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Jun 23, 2022
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With Dior, Louis Vuitton and Cheval Blanc, Rodeo Drive begins its transformation

Published
Jun 23, 2022

Rodeo Drive is under construction. And it's not about to end. On one of the most expensive avenues in the world – commercial spaces are rented here on average between 40 and 80,000 dollars per month and are very rare to rent – ​​the Jaeger LeCoultre brand opened its new store just a few weeks ago. 


The new Jaeger-LeCoultre store on Rodeo Drive - DR


Behind an Art Deco-style facade, inspired by the flagship model of the brand's Reverso watch, the watchmaking house of the Richemont group has imagined a decor "between tradition and modernity to evoke the serenity and beauty," all adorned in natural and luminous materials,
 
Although delayed by the health crisis, the major works of Rodeo Drive have resumed for a few months. And the big luxury brands have all invested colossal sums to become owners of their walls.

“With the permanent increase in rents, and amounts that can quickly reach $70,000 per month, the new strategy has been to buy," explains Aria Baracci, the store owner and designer of Baracci, located on Wilshire Boulevard, whose collections of wedding dresses have particularly seduced the singer Beyoncé. If Rodeo Drive is above all a global shopping showcase, Chanel and Louis Vuitton make business by buying.


Chanel's store project between Rodeo Drive and Brighton Way - DR


At the Brighton Way intersection, the large Chanel project is progressing slowly but surely. The French luxury house, which plans to open at the end of the year, has multiplied its openings in the United States in recent months, in Miami last December, in Las Vegas and Aspen in April.

With its new location, Chanel will host one of its largest boutiques in the world here. Purchased for 152 million euros in 2015, the two, three-storey buildings, now completely demolished, will reopen as a single three-storey building, including a rooftop dedicated to private launches, private and press meetings, as well as the production of digital content.
 

The new Louis Vuitton boutique planned for Summer 2022 - DR


Validated at the same time, Cartier's project should, according to The Real Deal site, occupy the space at 411 North Rodeo Drive, left vacant by the Guess brand (now a few numbers away at 320), in order to start renovating its main store at 370 North Rodeo Drive.

For its part, LVMH continues to strengthen its presence on Rodeo Drive with several projects. The group's flagship brand, Louis Vuitton, which has its main store at 295 North Rodeo Drive, is about to complete the work on its new store. The building, which housed the luxury brand House of Bijan for a few decades, will reveal on July 14th, a boutique on two floors dedicated to the men's fashion. A few steps away, the former Luxe Hotel, also acquired by LVMH for a sum said to approach $200 million, should find a more radiant future.
 

Brook Brothers store will change into Cheval Blanc, Beverly Hills - DR


The big Dior project is also underway. If the work seems not to have started yet, the project should see the merger of the men's boutique at 319 North Rodeo Drive, with the two neighboring stores, recently acquired by LVMH, a new three-storey complex which would also house a restaurant with terrace, a parking and several patios.

Another project to follow is the one started on the site of the former Brooks Brothers store. It was here, at the intersection of Rodeo Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard, that the Louis Vuitton temporary residence was organized last year, all animated by the fanciful “Zoom with Friends” characters imagined at the time by Virgil Abloh. And it is here that LVMH will open its new Cheval Blanc hotel. Recently validated by the Planning Commission of Beverly Hills, the Cheval Blanc project accommodates for the opening of 115 rooms, several shops, a private club, a spa and several gourmet restaurants.


Cheval Blanc new project - DR


Designed by Peter Marino, the regular architect of the LVMH group, who collaborates in particular for Louis Vuitton, Dior and Fendi, the hotel plans to add a few floors to the initial structure. The Golden Triangle's three-story rule (the city code limits buildings in the Triangle to three stories) will likely require an exception and some plan adjustments.
 
A few hundred meters away, Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills will find another competitor on its way. Announced for 2026, the Aman hotel group will open its first address in Los Angeles. A hotel in the hands of owner Beny Alagem, who also owns the neighboring Beverly Hilton hotel and the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Amid several acres of botanical gardens, Aman Beverly Hills will offer a 44-room hotel complete with a collection of exclusive residences and a private club. The construction site, which has not yet started, will transform a virgin space, former parking lot for the privileged guests of Hugh Hefner, going to his Playboy Mansion. A piece of history.
 
 
 
 

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