After being absent from the California retail scene for decades, Courrèges just unveiled its first West Coast outpost, landing in a familiar place — South Coast Plaza.
In some ways, this is déjà vu for the French fashion house, which in 1975 was one of the first European fashion labels to arrive at the relatively new mall built by the Segerstrom family in Costa Mesa, Calif. The shopping center had its grand opening in 1967 with 70 stores and two anchors — Sears and the May Co. By 1973, the retail complex had added another 60 stores and counted a Bullock’s department store as a third anchor.
The new Courrèges boutique is located on the luxury mall’s second floor next to the Din Tai Fung restaurant, the popular Chinese eatery with a constant line out the door. The French label’s neighbors include Amiri, another new addition, as well as Gentle Monster, Palm Angels, Rimowa, Byredo, and Alexander Wang.
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“Opening at South Coast Plaza is strategic for Courrèges because of its historical presence in this special community. But it is also because of the fast-rising awareness of Courrèges among international customers from Asia and Latin America who shop massively at South Coast Plaza,” noted Adrien Da Maia, the French brand’s chief executive, who was hired in 2020 to revive the fashion house.
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The Paris-based label, under the artistic direction of Nicolas Di Felice, who also came on board four years ago, is housed in a space designed by Belgian architect Bernard Dubois. The location is filled with chrome pillars, mirrored ceilings, dressing rooms and heritage white flooring similar to the design found in Courrèges’s new Paris flagship in the Marais district.
Integrated furniture and railings in tone-on-tone white create a serene atmosphere, highlighting the predominantly black and white colors seen in the collection. A monolithic island in the center hides away accessories and jewelry while streamlining the division between the men’s and women’s collections.
Courrèges stores in the United States have been a rarity. There is only one other U.S. location, which opened two years ago in the SoHo district of Manhattan. But the United States has been designated as a priority market, the French brand said, and more store openings are planned for the future.
In recent years, the company has been expanding its retail presence. By this fall, the label will have 10 directly operated stores, which include a second store in South Korea. In October, Courrèges will see its first retail shop-in-shop in Japan.
The French label was launched in Paris in 1961 by designer André Courrèges whose streamlined geometric designs brought the Space Age to the catwalk. He is remembered for popularizing the go-go boot and is credited, along with Mary Quant, with creating the miniskirt. He was also known for his use of different materials, including Lycra and plastics such as vinyl.
In 2011, Courrèges sold his brand to two Young & Rubicon advertising executives. Five years later, the French designer died after a long illness.
By 2018, Group Artémis, the personal investment arm of Kering’s Pinault family, became the majority owner and began a push to revive the brand. As artistic director, Di Felice has grown the house’s revenues with his sleek and minimal ready-to-wear pieces with sexy cutouts, logo ribbed knitwear, glossy vinyl re-edition jackets and the new Holy bag which has been carried by Hailey Bieber, Dua Lipa, Charlie XCX and more.