As her friends and fashion show guests can attest, Lela Rose is the consummate entertainer, and now she’s added a new course.
Debuting over the Fourth of July weekend, the Lela Rose Country Mart will soon start welcoming shoppers in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Housed in a pint-size log cabin that is a mere 15 feet from her store there, the designer will be serving up hospitality essentials and prêt-à-picnic experiences. The pop-up isn’t a fly-by-night grasp at sales for Rose, who now spends the majority of her time in the skier-and-hiker-friendly community. (That is, when she is not in New York City, where her namesake ready-to-wear and bridal company is based.)
The pop-up isn’t the only retail opening that Rose, who trained as a painter and sculptor before getting into fashion, has planned for her 28-year-old company. She will debut a namesake store this fall, and another one will be unveiled in the spring. Her notable clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Chastain, Claire Danes, Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana, Uma Thurman, Jessica Alba and Selma Blair, among others.
While many designers are known to pull all-nighters to finesse a runway look — or seven — Rose has burned the midnight oil to bake pastries for her runway show attendees. Her Wyoming outpost plays up summer entertaining and will be up-and-running through the end of August. The cabin is on the same picturesque property of Lela Rose Ranch — the store where the designer’s clothing and accessories are sold. As a kickoff to promote the country mart, there will be a “Haute Dog” event on July 5. Ball-parking that the size of the crowd will be about 250, Rose said, “When you’re offering free drink and food in Jackson Hole, people will come.”
In the past, the Texan-born creative has used the “adorable, little dollhouse-type back cabin” for other pop-ups like “Christmas in July.” Her idea to partner with the local Chef Nicholas Alessandro for four different picnic menus was genuine. “I love entertaining. I love bringing food into everything that we do,” Rose said.
Picnickers can choose to have lobster rolls and other items that are stowed away in straw picnic baskets with cloth napkins. Having written two books on entertaining, “Prêt-a-Party” and “Fresh Air Affairs,” Rose has borrowed from a few of her recipes to dream up with the chef a few of the picnic items, as well as some of the finds that are being sold in the country mart. Along with “Grand Sue’s sweet and spicy nuts,” (based on her grandmother’s recipe), there are a slew of branded products like napkins and bucket hats with Lela Rose Country Mart patches. Although this is a summer-long venture, Rose said with a laugh, “I’m thinking that we should be keeping this open. Although I don’t know that we’re really in the business of selling spiced nuts and potato chips from Spain. But entertaining is right up my alley.”
Geared for hostess gifts or fill-your-own picnic baskets for “alfresco adventures,” shoppers will find vintage picnic baskets, vintage quilts, Carolina Irving & Daughters plates, Virginia salted peanuts, bamboo plates and other items, Rose said.
Other creatives are digging into the foodie trend in different ways. Oscar de la Renta‘s and Monse’s Laura Kim is pitching in with Wildflower Farms’ harvest dinner series in upstate New York. A few designer labels like Loewe and Staud have taken a more abstract approach, by using produce shapes in their designs. Cafes and culinary treats are increasingly up for sale in many fashion stores, including at Uniqlo’s New York City flagship, which unveiled a cafe in March.
Far from new to the food and fashion trend, Rose published her first book about entertaining a decade ago. She said Tuesday, “I was always baking for my fashion shows. But then we started turning our fashion shows into mini-events. You knew you were going to get food, drink and a party. And we were showing the clothes in a way that I envisioned you entertaining.”