Homecoming: Rick Owens opens a theatrical flagship in Los Angeles
Rick Owens opens a theatrical flagship in Los Angeles; a city close to the designer's heart

Having made his name in Europe and lived in Paris for twelve years, Rick Owens' return to Los Angeles is a poignant one. For the Porterville, California-born designer, LA is where he cut his teeth; at the city's Otis College of Art and Design where he studied fashion design and then at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College where he learned pattern-making and draping.
'Hollywood is about self-invention and that's where I invented myself, so opening a store there is kind of a special moment,' says Owens of his first Los Angeles store, which joins the designer's growing portfolio of outposts in locations such as Paris, London, Milan, New York City and Miami.
The new flagship is a former ribbon factory, built in the 1920s and located on La Brea, just along the block from 'The Plaza Salon Bar' – a Mexican drag bar where Owens spent time partying 20 years ago. To renovate the 450 square metre warehouse space, Owens enlisted the talents of his long-standing architect Anna Tumaini, with whom the designer has worked with for over nine years on everything from his stores to his private apartments in Venice and Concordia.
Theatrical in its execution, the space is an homage to American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. Ceilings are high and supported by massive angular beams while dramatic features such as a 'fog wall' – a shallow floor-to-ceiling glass tank that fills with a billowing ejaculation of fog every five minutes - capture the imagination. An abstract swimming pool in the centre of the space takes the form of a floor to ceiling tank releasing slow-rising bubbles, while an empty open courtyard with white walls – that Owen's likens to a movie screen – reflects light around the space.
'All of these movie references sound pretty corny but they're sincere,' says Owens. 'Epic biblical movies were the first idea of exoticism I could cling to growing up and have influenced everything I do. This store is as close as I might ever get to recreating that. I hope Mr DeMille would approve.'
Theatrical in its execution, the space is an homage to American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille
Ceilings are high and supported by massive angular beams while dramatic features, such as a shallow floor-to-ceiling glass tank filled with fog, capture the imagination
'Hollywood is about self-invention and that's where I invented myself, so opening a store there is kind of a special moment,' says Owens of his first Los Angeles store, which joins the designer's growing portfolio of outposts in locations such as Paris, London, Milan, New York City and Miami
ADDRESS
Rick Owens
La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ali Morris is a UK-based editor, writer and creative consultant specialising in design, interiors and architecture. In her 16 years as a design writer, Ali has travelled the world, crafting articles about creative projects, products, places and people for titles such as Dezeen, Wallpaper* and Kinfolk.
-
Bold colours and tactile textures: inside Bottega Veneta's second fine jewellery drop
The collection is composed of two parts: Enlaced and Alchemy
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Bhutan's new international airport will unlock the magic of a notoriously inaccessible destination
The Gelephu International Airport, to be designed by BIG, will open in 2029.
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
The Eagan house from 'Severance' is available to rent
The Taghkanic House by Thomas Phifer serves as the home of Lumon’s CEO in the AppleTV+ series, and can be rented out for dystopian stays
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?
In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
By Mimi Zeiger Published
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildings
The JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
By Anna Fixsen Published
-
Buy a slice of California’s midcentury modern history with this 1955 Pasadena house
Conrad Buff II Residence has been fully restored and updated for the 21st century
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Step inside a writer's Richard Neutra-designed apartment in Los Angeles
Michael Webb, invites us into his LA home – a showcase of modernist living
By Michael Webb Published
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continents
We take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
You’ll soon be able to get a sneak peek inside Peter Zumthor’s LACMA expansion
But you’ll still have to wait another year for the grand opening
By Anna Fixsen Published
-
The Architecture of Seduction: how Horace Gifford built a modernist, queer paradise
Fire Island is explored through a new edition of Christopher Rawlins’ seminal architectural and social history book on the life and work of Horace Gifford
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Step inside this furniture gallerist's live-work space by Steven Holl in upstate New York
Designed by Steven Holl for modern furniture gallerists Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick, this live-work space in upstate New York is a midcentury collector’s paradise
By Michael Webb Published