This week, a plethora of brands are opening their first retail stores in Los Angeles. We talk to a few of them about why they decided now was the right time to move to L.A. and the easy West Coast vibe they’re adopting with their store locations.Lili Chemla, founder of the self-funded, New York-based womenswear brand Leset, didn’t plan to triple her brand’s physical retail footprint overnight. Nor did she plan for both of Leset’s new stores opening this summer to be in Los Angeles. But Chemla said that when the right opportunity presented itself, she couldn’t say no.
“We’re not expanding just to expand,” Chemla told Glossy. She said that after spending time at Sunset Plaza in Los Angeles, and knowing Sunset Boulevard’s long history as a shopping destination, she knew she had to open a store there. “We were waiting for the right location to show up because we knew that the customer really likes seeing and touching the product in person.”
After opening its first permanent store in New York City in 2024, Leset is now opening two more stores, in L.A., next month: one in Palisades Village and the other in Sunset Park. Palisades Village had been closed for the last 19 months after the 2024 wildfires devastated the area. The shopping center only reopened earlier this month. Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood is a newer area but has already drawn in other luxury and fashion brands like Badgley Mischka.
