What has become of the iconic Los Angeles neighborhood?

In stark contrast to the malls of Los Angeles, Melrose Place has been setting itself apart for the past 25 years.

Developed in the early 1970s around a church and a theater, this romantic two-block street was long occupied by antique shops, art galleries and decorating brands, as well as a few architects’ offices, including that of Scott Mitchell. It gained international popularity in the mid-90s, thanks to the TV series of the same name, although it was not actually filmed in Melrose Place.

Now tree-lined and bird-whistling, Melrose Place is monopolized by fashion brands, some of which have their one and only West Coast store here. In all, Melrose Place boasts 48 shops stretching from North Melrose Avenue in the West to East La Cienega in the East. The luxury sector, which has a strong presence on Melrose Place, now boasts 12 houses, all vying for the finest architectural projects to showcase their collections, and finding addresses here that are far more practical and confidential than Beverly Hills, and paparazzi-free, to bring in stylists and celebrities. 
 
Italian fashion label Marni was one of the first to set up shop here in 2004. A remarkable boutique with giant porthole windows. The second The Row store opened in 2014 by sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. A particularly charming location, with a pool and a superb patio featuring an olive tree planted in tribute to their friend James “Jay” Ott, who died in 2014. An ultra-selective building, formerly occupied by singer Neil Diamond and hair salon John Frieda, where sales teams forbid photos to be taken, a rarity in Los Angeles.

Another fashion institution on Melrose Place, Belgian fashion house Martin Margiela, which opened in 2023, revealed its brand new design concept in a fabulous Art Deco building, after several years in Beverly Hills. Breaking completely with its former clinical and couture spirit, the new concept imagined by Dutch architect Anne Holtrop, plays with raw materials, abstract forms and natural cuts. In the middle of the store, a screen-like installation all in white plaster, highlights the 5AC line. 

 
Also featured are Balmain, Oscar de la Renta, Bottega Veneta, and Chloé, which opened in 2009 and has just opened a brand-new VIP and event space featuring elegant vintage furniture and paintings by Danish artist Mie Olise Kjaergaard. 
 
Finally, opened for appointments only, like the L’Eclaireur gallery a few steps away, the Salon Gucci occupies the former famous Marc Jacobs store opened in 2005, and recognizable by its ivy-covered façade. Initially organized as a pop-up, around its collaboration with Adidas, this salon concept “was imagined as the ultimate luxury destination around a universe as personal as possible, always marked by intimacy and discretion” commented the Italian label. Closed off by opaque curtains, the space has since plunged the entrance to Melrose Place into an unfriendly atmosphere.

In this luxury retail landscape, luxury vintage specialist Uncommon found an empty space in early January 2025. An inveterate antique hunter enthusiast, Sarah Aaronson, formerly based in the Larchmont neighborhood, has taken over a 550-square-foot space, where she displays her very narrow selection of clothes amidst decorative objects. On the racks are dresses by Ann Demeulemeester, Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière and Issey Miyake, each piece featured by a photo from a fashion show. 

 
In the premium, contemporary segment, other brands have chosen Melrose Place as the address for their very first boutique. Such is the case of French label Isabel Marant, which opened at Melrose Place in 2012. A building of sublime modern architecture is surrounded by spectacular gardens, filled with statues of French artist Arnold Goron, and organized around a large lounge-library showcasing the women’s collections and a more confidential area dedicated to men.
 
Another architectural gem, the boutique of French brand A.P.C opened in 2014, features ample day-lighting from high windows and a 14-foot-long frameless skylight, as well as a wall with 18 panels wich pivot open to let in the fresh air from a lush courtyard garden. Nearby, designer Rachel Comey‘s first Los Angeles boutique followed in 2016. Surrounded by her team from her New York boutique – creative director Sean Carmody, architect Elizabeth Roberts and interior designer Charles de Lisle – joined by Los Angeles architect Linda Taalman, the designer offered a replica of her Crosby Street boutique with a mix of exposed woods, concrete terrazzo flooring and skylights.

Even more recently, Italian label Forte Forte snapped up a fabulous space on Melrose Place in 2022. Its founders, siblings Giada and Paolo Forte, took over a 1930 building, characterized by two shop windows that open onto the street and framed by a sage green enamelled metal façade.
 

