Showroom vs. Shop, Gallery vs. Retail, Visit The Nudie Jeans House

 

It's rare for consumers to step foot inside of a brand's showroom. These areas tend to be the domain of buyers and press who want to take the time to study what the brand's offering (see In the Showrooms).  Consumers, on the other hand, get the whole flash and blaze of marketing and merchandising that comes from seeing the brand in retail outlets.

Nudie Jeans, who mostly stocks at luxury retailers and boutiques, has opened their own shop in West Hollywood on Melrose Ave called the "Nudie Jeans House". What does this have to do with what I was just talking about? Well, when I first looked at the photos I thought, wow this is set up similar to their New York City showroom except with a little more flash and blaze. (see Nudie Jeans Fall 2011 Preview). And in fact, it functions as both.

The 600 square foot house is of a compact design and looks like it stands out amongst the more industrial looking buildings on the street with it's Scandinavia meets California design. This concept can especially be seen in the exposed wood beams (Scandinavia) and the wraparound deck with BBQ (California). This, along with the showroom approach, is sure to give fans a feeling of immersion in the Nudie Jeans experience and the addition of bespoke repairs and an alterations clinic will make that even more so.

“[Nudie Jeans House] is an opportunity to engage our existing followers, but also the perfect base to introduce new customers to the product and philosophy of the brand. For us, it was about slowing the communication down, concentrating on one message at a time, and listening to our customer", says US Sales Director Michael Irving.

Nudie's core product will be on hand as well as their "Backbone" line and every three months new brand concepts will be showcased. Organic is the current story with the Repair: Reuse: Reduce program being showcased in November.

The Nudie Jeans House functions as a wholesale office from Monday-Wednesday and is open to the public Thursday through Saturday 11am – 7pm and Sunday 11am – 5pm.