With thousands of shops between luxury boutiques, outdoor malls, and flea markets scattered across its 502.7 square miles surface, Los Angeles is one of the world's most venerated shopping capitals. Whether you are after vintage bargains or want to have a Pretty Woman moment by testing your luck at one of the countless designer stores of Beverly Hills' iconic Rodeo Drive, when it comes to shopping, you're in for a treat in the City of Angels. While many of its retail destinations are sure to catch the eye of our readers thanks to their sun-baked and relaxed "California cool" feel, in this roundup of the best Los Angeles concept stores we wanted Livingetc's followers to discover how some of the most unique shops in the area are redefining the browsing experience as a whole through an hypnotizing, ingeniously curated fusion of design, art, and product.
Amplifying the vibrant, uplifting atmosphere of the best Los Angeles hotels, the concept stores explored here move one step further than the traditional retail space by reinterpreting the core values, vision, and ethos at the heart of their businesses in the form of inspiringly crafted and executed interiors, one-off artistic collaborations, and equally worthwhile homeware, clothing, and beauty collections. Get a glimpse into these captivating Los Angeles shops below.
1. Just One Eye
915 N Sycamore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038, United States
If there's anything uniting all of the realities mentioned in this collection of the best Los Angeles concept stores, it's that none of these unique shops was conceived exclusively for shopping. Rather, every destination presented in the following paragraphs embraces the retail universe as a platform in which multiple creative expressions — from art and furniture to fashion — collide. First unveiled in 2012 and originally located in an Art Deco design building on Romaine Street, June One Eye is perhaps the most evident manifestation of how, in LA, shopping channels interdisciplinary inspirations.
Now nestled in the Sycamore District across 13,000 square feet, fashion trailblazer Paola Russo's expansive boutique blurs the boundaries between luxury retail and the gallery experience. Entirely plastered in original works and editions by contemporary culture innovators like Andy Warhol, John Chamberlain, Damien Hirst, and Takashi Murakami, Just One Eye juxtaposes thought-provoking art installations with just-as-daring clothing, jewelry, modern and vintage furniture, home accessories, fragrance, and printed matter by some of today's most inventive houses, from the burgeoning Dries van Noten, Francesco Russo, and Proenza Schouler to the ever-influential Christian Louboutin, Prada, and Bottega Veneta.
Shop all of Just One Eye's products.
2. Ulla Johnson
8823 Beverly Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90048, United States
Few Los Angeles shops embody the essence of indoor-outdoor living like rising New York fashion designer Ulla Johnson's recently inaugurated boutique on Beverly Boulevard, West Hollywood. The brainchild of prolific LA designer Kelly Wearstler, the mind behind some of California's most atmospheric and imaginatively envisioned hospitality destinations, this evocative shop re-appropriates the earthiness of the regional landscape to immerse visitors in a spellbinding dialogue between humanity and nature. A triumph of organic shapes, textures, and colors, the Ulla Johnson boutique integrates artisans Ross Hansen and Mike Anderson's bespoke creations, including a marbleized resin entry table and a custom "wavy" cabinet, to unleash the playfulness and vibrancy of 1970s California.
Filled with sprawling plants including full-scale trees, this must-see concept store welcomes passersby through its Miranda Brooks-designed patio garden which, serving as its main entrance, immediately sets the laid-back, lush tone that will accompany them throughout their stay. Beautifully displayed among the thriving vegetation in the shop are Ulla Johnson's bucolic creations, whose flowy styles and patterned motifs fit seamlessly within the nature theme of this one-of-a-kind hotspot.
Shop all of Ulla Johnson's products.
3. Glossier
8523 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069, United States
Any skin care and beauty aficionado will already be familiar with Glossier, the pink-tinted, millennials-focused universe of entrepreneur Emily Weiss, but not all of them will be with the brand's otherworldly Melrose Avenue flagship. Launched in the fall of 2021, this curious concept store is a contemporary and Barbiecore-approved take on Hollywood charm, with 7,000 square feet celebrating Los Angeles' globally influential culture.
At once whimsical and minimalist, this instantly iconic store features the stone finishes typical of brutalist interiors without compromising on totally unexpected, surreal design additions: from the exterior Glossier mirror signage infusing fresh flair into the world-known Hollywood sign and an indoor Glossier globe fountain modeled after the Universal Studios Hollywood Globe to ceiling escamotages inspired by Californian porthole window ideas, and a buzzy outdoor space entirely adorned with lush greenery and art installations.
Shop all of Glossier's products.
