King of Luxury: By Appointment Only

I asked him why he only considered “By Appointment Only,” even when he first opened, and whether or not he held it as a firm rule, breaking it for certain clients. He said “We do, but sometimes we can tell by the person if we should break the rule.” For instance, the day before I visited his boutique to speak with him, a young couple stopped by the store without an appointment, but Bijan’s intuition told him to allow them into his fashion lair. The couple remained in the store until 9:30 PM, and eventually spent over $600,000 on clothes and jewelry. As Bijan was telling me this, we are interrupted by his lady general manager, telling us the clients who were there yesterday have returned. “They want to buy more of your collection before they hop on the jet,” she said. Bijan politely stopped the interview, and asks if I wouldn’t mind coming back in a hour. I understandingly agree, and, while walking out of the store, I see the young couple he had just been recounting to me, eagerly hoping to get a few more jackets to take with them back to Asia. When I returned about an hour later, Bijan pleasantly confided to me that they spent another $250,000. We all break our own rules, every now and then!

Although Bijan is notorious for designing for heads of state and the wealthy elite, he is also just as known for his signature, eccentrically designed high-end cars. Parked in front of his store, guests and passers-by can gawk at what Bijan has selected to drive that day, having to choose from his yellow Rolls-Royce or black Bentley Azure, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Ferrari 430, and Bugatti among others. But what you will most likely see parked in front of Bijan on Rodeo is his now infamous marigold-yellow Rolls-Royce Drophead Phantom that he customized in collaboration with the Goodwood, England-based luxury automaker. It only seems natural that Bijan, a man whose name is synonymous with treating the world’s elite to the finest clothes in life, should prefer to cruise in a Rolls-Royce, a company whose brand has been built around the same ideal of luxury in excess. Perhaps it was not a shock when last fall, as part of the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, Bijan announced from his store his official design partnership with Rolls-Royce to create 31 limited-edition models, each with an estimated price tag of $1.5 to $1.6 million. While meeting with him, he was able to speak freely about this once-in-a-lifetime collaboration, and even gave me a first-hand look at the cars. As you may have guessed, these ultra-rare rides are not going to be available to just anyone at your local dealer. Bijan himself plans to customize each model for their owners, working with them to create a design and style that best suits their personalities. Options will include custom colorizing and paint jobs, something Bijan is certainly not unfamiliar with in his own garage, as well as added amenities like a wine fridge in the trunk, and specially designed Lalique crystal ornaments perched like guardians at the end of each car’s bonnet, and a $125,000 diamond clock in the dashboard. Keeping in line with Bijan’s flair for the eccentric, the hood also flourishes with a paisley patterned inlay, giving the car a subdued refinement, while still boasting plenty of flash. “The base of my statement is fashion, and as a designer, I have embraced automobiles and fashion,” explains Bijan.. “Another unique feature is using this paisley design. It is embroidered in tone-on-tone silk on alligator and presented in various elements of the interior.”

For the past 25 years, Bijan’s fragrance collection of ten different scents for men and ladies that has sold in 66 countries all over the world, still continues to be a success story. This includes the award winning cologne he created; Michael Jordan Cologne. Bijan has a limited edition jewelry collection, now boasting the launch of the latest piece, an exquisite watch entitled “The Royal Way.”

Bijan makes sure to give credit where credit is due. With everything he has achieved, and all of his continued success, he insists that it’s largely due to his partner and longtime friend of 40 years, Dar. Now that’s humility.