With the opening of its Los Angeles flagship store, SKIMS has planted itself on one of the most iconic stretches of Sunset Boulevard, less as a retail space, and more as an architectural performance. Designed by Rafael de Cárdenas, Ltd., the 4,546-square-foot store reframes the brand’s sculptural aesthetic into physical space, channeling SKIMS’ body-centric ethos into a highly tactile and immersive environment. Just across the street, Mel’s Drive-In serves up a brief but memorable nod to car culture and diner kitsch with the SKIMS Drive-In pop-up, an unexpected architectural pairing where minimalist refinement meets neon nostalgia.
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The flagship’s architectural language builds on the formal vocabulary introduced in SKIMS’ New York location, but here, it expands into a broader dialogue with the LA streetscape. The façade invites with discretion, tempered, clean, and controlled, but within, the space unfolds into a carefully orchestrated interior. Custom-designed rounded-edge fixtures and tonal mannequins sit within monochromatic curves and coursing light channels, rendered in Corian and ultrasuede. The gesture is both monumental and sensual, softening classical minimalism with a warmth rarely seen in retail environments.
At the store’s entrance, a commanding 12-foot sculpture by longtime collaborator Vanessa Beecroft announces the store’s commitment to body-conscious form and visual storytelling. It is a direct nod to the brand’s roots in performance and image-making, now extended into spatial design. Rafael de Cárdenas describes the design as a balance between “monumental buoyancy and serene intimacy,” a fitting description for a brand built on technical shapewear and cultural ubiquity.
The architectural expression is undeniably SKIMS: tight material palettes, spatial restraint, and an immersive layout that controls movement and sightlines. Yet it also allows for architectural play. Light behaves like a material here, carving out intimacy in transitional spaces and highlighting garments with the same reverence given to sculptural objects. There’s no retail clutter; instead, the space feels contemplative, more akin to a boutique gallery than a conventional storefront.
To mark the opening, SKIMS launched a short-term activation across the street at Mel’s Drive-In. The SKIMS Drive-In pop-up, open from April 2nd through 6th, temporarily reimagines the historic diner through the brand’s aesthetic lens. With a custom menu, photo booth, and subtle design interventions, the experience playfully contrasts the flagship’s subdued materiality. It’s a humorous nod to LA’s car-centric culture and diner history, an unlikely pairing that reframes the SKIMS brand within its local context.
While much of the attention may fall on the celebrity pull of Kim Kardashian and the brand’s viral growth, the architectural achievement of the Los Angeles flagship stands on its own merit. It is a study in restraint, scale, and spatial intimacy, quietly radical in a city known for spectacle.
