Q&A with Tommy Nowels on Bristol Los Angeles

Last week, Bristol Los Angeles took the retail plunge by opening its first pop-up in Culver City. Known for its classic, sophisticated pieces, the line has grown quite a following in the city. Launched in 2014 by Tommy Nowels and Luke Dadashi, the collab brand has created its own unique identity for its structured design elements. As the temporary shop will be open for this week, FashionUnited reached out to co-founder Nowels about the pop-up and what his plans are for the brand’s future.

As this is your first pop-up, why did you choose this specific location?

Our pop up is in Culver City on 8850 Washington blvd at a development called The Platform. Platform is a new development in up and coming part of LA, Culver City. Platform isn't a traditional office building development though. It is super modern and clean with and has everything from business offices, to collaborative work spaces, event spaces, pop up store fronts and fixed storefronts. An artisan taco spot, Juice Served Here, Aesop, Blue Bottle coffee, two other retail shops, [and others], and of course Bristol, line the courtyard there. Also, one of our friends put on a pop up at Platform a couple months back and recommended it to us. Platform just seemed like the right location. Pretty central in LA, beautiful + new storefronts, cool people who work there, and the fact that there was a courtyard to have a launch party in was a plus too!

How would you describe your newest collection?

This is our first collection, so I would say it's definitely meant to be an introductory collection that gives people a broad stroke idea of what Bristol is as a clothing/lifestyle brand. We gave people the essences of Bristol. We made classic refined pieces in playful, spontaneous colors and fabrics and had our models wear bright yellow Kobe's from 2003. We wanted to keep the pieces with a timeless feel, but add a twist that didn't take itself too seriously. We also did a batch of exclusive tees for the pop up shop that sold out at the launch party. We got about 10 shirts from the 90s that meant something to us - whether it be a vintage nike tee, or lakers tee, or a 101 dalmatians shirt, it had some relevance to us, and we printed our logo over it.

What is the price range for Bristol LA?

Our clothes range from 60 to 800 dollars. Jackets run about 500 dollars, Pants around 200 dollars, and tees around 80 dollars. And our limited edition 100 percent cashmere blankets will go for 750 dollars.

How would you describe the theme of the interior of the pop-up?

The interior of the pop up is very clean and not too cluttered. We took inspiration from some of our favorite stores around the world and built our own racks out of light colored wood and copper which gives the space a unique feel. The ceilings are high and we always have some lavender essential oils in the corner to give the store a refreshing smell and feel.

Any future plans after this pop-up? Any plans to move into brick-and-mortars?

For now, we are just going to continue throwing pop ups and keep pushing our webstore and accounts we are in all around the world. With saying that, a permanent space/storefront would be awesome to have. Someday it will happen for sure.

Photos: Bristol