Julia Gogosha’s Echo Park flagship is just 2 years old. She describes it with a twinkle in her eye. “A Tetris cathedral artspace playground is how I imagined it…with different sources of inspiration, including artists, sculptors and works of art for which I am passionate.”
A minimal colour palette, injected with saturated tones of lilac, coral and mint, contributes to a bold deliberately architectural interior with the wow factor, designed with precision to house one of the most carefully curated selections of eyewear by internationally acclaimed independent designers. A variety of sunglass frames are displayed, intentionally visible, demonstrating their colour, shape and character and inviting customers to view them like works of art, and try them on. While the optical frames are housed in custom flat file/bleacher seating hybrid sculptural furniture cladded in speckled playground rubber. The space has been designed to include a state-of-the-art in-house workshop. Above: Julia Gogosha, Gogosha Optique – photo by Stephen Schauer
Curated with “the best of each category”, the boutique offers a mix of design-focused core collections such as theo and Anne & Valentin, and design brands offering a variation of price points including Kaleos from Barcelona. Two internationally successful homegrown collections – Ahlem and JacquesMarieMage – are represented alongside some of the most avantgarde designers of the moment, Rigards from Hong Kong, Masahiro Marayuma from Japan and Kuboraum from Berlin. Julia is also innovative in collaborations and events with designers and labels bringing where she can a fresh slant to how she presents them to her customers. Launching for Spring, she has a new project underway with Dom Vetro, an LA label specializing in made-to-order and fully customizable frames – and more collaborative concepts are coming soon.
For the current unprecedented situation, as the Coronavirus crisis affects businesses globally, we also talked about what this has entailed so far. In March, Gogosha was open for daily emergencies with one member of staff available in store to fulfil orders and attend to immediate needs such as repairs. The entire Gogosha team have also been providing virtual fittings during the lockdown from home. “We’ve been doing distance fitting appointments intuitively for years, mainly for longstanding clients who might have moved out of the area,” says Julia. “We will continue to adapt and streamline our services to deliver glasses right to the customer’s door. We consider vision essential and will continue to creatively pivot to best service our clients’ vision needs virtually and with a greater appreciation and greater focus on connection and conversation in a time of separation for the safety of humanity.”
Gogosha Optique, Echo Park was designed by John Chen of Formation Association. Gogosha first opened in 2008 in the former location of Silver Lake, east of Hollywood. Gogosha Optique is the winner of the Vision Expo Third Annual OPTImum Retail Award announced in April 2020. For previous articles on Gogosha on Eyestylist visit https://www.eyestylist.com/2017/05/gogosha-pop-2-0/ and https://www.eyestylist.com/2013/10/gogoshagoldsmith-shop-in-shop/
1555 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 – www.gogosha.com
