Experiential fashion retailing is nothing new. But Max Feldmann and Kyle Julian Skye are bringing it to the rental area and IRL.
“We’re not just an archives house,” said Feldmann, Fred Segal’s former menswear buyer. “If Soho House, Barneys New York and Blockbuster had a baby, so would we.”
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The duo behind vintage platforms Recess Worldwide and Middleman Store, respectively, have teamed up to open a brick-and-mortar rental business in Los Angeles in 2023: Wild West Social House. Located in West Hollywood, it’s a membership-based concept that offers services like delivery, pickup and same-day tailoring. There’s also a social element, including a rooftop for hangouts, and they’ve partnered with neighboring Dialog Cafe for drink and food orders.
“We want to get back to the true luxury experience of spending a day going to a store, enjoying that and enjoying some sun on the rooftop,” Skye said. “And being able to have a meal or a snack with your friends, catch up with them, then come down and look at your clothes and bring that kind of slower, more, you know, consumer-specific vision to a boutique.”
It currently has more than 50 members serving professional stylists, celebrities, and fashionistas, with a small waiting list to join by the end of January. Both Feldmann and Skye have a curatorial approach that brings together an exclusive selection of globally sourced products; Pieces available for purchase include finds like a silk-embroidered “Life is Pain” top from Alexander McQueen’s fall 1996 “Dante” collection and a ’70s “Punk Gang” muslin shirt by Vivienne Westwood.
Membership has three tiers: $299 per month for six products for three days (up to three products per shot or $3,000 in total value), $499 per month for 12 products (up to four products or with free delivery and pickup $4,000 (in Los Angeles) for four days and $999 per month for 10 days with no product limit (up to 15 per shoot, including accessories and shoes), all services including temporary tailoring.
It allows members to keep track of the products they rent, new arrivals to the store, order services, etc. They are planning to launch an application that will allow
“When you log in as a member, we would already have all of your sizes,” Feldmann explained. “We have your customers’ sizes available so you can actually filter by size and not go through thousands of pieces. You’re actually going through dimensions that could potentially work for you or your clients.
“We see this as a million-dollar wardrobe for less than the price of a Prada T-shirt,” Skye added.
Janet Mandell’s business started in Chicago in 2018 and will expand to Los Angeles and New York in 2023.
“I don’t follow trends,” said Mandell, whose L.A. showroom is on North La Cienega Boulevard, south of Santa Monica Boulevard. “I follow color palettes. I keep track of what people buy, but it’s not about what we buy. “I think our focus is really on vintage and evening wear.”
On a busy day, about 10 customers a day come to Los Angeles. The range is high-end, from Chanel to Oscar de la Renta, with contemporary brands such as Acne and Dries Van Noten. “It’s all about the cut. It’s about showing skin,” continued Mandell, as Chicago sought a more conservative look (mostly gala dresses) in Los Angeles. “Most of the people who come are celebrities, namely stylists. We cater to many influencers, style makers and socialites. A lot of girls in Los Angeles want over-the-top vintage dresses or, you know, something sexy.”
Pricing starts at $300 for a four-day rental, with shoes starting at $150. There is an additional $75 per hour showroom fee and a $50 non-refundable styling fee.
“Due to COVID[-19]“Everyone wants to dress fancier and fancier than they normally would,” Mandell said of the customers. “They really want to make a statement. They don’t want black. “They want really colorful, spectacular pieces.”
It hopes to open in Miami this year and Dallas in 2025.
“I can say that my exit plan is 10 years and I would love to sell to a big fashion house like Kering or LVMH,” he said. “I have an exit plan.”
Los Angeles native Haile Lidow of Lidow Archive has a passion for vintage, regardless of the designer’s name. It leans towards fantasy.
“I tend to err more on the side of being weird and eccentric,” he said, having amassed nearly 9,000 pieces.
Her showroom is located in the hills of Los Feliz, where regulars include celebrity stylists, costume designers and photographers. She’s currently focused on attracting a new clientele: “I’d really like to work with people who go to events, who go to weddings, who just love clothes and want it to be fun to wear things that they know they don’t need.” They buy it because they only want to wear it for one thing.
Lidow Archive has become the go-to place for unique finds that have found their way onto stages, music videos, red carpets and photo shoots for the likes of Rihanna, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus. Prices range from $40 to $1,300 per item (the latter being Gucci by Tom Ford’s spring 2000 one-shoulder rhinestone dress), with a minimum rental fee of $250 per shoot.
“I remember looking for things when I was 11 and saving up to buy them,” said Lidow, who has a background in both fashion at Vogue and public relations at Black Frame. “And, you know, I still have them in my archives.”
His latest obsession? “I’m really into sets and matching sets. “I was looking for three-piece suits from the 1970s,” he said.
One item she is particularly known for is the towering Marc Jacobs “Kiki” platform, available in many styles and colors. “I really love collecting.”
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