For his brand’s first US flagship, set to open in Los Angeles on November 22, Kiko Kostadinov wasn’t thinking about which other fashion labels he wanted to be next to.
Instead, the 1,500-square-foot space — the brand’s second permanent store worldwide, following one opened in Tokyo’s Harajuku in March — will be in the Melrose Hill gallery district, a location meant to position it near blue-chip art galleries such as David Zwirner and emerging restaurants that are part of a culinary boom in the neighbourhood. The store will be designed by the American artist Ryan Trecartin, who also did the Japanese outpost, with customers being invited to visit and shop as it is being built. The interior will feature bleacher seating and details that evoke suburban Americana, such as pool equipment, lawn chairs, king-sized beds and charcoal roofing shingles.
“We’re hoping that people will come specifically to us to see the space, or because there’s similar, like-minded people and galleries that might be in the area,” said Kostadinov.
The push into brick and mortar has come naturally for the London-based label, according to Kostadinov, who added that 2024 has been one of its strongest “when it comes to brand building.” This year, it presented four menswear and womenswear collections, dropped buzzy collaborations with brands such as Levi’s and opened its first Paris office and showroom. The label declined to specify its revenue but said it has grown to around 30 employees worldwide and has a diversified income stream that comes from wholesale, its own e-commerce and “consulting collaborations” with brands such as Fox Racing.
Today its women’s business, introduced in 2018, is “pretty much on par now with menswear,” Kostadinov said. Laura and Deanna Fanning, who head up womenswear for the label, have been selected as nominees for the British Fashion Council’s upcoming fashion awards in December.
“I find it interesting on the womenswear side that the clients are growing with us, which I think is really good,” Laura Fanning said.
Physical stores are another way the brand is looking to keep growing, particularly since the brand is highly selective about the retailers it works with, which means that Kostadinov finds that “within the current climate it’s quite restrictive to grow.”
“We don’t want to partner with a store that’s just going to be there for a year, and then we switch out, just to grow budgets. It really is about relationships,” Deanna Fanning said.
Relationships were a factor in the brand’s choice of physical locations as well. In Tokyo, it had already built up local connections from travelling to the country to work on its collaboration with the Japanese sportswear label Asics. Los Angeles is the home of art gallery Morán Morán, with which Kostadinov launched a collaboration in 2020, called Otto 958, and is located just around the corner from the new Kiko Kostadinov store.
With the opening of its Los Angeles location, the brand is also hoping to benefit from the close proximity to the entertainment industry and dressing celebrities for red carpet or press events.
“There’s all these interesting categories that we would not be able to do if we didn’t have that physical location,” said Kostadinov. “It’s tough to communicate, meet people, and expand the brand language while being in the studio and doing the design. So we’re hoping that the staff and the people that run the store in LA will be doing that on our behalf.”