4. Alchemy Works
821 Traction Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013, United States
Launched by life and work partners Raan and Lindsay Parton in the fall of 2013, Alchemy Works is a family story fit for success and one of the best Los Angeles concept stores for homeware, fashion, and lifestyle lovers. Strategically situated within the city's vibrating Arts District, the shop houses an aesthetically pleasing selection of goods that centers the work of independent artisans and brands active across homeware, art, clothing, skincare, and accessories.
Proudly quirky, eclectic, and inspiring, this welcoming store not only platforms some of today's most irreverent, stylish labels of the moment — from the family-owned furniture business EARL Home and Flamingo Estate to the peace-aiding BODHA, one of the producers of the best home fragrance solutions — but it also hosts pop-up events and artist collaborations, serving as an integral part of LA's trailblazing creative community. Known for the rare navy blue 1959 Fiat Abarth Spyder positioned in the center of its Traction Avenue flagship — a fresh take on modern rustic décor — Alchemy Works stands out for its retro-futuristic house, vintage, apparel, and accessories offerings, each distinguished by unconditional attention to authentic design and sophisticated craftsmanship.
Shop all of Alchemy Works' products.
5. forte_forte
8424 Melrose Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90069, United States
Italian siblings-cum-creative collaborators Paolo and Giada Forte, co-founders of the eponymous womenswear house forte_forte, have designed an LA flagship suspended between art installation and luxury fashion. Opened in the spring of 2022, forte_forte Los Angeles — one of the brand's ten worldwide locations — took shape from the dialogue between the female head of the label and Swiss creative director Robert Vattilana. Here, industrial interior design is reinvented for the style-driven customer: in the concept store, "light and matter, solidity and transparency intertwine, echoing the volumes and lines of California modernism, immersed in blinding sun and desert landscapes," Vattilana tells me.
Speaking on the boutique's relevance, co-founder Giada Forte points out that "clothes don't live just for themselves". "Not only the choice of the fabric, its shape or shade of color is important," she adds. "But so is the atmosphere that surrounds them: we believe garments have a soul and that they reflect all the beautiful contaminations around them." Borrowing from the craftsmanship tradition of the Fortes' homeland, the flagship features Italian materials and finishes that transport the public to an ethereal dimension. At forte_forte Los Angeles, nature and the indoors coexist, as proven by the totemic stone sculpture placed in the middle of the store — a nod to revolutionary artist duo Peter Fischli & David Weiss — and the plaster, non-concentric circles inhabiting the ceiling in an homage to the sublime geometrical explorations of artist James Turrell.
Shop all of forte_forte's products.
6. The Good Liver
705 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90021, United States
There is something profoundly nostalgic and yet immediately fascinating about Korean storyboard artist, writer, and director Bert Youn's The Good Liver, a striking, inventively curated collection of home goods that seeks to favor a better way of living by nurturing a stronger sense of connection between us and the objects that compose our daily rituals. Rising within the lofty premises of its Mateo Street location, this shop is possibly my favorite from this selection of the best Los Angeles concept stores. Why?
Well, besides the mid-century modern furniture-filled, linear aesthetic of this retail hotspot, which is enough to convince me to get lost among its shelves, Youn's revision of the "general store" presents viewers with a globe-trotting exploration of craftsmanship, straddling both Japanese and European design. Through a careful blend of functionality and artistry, the founder promotes longer-lasting relationships with the items we choose to purchase by highlighting the human stories, processes, and origins behind them, along with their intrinsic beauty.
Shop all of The Good Liver's products.
7. The Edit by Janessa Leoné
8840 Washington Blvd #106, Culver City, CA 90232, United States
A tangible, immersive fruit of the post-pandemic, The Edit by Janessa Leoné translates the LA-based designer's timeless understanding of fashion into a spectacularly conceived showroom informed by principles of sustainability, elegance, and minimalism. Pairing her jet-set-ready wide brimmed hats, accessories, and select clothing with bespoke design accents by an array of makers and fellow women creators — including Sara Karkenny's The De Luca chair and Danish designer Ib Kofod-Larsen's Knitting Chair — the location is an experiential ode to all things artisanry.
Just like her headwear, known world-wide for its organic tones and handmade, clean lines, each of the elements that mold the store into shape shares an appreciation for durable materials and ethical production practices, and is drenched in the sandy, neutral palette of the designer's best-sellers. Born to function as a collaborative platform, The Edit by Janessa Leoné hosts frequent panel discussions and events expanding on the house's commitment to responsible fashion, as well as spotlighting the creations of other designers whose production stands for the same values.
Shop all of Janessa Leone's products.
If this edit of the best Los Angeles concept stores has made you curious about what else is worth discovering in the city, look no further than The Style Guide's protagonist Melrose Hill, its rising design district, for more hotspots to include in your itinerary, or check our interiors-led curation of the best Los Angeles restaurants for a culinary experience that pleases all the senses.
