Balenciaga Relocates to LA’s Ritziest Address: Rodeo Drive

Photo Credit: Balenciaga

Rodeo Drive, LA’s most famous shopping destination, became—impossibly—even hotter over the weekend with the arrival of Balenciaga‘s first Beverly Hills boutique.

The Kerring-owned luxury label relocated from its former Melrose Place roots—which opened in 2008 under the direction of Nicolas Ghesquière and closed on July 5—to its haute new home at 353 North Rodeo Drive, sandwiched between Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo, under the eye of current creative director Demna Gvasalia.

Luxury shoppers are in for a treat, too. The 1,883-square-foot store space is sleek, sexy and visually exciting in a stark, modernized way. Expect a raw and industrial feel raw with elements like high-gloss rosewood walls and display tables, concrete, cast aluminium and glass.

The boutique’s brutalism aesthetic is enhanced by a neutral color palette of grays, leaving a brilliant emerald green mirrored glass counter to catch every eye from its location in the center of the store.

The fitting rooms are simple and chic, housed in beige cotton twill threaded with red, the same fabric used for toiles in its atelier, while its seating options included tufted brown leather framing tufted leather settees. The wall hangings and carpeted floors are meant to mimic  the original cabines of Cristobal Balenciaga’s couture house at 10 Avenue George V.

Gvasalia discussed the new store with Vogue, saying, “It’s a general concept because we have so many stores from so many different periods. It was really important for me to come up with something neutral, an atmosphere that represents, to me, the house. Also, that had some warmth, because I felt like we needed to express that in terms of the colors and materials: to give a feeling of coziness, yet also able to coexist with what we already have.”

Balenciaga’s Rodeo Drive boutique is its second U.S. flagship store (the other is in New York City) and is just one of 10 shops worldwide. It houses both women’s and men’s collections alongside accessories and eyewear.

Balenciaga, 353 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills Photo Credit: Balenciaga