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French model VEJA has arrange store in Los Angeles, with a brand new boutique on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.
Tucked away in a historic brick storefront (that also bears some former signage on the awning), the brand new VEJA house merges the model’s city aesthetic with the neighborhood’s laidback California vibes. It additionally marks VEJA’s third bodily retail location within the U.S. — and first on the West Coast — after retailer openings in Nolita and Williamsburg.
VEJA
The VEJA retailer was designed by structure agency OWIU (Solely Method Is Up), who labored with the model’s in-house design workforce to create a “minimalist and aesthetic house impressed by the California coast.” To wit: the shop has an industrial and “mineral” really feel, with uncovered beams and concrete reflecting the sandy shores of close by Venice Seaside, whereas “California Gold” boulders provide each seating and show choices for sneakers and consumers alike.
The again of the shop incorporates a shoe restore workshop, the place devoted cobblers will restore previous pairs of VEJA sneakers, as a part of the model’s efforts to advertise sustainability and re-use quite than overconsumption. The cobbler may even restore different manufacturers and kinds of sneakers, even when they had been bought elsewhere.
Apart from being a footwear pioneer — recognized for its use of Brazilian and Peruvian natural cotton uppers, in addition to Amazonian rubber for its soles — VEJA has lengthy been recognized for opening doorways, from its program at French logistics warehouse Log’ins, the place it employs disabled and marginalized people, to creating new pathways for Brazilian laborers. Now, they’re opening a literal new door in Venice.
THR caught up with VEJA co-founder Sébastien Kopp (who began the model in 2004 with classmate-turned-business accomplice François-Ghislain Morillion) to talk about touchdown in LA, the imaginative and prescient for the brand new retailer and the way Angelenos stand out from the Parisian trend set.
Why did you resolve to open in LA?
For us, opening a spot is at all times a query of feeling. We journey, we ask lots of people on the way in which, and we really feel. So we determined to open a spot in LA two years in the past. We had lots of curiosity from VEJA followers to open a spot on the West Coast, and [we] have been many instances over time, visiting, getting a way of the town, and getting aligned. I’d go to see the individuals at Patagonia, to talk about our natural cotton work, or to do conferences about VEJA. For Europeans, it’s a form of dream metropolis. We all know Los Angeles has been via lots these years, and particularly in 2025, and it’s significant to be becoming a member of this group.
Los Angeles has so many nice purchasing neighborhoods – why did you select Venice?
We knew Venice particularly nicely, and likewise Silverlake, Melrose, and downtown LA. However strolling by Abbot Kinney persuaded us immediately. It’s the extra “European” vibe of LA, with a mixture of vacationers, surfers, artists. Some years in the past, I went to Venice seashore at 6 a.m. to surf, and I ended up browsing with dolphins. For a European, there’s a form of magic in Venice with the [Santa Monica Pier ferris] wheel, the shops lining the streets, the basketball gamers, skate boarders, and operating crews. It was simply evident that this was our spot—and much more so after the fires, and what’s going on within the U.S. proper now, we predict that Los Angeles and California are tremendous essential.
What was the imaginative and prescient for the shop, each by way of aesthetics and feeling?
Like our different shops, the house itself has uncooked vibes, working with rocks and wooden. It additionally has a cobbler to restore sneakers from all manufacturers. We saved it easy however stunning, and we didn’t destroy what was there beforehand, however quite, emphasised it. We prefer to take locations and to respect the soul of them, and to adapt to every house greater than to impose our method. Because of this all of the VEJA shops are completely different; we adapt to the place we discover. It takes extra time, however you’re feeling higher as soon as you’re inside. Past what we make and how we designed it, we will attempt to create a spot the place individuals can speak about ecology, financial and social justice. It’s changing into extra uncommon currently.
How would you describe LA model and the way is it related or completely different to Parisian model?
It’s so completely different! Paris is all about being dressed up, with lots of equipment. LA is extra a mixture of cool, new world tendencies, from music to operating. It has extra of a hyperlink with the life-style of Brazil, with the vehicles, sports activities, and browsing. We simply launched our new sandals, the Arpoador, made in Brazil with our wild rubber from Amazonia within the soles, and we already know it’s a big success worldwide. For our trainers, we work with César Vilalba, a designer based mostly in LA, who’s our metropolis information right here.
Apart out of your new store, what are a few of your favourite locations in LA to go to?
We love Silverlake, the Hills, Malibu, and likewise downtown LA. I’m a fan of Mohawk Basic retailer, and the man is so inspiring in what he does. We’ve had the prospect to satisfy many instances. There are such a lot of spots to speak about. I bear in mind having sushi with associates downtown, in a brilliant excessive tower, and that is what we love in LA: the town incorporates multitudes, and you’ll reside 100 lives in Los Angeles.
VEJA is now open at 1108C Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice.