Star Quality

Tod's newly redesigned flagship on Rodeo Drive marks the launch of its new "Home" store concept, which aims to turn traditional retail on its head by offering customers a welcoming, living room-esque atmosphere in which to shop and relax, replete with custom-made furniture, handmade wool carpets and details such as bookcases, desks and walls covered in framed pictures, more redolent of a warm family domicile than the often-stark spaces of designer boutiques. The new concept, set to be rolled out in Tod's flagships worldwide, continues Tod's focus on the home and, more specifically, core family values, exemplified by projects such as 2009’s collaboration with fashion journalist Donatella Sartorio, the book Italian Touch (which profiled Italian families in their home environments) and Elliot Erwitt’s campaign Icons By An Icon (in which the Magnum photographer shot real families worldwide wearing classic Tod's products). On the third floor, the brand has collaborated with production designer Dante Feretti (the man responsible for the immersive sets of Gangs of New York and The Age of Innocence) to channel the historic glamour of the shop's Beverly Hills location, with a VIP area inspired by classic Hollywood hangouts such as Ciros and Mocambo—the preferred nightspots of Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Clark Gable in the early 1940s. The chic space (which welcomed stars including Halle Berry and Anjelica Houston when it opened last week) is decorated with lacquered paneled walls with amber mirroring and even features an original 1946 Rock-Ola jukebox. The redesign—of which we offer an exclusive preview today— brings Tod's custom-made service stateside for the first time (it was previously only available in Paris, Milan and Münich), and also provides the occasion for the launch of the "Script Bag," a new creation for Tod's from Hollywood costume designer Milena Canonero (whose credits include Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and The Shining).