MsRuffa
Ruffa Gutierrez wears Oliver Tolentino October 10, 2010
Oliver Tolentino’s Melrose Place, a stretch in Los Angeles famous for shopping. Opening the store just came to him organically, having spent eight years going back and forth Manila and Los Angeles.
LA-based Filipino patrons of his, he tells us, also requested that he open one. And, with the help of business partner Andrew Caruthers, a lawyer, and eight years' worth of studying the US market, Oliver Tolentino opened in LA last July, 2009 to about 220 guests.
“Los Angeles,” says Tolentino, “is more centralized. When I went there, I was thinking about Hollywood. There are a lot of glamorous parties held in LA. A lot of stylists are from there. I find the fashion district there more centralized, it’s just in one area.” And he adds, “I have more clients in LA.” While his American business partner, Caruthers confirms, “He just did a wedding for a billionaire’s family in Beverly Hills!”
Even with the US in recession, which caused for a recoiling of the retail industry among others, Tolentino’s business seems to be thriving. “They are really starting to notice him. The great thing about his shop is that we opened at the worst of times, the worst retail market in 50 or a hundred years and all of the stores who were doing what Oliver is doing now are all out of business or not doing it anymore. Oliver is one of the few shops in Los Angeles that offers unique gowns and couture,” says Caruthers. “The Hollywood celebrities and the stylists are finding him.”
Ruffa Gutierrez wears Oliver Tolentino October 10, 2010
Oliver Tolentino’s Melrose Place, a stretch in Los Angeles famous for shopping. Opening the store just came to him organically, having spent eight years going back and forth Manila and Los Angeles.
LA-based Filipino patrons of his, he tells us, also requested that he open one. And, with the help of business partner Andrew Caruthers, a lawyer, and eight years' worth of studying the US market, Oliver Tolentino opened in LA last July, 2009 to about 220 guests.
“Los Angeles,” says Tolentino, “is more centralized. When I went there, I was thinking about Hollywood. There are a lot of glamorous parties held in LA. A lot of stylists are from there. I find the fashion district there more centralized, it’s just in one area.” And he adds, “I have more clients in LA.” While his American business partner, Caruthers confirms, “He just did a wedding for a billionaire’s family in Beverly Hills!”
Even with the US in recession, which caused for a recoiling of the retail industry among others, Tolentino’s business seems to be thriving. “They are really starting to notice him. The great thing about his shop is that we opened at the worst of times, the worst retail market in 50 or a hundred years and all of the stores who were doing what Oliver is doing now are all out of business or not doing it anymore. Oliver is one of the few shops in Los Angeles that offers unique gowns and couture,” says Caruthers. “The Hollywood celebrities and the stylists are finding him.”