High-end fashion retail increasingly has become a highly ritualized act of enforced class consciousness ― wait in line, stay next to your minder, don't touch without asking, you have twenty minutes until you must leave ― so coming across a remnant of that luxury retail experience of yore is as refreshing as a spring zephyr off the cold ocean. The Dries van Noten boutique on La Cienega presents an elegant, relaxed luxury shopping experience that reminds me of what shopping on Rodeo Drive and Melrose used to be like before COVID, the 2020 riots, the smash-and-grabs, and the hordes of Chinese tourists and aspiration brand seekers turned the formerly genteel shopping districts into an area of enforced snobbery.
The store is set in a sprawling Art Déco-styled house; the approach is down a long, shady allée of tropical vegetation that separates one's mind from bustling street beyond. One must ring the doorbell for entrance, which seems a bit intimidating and exclusive, but this is purely functional: The store has a rambling layout, so the associates are often far from the entry. That labyrinthine interior is wonderful ― the many different rooms are laid out with van Noten's eccentric, colorful designs. Women's is downstairs, men's is upstairs, and there is a small salon for the recently launched fragrance and color collection. Van Noten is a member of the famous Antwerp Six, along with Ann Demeulemeester and Walter van Beirendonck. (Martin Margiela was not part of the group, though he was a contemporary from Antwerp.) His styles have a flair for color and a certain exotic quality that are fitting for L.A.
Most importantly, the staff at the van Noten boutique were wonderfully gracious and friendly, very nice to chat with, helpful but not at all intrusive or clingy. At no point did I feel uncomfortable by anyone hovering or shadowing me, as is so often the case at luxury boutiques these days. One can browse at one's leisure. This is how luxury shopping should feel: luxurious. For what it's worth, Dries van Noten might just be the best boutique in L.A. right now. read more