And fall finds to shop at the The Grove’s new SPACE shop.

Nordstrom
has officially upped its street (style) cred.

With the launch of its new shop-in-shop boutique, SPACE at
Nordstrom, the department store is introducing up-and-coming designers as well
as more established brands that aren’t necessarily your traditional department
store staples. Apparel, shoes and accessories from buzzy brands like Vetements
and Marques Almeida as well as pieces from Shrimps, Simone Rocha and Japanese
label Undercover represent just a handful of the chic offerings curated by
Olivia Kim, vp creative projects at Nordstrom and industry vet slash style
icon. 

After successful launches at Nordstrom´s Seattle, Chicago
and San Francisco locations last year, SPACE has finally landed in L.A. (The
collection can also be shopped online.)

Pret-a-Reporter caught up with Kim, the brains behind both
SPACE and the retailer´s Pop-In concept shops, at the grand opening of SPACE at
The Grove to chat about the shopping experience, her secret to discovering the
hottest designers and what warm weather-friendly trends L.A. shoppers should be
looking for this fall.

What is SPACE?

SPACE is an in-store boutique dedicated to supporting
emerging and advanced designers. What we really wanted it to be was a place
that felt, for a big company, really small and intimate. A lot of the designers
here are designers that have been recognized with LVMH prizes, they’re up and
coming or they’ve been around for a while and are super established, but
they’re not necessarily department-store brands. They’re more boutique brands.
We really challenged ourselves to say, “Can we be a boutique inside of our own
store?”

What are “advanced” designers?

A lot of them are Japanese designers that have been around
for a while. Undercover is a great example of a brand that’s been around for a
while. They almost have a cult-ish following, but they are not that well-known
in the States because they are more directional and more avant garde. In our
world I think that it makes sense; we carry really great designer brands and
contemporary brands, but there’s some white space, and this is what’s in
between there.

How do you bridge the gap between the undiscovered,
directional designers and the everyday customer?

We really want to be a platform where we can introduce
these brands to our customers. So all of the spaces have what we call a space
ambassador. Their job is to not only know everything about the brands but also
to educate our customer and talk to them about materials and how these things
fit.

What’s your secret to discovering brands?

A lot of them are friends or friends of friends that I’ve
been following for a really long time. Or brands that I’ve loved so much that
have been around that I’ve had a hard time finding places. To be able to bring
that to Nordstrom has been a really exciting project for me.

I’m always super curious so I read all my emails, I look at
everything — like anytime someone texts me or DMs me on social media I look at
it all, and we’ve discovered quite a few brands from people who have an amazing
aesthetic and who haven’t been out there before. But we want to be a place
where we’re really open to brands, whether they’re getting press or buzz or
not, because that’s kind of what makes this exciting.

So you’re saying that DMing you, head of creative projects,
actually works? Any examples?

Yeah, so we’re partnering with Franny E (a fine jeweler who
focuses on one-of-a-kind pieces.) She’s based out of Vancouver. We’re doing a
really small exclusive capsule with her for the launch of our Canadian stores.
But she reached out to me based on some of the press and some of the other
brands that she knew we were carrying and she thought she’d be a great fit.

That’s awesome! I’m guessing a lot of the younger designers
feel like a department store is out of reach.

I think it’s also really scary for a lot of those young
designers. Department stores come with a lot of rules. There´s a lot of
guidelines and shipping and you’ve got to do this and that — and part of SPACE
and being a small boutique and that sort of small mentality is to tell
designers, “Don’t worry about some crazy net 60 terms. We can help you and work
with you.” We want to support their business and help make their business a
viable one and grow.

What are some L.A.-specific fall trends that people can be
shopping at SPACE despite the heat?

The denim trend is still here and it’s getting so much
better. We’ve got some brands that are really rooted in denim like Marques
Almeida. I think there’s really awesome denim pieces from Simon Miller; they do
a Japanese-type denim. I also love the sort of romantic goth thing that’s
happening right now. We have a designer called Lea Peckre, from Paris, and she does
these amazing long-sleeve mesh dresses with underlays, so that’s an easy L.A.
thing. And L.A. people actually love coats! They love just having their coat.
We have tons of coats that you can just throw on your shoulders.