” admits Shira Suveyke Snyder, the brand’s CEO. But, she adds, there’s an effortlessness to it that translates well beyond the East Coast: “You look put together without ever looking like you’re trying too hard. Los Angeles has that same ease, which made it a natural fit.” Los Angeles was already one of Proenza Schouler’s most engaged markets. As for Melrose Place, “The street itself felt instinctively right,” Snyder adds. “It’s walkable and residential, with a quiet intimacy that suits the way we want to welcome people.”

That said, “we didn’t want to simply drop a New York store into Los Angeles,” says Snyder. The store’s specific buy is curated for the L.A. customer, including “lighter tailoring and knitwear she can layer from a warm afternoon into a cool evening.” It also caters to VIP clients who “need more discretion with private appointments.”

Design-wise, the store features more warm, natural elements (dark walnut wood, onyx stone, lots of sunlight) than its NYC counterpart — which reflects both its location and Scott, the new creative director who oversaw it. She worked with James Mills Studio to bring her vision for Proenza Schouler — exploring “the tension between industrial precision and the raw touch of the human hand,” per brand materials — to life. Her love of craft and materiality is certainly evident in the elements mentioned above, complemented by stainless steel and concrete.

It’s a big moment for the company, marking its first store expansion outside of NYC; and for Scott herself, who had never overseen a store opening for her own brand or this one. Her first official collection for Proenza Schouler only hit stores a few months ago.

“We want the store to become part of the community here, hosting artists and makers and becoming a place for design and craft as much as fashion,” Snyder says of their overall goals for the space. “Success for us is a client who first found us online coming in, getting to know our team and staying with us however she chooses to shop.”

Additional store openings are likely on the horizon, but the brand isn’t in any big rush to grow its retail footprint. Per Snyder, “We’ll grow thoughtfully, when the right opportunity presents itself.”