Chanel Surfing

Historically, European brands haven’t expected their Los Angeles clientele to veer too far from tony Rodeo Drive, but this May, Chanel is breaking with that tradition. No longer content with just a Beverly Hills boutique, the French house is opening a second outpost on North Robertson Boulevard, the thoroughfare best known as a shopping destination for young celebs like Lindsay, Britney and Nicole—and a hunting ground for the paparazzi who stalk them. “We are calling this concept Chanel gallery, as the merchandise will not at all be presented like the other stores,” said Peter Marino, who designed the interior. An airy white cube space with 15-foot ceilings and a 25-foot-wide retractable glass door, the 5,000-square-foot shop will offer a tightly edited and frequently changing selection of Chanel pieces rather than the full seasonal collections available at the Rodeo location. Sounds perfectly suited to a starlet’s attention span.