Dolls Kill Arrives on Fairfax Avenue With Concept Shop
WELCOME TO FAIRFAX: Dolls Kill founders and husband-and-wife team Shaudi Lynn and Bobby Farahi saw a nice-looking space on Fairfax Avenue and went for it. The two on Saturday celebrate the grand opening of the company’s second store outside of their hometown of San Francisco, where they opened their first store in the Haight District a year ago.
The Los Angeles location, at 415 North Fairfax Avenue, is designed with an industrial nightclub in mind. To that end, the company imported a sound system from Italian custom audio equipment manufacturer Pequod Acoustics and played up the store’s gritty brick walls.
“Unlike the many retail stores that pop up all over L.A. in locations that over and over serve as some sort of clothing venue, our location on Fairfax had never been a storefront before,” said Shaudi Lynn in reference to the space’s past life as a mattress seller.
The store well exceeds the size of the company’s foray into retail with Fairfax totaling 6,000 square feet and dubbed a concept shop. San Francisco totals 1,100 square feet at 1475 Haight Street.
The Fairfax store’s assortment will include limited drops from the company’s proprietary labels Club Exx, Current Mood, Poster Girl, Widow and Sugar Thrillz in addition to pieces from brands such as Dr. Martens, Lazy Oaf and I Am Gia.
The company, started in 2011, has gained a steady following for its edgy, rebellious attitude, often being described in the same breath as a Hot Topic or Nasty Gal — but more brash with plenty of pieces suited for a night out to a rave or music festival. The business initially started out as a direct-to-consumer, online brand before getting into physical retail.
“The San Francisco store is killing it,” Shaudi Lynn said. “It’s this tiny, hole-in-the-wall place that we never envisioned would do what it’s doing today. It was a true D.I.Y. project for us and everyone involved. We had our artists, stylists, models and just about anyone involved in Dolls Kill get in there and draw on the walls and the dressing rooms. We built out that place with our own raw hands.”
The Haight space, which drew inspiration from the company’s headquarters, originally began as a pop-up but customer demand prompted the Farahis to keep the door open longer.
The couple confirmed more stores are in Dolls Kill’s future, but declined to provide specifics.
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