Opening Ceremony, Los Angeles

After doing a trunk show to introduce Risto’s collection in 2003, Skender suggested that Alek should meet the people behind the creation of Opening Ceremony, Carol & Humberto. Since the minute Alek met the pair at their NY store which opened in 2002, they struck a cord and had an instant connection because of the fun personalities they each encompass. Carol & Humberto loved the uniqueness of Risto’s knitwear, it happened to match their sense of taste. Immediately after that, they started to carry the label.

Opening Ceremony has created an empire based on the idea of being new, hip and collaborating with designers to keep their store fresh and interesting for their customers. In 2007, they opened the LA store in an old Charlie Chaplin dance studio; along with the 2009 opening of their new 8-level store in Tokyo.  With this they became one of the most important retailers in the U.S.

On a recent road trip to LA, Alek and Skender met with one of the sales associate, Jane Lee (whose hair Alek seemed to love), who gave Alek an update on the store and all the collaborations they have been doing with designers. Their recent collaborations have been with designers such as, Chloë Sevingy for Opening Ceremony; Pendleton meets Opening Ceremony, & Betsey Johnson Archive curated by Opening Ceremony.

It was good to finally put a face to the name of the LA team that we’ve been working with for all these years. The recent collaborations have spilled over linking Opening Ceremony and Istok as they buy other collections from our Showroom as well.