 
More surprisingly, streetwear has recently arrived on Melrose Place. Two years after the opening of the Warren Lotas store, a streetwear brand best known for its collaborations with the NBA, 424 made its appearance in the neighborhood in early 2024. Its founder, Guillermo Andrade, whose Paris show in January generated a real buzz, has created a completely innovative space in the basement of a Melrose Place building, recreating a California desert landscape.
 
“Because of Covid, I had to close my store in Fairfax,” explained Andrade. “From 2020 to 2022, I devoted all my time to this project. The soul of Fairfax no longer existed, so I told my new partners: Melrose Place is the future! I wanted to create a place for all the young people who had supported us in Fairfax. And do you know what happened? They all came.”

Initially a UFO in Melrose Place, the store revitalizes the neighborhood with brand launch parties, such as the new vintage of B.A.A, Bel Air Athletics, the brand owned by Will Smith and Ben Priest, or music listening parties, including one organized by singer 070 Shake last December.

Another segment present on Melrose Place, sportswear and athletic wear, is also present in recent years. Malbon Golf, formerly on Fairfax Avenue, has occupied a boutique on Melrose Place for the past two years. Since 2017, the brand founded by Stephen and Erica Malbon has been rejuvenating the classic golfer’s outfit with collections focusing on color and a pop logo with a positive imagery. The lesser-known Set Active brand, with its activewear wardrobe, opened its first boutique in 2022, followed by New York and Bleeker Street a year later.

Jewelry is increasingly making its presence felt at Melrose Place. Among the headliners, New York designer Irene Neuwirth’s boutique presents her celebrity-popular collections in a space with signature furnishings and a private salon where the designer welcomes guests and special events.
 
Other New York jewelry brands have been making inroads in recent years. Among its main players, luxury jewelry brand Maria Tash, famous for its luxury piercings, opened in 2022. Since late 2023, Grown Brilliance, also present in New York, has been showcasing its collections made from lab-grown diamonds. Other jewelry houses complete the picture with Maria Tash, the lab-grown diamonds brand Vrai and Studs, a costume jewelry boutique.

Since last August, Foundrae, the jewelry brand of New York-based designer Beth Hutchens, has joined the ranks of jewelry brands. Superbly displayed, her collections of medallions, necklaces and rings inspired by mysticism and spirituality are revealed to customers. The location also has an in-house workshop where two artisans – a bench jeweler and a hand engraver – can help craft a personal story.

“We see Foundrae jewelry as a path to self-reflection and self-discovery. Every symbol in our lexicon was created as a means of unearthing deeply held values that will help each individual evolve,” said Hutchens.

 
In the beauty field, Melrose Place boasts eight specialist establishments and institutes. The Violet Grey salon, which occupies the former offices of architect John Elgin Woolf, distributes high-end beauty products from Dior to La Mer and offers makeup artist services by appointment. Opening in 2022, the Ambassade Biologique Recherche occupies over 800-square-metres of space on Melrose Place, with a hairdressing salon on the first floor and a VIP area with private access via the parking lot. 
 
More complex, the food and restaurant scene saw the closure a few weeks ago of its Caviar Kaspia restaurant. Opened in 2022, the luxury caviar specialist failed to attract its audience in Los Angeles. And even Maor Cohen’s presence in the back room did nothing to help. After a disagreement, the jeweller found a new space on Melrose Avenue at the end of 2024. Cursed, the superb villa on Melrose Place has seen one closure after another in recent years, notably the case of leather goods brand Mansur Gavriel, which for a time shared its space with La Durée.

Also closed in 2023, Moon Juice, a specialist in healthy juices and powders, has been replaced since 2024 by Kreation, another fruit juice and smoothie chain with over a dozen Los Angeles addresses, despite its wood-clad facades decried by locals. Today, Alfred Coffee remains the favorite address of Melrose Place customers and the only restaurant with a terrace on the always-crowded street.

A number of openings are likely to be the talk of the town in the coming months, such as the villa housing Caviar Kaspia. The recent closure of luggage and lifestyle brand By Far should also bring further surprises.