Sales & Shopping

November 2, 2006

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Just Opened

Just Opened: All Purpose

The menswear label Filius spawns the inspiration for a new Los Angeles boutique. By Dena Smolek

Slightly off the beaten path of L.A.'s frenetic, retail-heavy West Third, All Purpose is a diminutive shop on South Flores Street stocked with a handy assortment of men's goods. Alessandro Tomassetti handles the design side while partner Alon Rosenfeld takes care of the business. But not only is the destination new, the shop opening coincides with the launch of Tomassetti's own menswear line, Filius. Alessandro's time at local designers Petro Zillia and Louis Verdad helped fuel his passion for design as well as retail. He even chronicled the opening process on a blog (www.shopallpurpose.com). "The store came from having designed Filius and really wanting to present it in the right way to the customer," says Alessandro. "There is a whole experience that goes with the line, and so we tried to bring together other items that would complement the collection and extend the point of view that we wanted."

The contemporary décor of the shop features Japanese wood and steel fixtures, and prominently showcased on clean shelves is a selection of Filius angora jersey T-shirts and alpaca-merino blend sweaters. Overall, Filius merges classic appeal with innovative details—woven shirts with French cuffs and French collars, dress shirts with articulated elbows, and shirts with strap pockets. Playing on the idea of "the nerd," Alessandro also created a basic utility shirt with a clever interpretation of the pocket protector-removable for a versatile but still crisp design.
In addition to offering a platform for Filius, All Purpose was created to showcase like-minded designers, too. There are limited-edition pieces as well as customized items made exclusively for the store. In stock are CB Perfumes, 4VOO men's skincare products, leather carryalls and weekender bags, hats by milliner Anita Hopkins, stainless-steel wallets from Stewart-Stand, bags from Vlieger & Vandam, original aviator sunglasses from the '80s, Subversive and Josh Hickey jewelry, and items from San Francisco art collective Citizen Citizen. Alessandro is also partnering with Canadian typographer Marian Bantjes for the first in a series of limited-edition All Purpose denim made with Work Custom Jeans. Marian and other designers oversee the back pocket design, All Purpose creates the silhouette, and Work Jeans handles the construction.

Alessandro and Alon will also be opening the space up for local trunk shows and events, which will include some womenswear designers, too. "We want to keep it fresh and feature new talent, talent that would otherwise go unnoticed because of all the red tape," Alessandro says.

All Purpose, 144 S. Flores (at 3rd Street), Los Angeles, 323-866-1828, www.filiusdesign.com

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