“This will be the largest store to date for BYREDO. With that in mind, I wanted to make a space that could change and morph over time, as well as express the collaborative nature of the brand.” Ben Gorham, Creative Director and Founder, BYREDO
The new Byredo Los Angeles store, to be opened in February 2020, will be the largest to date for the brand.
Unveiled during the week of the next Frieze art fair, the store also reflects the city’s ties to the art world as well as the overall cultural diversity of Los Angeles.
The store is almost a perfect square of 3030 sq ft and inhabitsan existing block on Melrose Avenue.
BYREDO’s signature Swedish architecture collaborators, Halleroed, are engaged in this project, working closely with BYREDO’s creative director and founder, Ben Gorham. Exploring the axis between Scandinavian and Californian ‘warm Modernism’ a communal, almost residential quality has been sort for the building and its interior. Predominantly utilizing woods such as hard oak, elder and American walnut, contrasted againstindustrial materials such as galvanised, polished and anodisedaluminiums, the space seeks a balance between the raw and the refined.
Evoking the collaborative nature of BYREDO, the store will be a social space with a floating concept, more in tune with a gallery than a shop. Here, shows and exhibitions by brand collaborators will be as prominent and important as the full range of BYREDO products on display. Ben Gorham relishesthis opportunity to work with his friends and heroes, disseminating their work to as wide an audience as possible in the showplace store interior as well as providing a new way for customers to discover BYREDO. Here, the spirit of cooperation and cohabitation is paramount, encouraging customers to use the store in a much more communal and social way.
The first collaborative project for the store will be with the artist Martine Syms, who is working on both an art installation as well as exclusive products for the LA store. Ben Gorham says of Syms: “Martine represents a strong American, female and art perspective. She also adds something very human and an LA emotion to the store – she is a native of the city. She is honest, unapologetic and intelligent and blurs the lines between art, film and installation. We have also started discussing the products we are going to work on together. I am so grateful to have her as a friend and as a collaborator.”
