Fred Segal dies: Los Angeles retail icon was 87

A pioneer in the shop-in-shop concept, his ivy-covered store on Melrose has become a place where celebrities and fashionistas mingle.

Fred Segal, the retail giant who helped shape the fashion and culture landscape in Los Angeles by launching new designers and providing yarns to a top clientele like The Beatles, Diana Ross, The Jackson 5 and Angelina Jolie, have passed away. He was 87 years old.

Segal died Thursday of complications from a stroke at Providence Saint John Health Center in Santa Monica, a publicist said.

He had suffered a stroke on February 5, 2014, which he announced on a greeting card sent at the end of the year to his friends and family with a message that “life as we are knowledge would never be the same again ”. But the enigmatic Segal showed off his personality and will to live by including a photo of himself wearing a hat, smoking a cigarette and holding up a middle finger with the tagline “Caress That”.

At the time, her daughter Annie Segal said The Hollywood Reporter that “the doctors warned us that there was a slim chance of survival, so we were prepared for the worst. It is a miracle that he is not only alive, but living well under the circumstances.”

Segal opened his first eponymous store, a denim designer empire, in 1961 on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. According to the brand’s website, it was a modest 350 square foot space, with 85% of the inventory being “his namesake denim jeans alongside chambray, velvet and flannel shirts and pants. “.

He later moved the operation to the place for which it is best known, at Melrose Avenue and Crescent Heights Boulevard, and this drew in crowds and caused traffic jams as shoppers descended to buy denim that protruded by far the usual prices of the time. (Segal sold jeans for $ 19.95 while other stores offered styles for $ 3.)

Segal proved he had a flair for emerging designers, but he also shaped a retail experience that would transform the industry. He pioneered the new concept of in-store boutique and experiential retailing that introduced emerging brands synonymous with SoCal style (think Juicy Couture, Hard Candy Cosmetics, and Earl Jeans).

According to the company, early clients included The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Ross and The Jackson 5, and Farrah Fawcett was pictured on a skateboard in Segal jeans for an advertising campaign.

Segal, who created an atmosphere where trend-obsessed artists, musicians and fashionistas could mingle under one roof, attributed some of their success to maintaining a degree of honesty with their clients.

“I learned at a very young age that the no-competition zone is about integrity,” he said. “So if people are totally honest with themselves and then honest with everyone around them, there’s no competition in that.

“For example, when I was selling in my store to my customers and they wanted to buy this or that, if they would put on an outfit and ask me for my opinion, part of the time I would say, ‘Take this, don’t ‘don’t even buy that, that would be ridiculous, you don’t even look good in there. It really is a deep honesty. You don’t find that in business, you know? “

The iconic ivy-covered retail spot in West Hollywood has become a celebrity hotspot over the years and was featured in the classic 1995 teen comedy. Distraught.

“Lucy! Where’s my white collarless Fred Segal shirt? Cher said of Alicia Silverstone in the film directed by Amy Heckerling. A few years later, Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods states in The revenge of a blonde (2001), “And last week I saw Cameron Diaz at Fred Segal’s, and I told her not to buy that really obnoxious Angora sweater.”

Jokes aside, it was not uncommon to see Diaz or other A-List stars like Jennifer Aniston browsing Fred Segal’s stores or dining at his bustling on-site restaurant which was, for many years, a must-see. for lunch and dinner.

Segal extended his brand to several outposts as his California empire grew with addresses in Santa Monica, and he filled the premises with family members. His son Michael would eventually become CEO and his daughters Annie and Sharon once maintained their own stores in the store.

In 2012, New York-based media company Sandow acquired the worldwide licensing rights to the name Fred Segal. The company is now owned by Global Icons, which acquired the brand in 2019.

According to the company’s website, there are now locations on Sunset Boulevard; in Malibu; at LAX; in Bern, Germany; and Taipei, and reports this week indicate additional locations are planned for Las Vegas. Still, it hasn’t been immune to the recent drop in retail, as its Santa Monica location has closed and the Melrose outpost is no longer the hot spot it used to be. in the old days.

Segal “was an innovator, a trendsetter, a rule breaker, a mentor to so many people, such a lover of life and a humanitarian,” his family said in a statement. “Anyone who knew him felt his powerful energy. He worked his whole life to love himself and to teach us to love each other. Until the end, he urged us to never give up. will always be loved and famous. “

Survivors include his wife, Tina; five children, 10 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, two stepchildren and a step-grandson.

Donations in her name can be made to the Segal Family-United World Foundation at 10960 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90024.