Kitson founder Fraser Ross has amassed a loyal following not just for his merchant prowess, but what’s now become an annual holiday tradition at his Robertson Boulevard flagship.
While Taylor Swift made headlines this week as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, Kitson’s turning heads with its own take on the accolade.
The Los Angeles contemporary retailer, which counts four stores, has adorned its Robertson Boulevard windows each holiday since 2020 with poster-size images calling out high-profile names for alleged hypocrisies in a cross between Time’s People of the Year and the snark of a Barneys window by Simon Doonan.
“Instead of the Macy’s window, it’s the Kitson hypocrites of the year windows,” Ross told Vernon Proper.
Each year he polls his followers for window suggestions. This year’s edition, which Ross calls a “Kitson Fable,” includes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for reportedly flying on jets while pushing their non-profit toward a goal of net zero carbon emissions, a critique of Gavin Newsom’s performance as California governor, Oprah and Dwayne Johnson for the backlash they received around the Maui fires this year and California violent crimes statistics.
Ross built Kitson over the decades with a store assortment that’s mixed his ability to spot up-and-coming brands and trademark hot phrases, in addition to merchandise with astute references to pop culture – and now politics.
“Politicians are the new celebrities,” Ross noted of his windows, which have led people – even some straight from the airport with luggage in tow – to pose for pictures in front of the display.
The windows have nabbed Kitson plenty of buzz and business from their start in December 2020.
“I did it on a whim, very quickly because [business] was dead. Covid was so bad, no one was leaving their house, the restaurants were closed again, and I said, ‘Well, I’m just going to do something funny in the windows because no one’s going to see it.’ I usually just do something fun and jolly,” Ross recalled of how the windows started.
Kitson’s first “People of the Year” group included former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Nancy Pelosi among several others.
Ross said people told him he was “brave” for calling politicians and celebrities out. He just thought they were the Kitson version of the Barneys creations thought up by Doonan, the retailer’s former creative director, who once described his holiday window creations to WWD as celebrity caricatures.
“I thought we’d do no Christmas [business] and it would be dead,” Ross said of the first year he tried the windows.
Instead, the display sparked a frenzy.
“I had to hire someone just to answer the phone. There were thousands of DMs an hour. The online orders, I couldn’t keep up; I had to cancel orders. It went crazy. It was our biggest month ever [in 2020],” Ross said. “It was insane.”
The business hasn’t stopped.
Although retail’s challenging, Kitson is still growing. It counts its flagship store and a Kitson Kids on Robertson, in addition to locations in Beverly Hills and the Pacific Palisades.
The company’s Beverly Hills location had operated out of a 1,400-square-foot store for two years before making the move in August to 5,200 square feet on Beverly Boulevard.
Ross carved out about 800 square feet within the space for Beverly Hills-dedicated merchandise – everything from slippers and pillows to items trademarked with the phrase “Meet Me in Beverly Hills.” He’s selling everything from high-end art to local labels such as Jet, Free City and Sol Angeles.
“It’s a lively store. Beverly Hill’s a different beast [of a business],” Ross said. “The traffic, it’s like Kitson [on Robertson] in 2004. Here, people walk in the store with a Burberry bag and they’ve just shopped at Goyard, but we appeal to everyone.”
While he’s been asked to open shops in other cities, such as Malibu, he’s unsure of what the future looks like for brick-and-mortar. Competition is fierce and the plethora of shoppers taking pictures in store that are then seen by competitors doesn’t help.
For now, Ross is focused on building upon the successes of his existing store footprint.
“I don’t know if stores are the future now because of the picture taking and the Googling [to comparison shop],” he said. “Online is. Concept stores in a high-traffic area are, but I don’t know about in malls. You lost [boutique Los Angeles retailer] Ron Robinson. You lost Colette in Paris. Those are multi-brand stores of a niche value and that’s because it’s a very hard business to do.”
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