Blend a multi-designer showroom with a art gallery and you’ve got Code C, the chic Sunset Plaza boutique that encompasses all of the modern woman’s wardrobe needs.
With more than a quarter of a century of fashion under his well-designed belt, Code C owner Andrea Rossetto knew exactly what he wanted in his first signature store. Having spent over 20 years with Benetton, he opened the first West Coast Just Cavalli stores and American MALO cashmere stores before making his own retail vision a reality.
“When I sold my Just Cavalli stores in 2009, I was approached by a group that owned six brands to develop a retail concept,” he explains. “The experience didn’t go further, but I decided to create a shop that I call a ‘multi mono brand.’ It’s a different environment from a regular store because it has more of a showroom feeling. We bring in fewer designers and display them in a way that the message is very simple and clear.”
Deciding to concentrate on designers whose work he really believed in (including Vivienne Westwood, Victor and Rolf and Louver by Louis Verdad), Rossetto then called on the merchandising and display talents of his wife, Marzia. Naming Code C after all the great “c” words in fashion (couture, contemporary, chic, California), she designed the shop with a series of rooms catering to every aspect of their clients’ lives.
“Upstairs we have special event clothing for movie openings or cocktail events,” says Andrea Rossetto. “In the main room we have elegant clothes for the Monday through Friday work week that you can also wear out to dinner. In our more casual room, it’s clothes for the weekend with the kids or a trip to the beach. The customer can travel through her week as she travels through the store.”
The boutique’s proprietors encourage shoppers to mix brands together to develop a look of all their own. This fresh mix of merchandise is why Code C is often called “the best-kept secret in L.A.” by their devoted clientele.
A revolving series of monthly art installations makes Code C even more of a destination for clients to drop in, share a chat and a glass of Prosecco. The warm, welcoming environment is enough of a success the Rossettos are looking to bring their unique shopping experience further up the California coast. “It’s a very particular store and can’t easily be duplicated, but we can take it towards the ocean, to Newport Beach or Pacific Palisades. It would be a natural expansion of Code C.”
Code C
8641 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
codecusa.com
