Scott Devon On Building a Modern Luxury Superbrand

The following is a guest post by Macala Wright Lee, an author who writes about the convergence of fashion, retail and technology, and founder of FashionablyMarketing.me

You may have never imagined a place where couture dresses are intermixed with Motor City inspired denim designed by Agatha Blois, mirrored tables and Shinya Kimura motorcycles all in a single retail environment  (that most would call an architectural masterpiece), but that’s what you’ll find at DEVON.

Last month, Scott Devon made a mark on Los Angeles by opening DEVON, his first flagship store located in the iconic Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive area, with an event benefiting the LA Museum of Contemporary Art . The 10,000 square foot boutique and event space, located just off of Wilshire Boulevard  and Canon Drive, is the latest in a series of retail locations opening store doors and gradually starting to thrive in the luxury retail area of Beverly Hills.

The purpose of creating and opening DEVON was to enable a customer to find “any product in any category to make their heart beat faster.” This goal translates into a uniquely engineered store that offers everything from minimalistic motorcycles complimented by intricate men’s timepieces, to futuristic TRON-inspired jewelry that can be paired with premium denim that hugs a woman’s curves like nothing else.

The eclectic DEVON brand serves as a constant runway of luxury and modern masterpieces, ranging from world-record breaking super cars and motorcycles, to celebrity favorite rock-ready denim and leather, and flawless ready-to-wear and couture clothing, timepieces and jewelry. To gain better insight into the brand, I sat down with Scott Devon for an interview:

Devon is a design lab dedicated to creating innovative luxury products that exemplify the American spirit. How did your roots in the Los Angeles creative community inspire or influence the opening of your flagship store in Southern California?

Devon: Los Angeles, it’s always had certain energy about the city. Because LA is home to multiple industries – fashion, entertainment, music – it allowed me to launch a full lifestyle brand.  In the 60’s, I was working with Jason Wilbur on a few automotive projects that involved a 1960s AC Cobra, and that project represented the birth of brand with the development of the DEVON GTX racecar.  Jason then showed me some sketches for a watch idea and in the true American entrepreneurial spirit we went and explored options to make these ideas come to life—we actually ended up finding an aerospace firm that could engineer the DEVON Tread1 timepiece.   We are in a place where everything is possible, and creativity and ideas are truly nurtured and allowed to grow into special products.

It seems DEVON is the culmination of all your experience with in luxury – from automotive to architecture to art – how did you use your knowledge and expertise to design the retail environment?

Devon: I had partners. Branding expert Peter Arnell and I developed the concept in Tokyo. We actually used images and products we found there to add an Asian influence to work we produced in Los Angeles.  When it came to the apparel team, I developed a creative team that could combine the style of modernism and industrial design into apparel.  I personally design the Couture, Ready To Wear, jewelry, and furniture, working with a great team including former Ralph Lauren designer Keith Lissner, legendary leather and denim designer Agatha Blois, and Amy Meadow Hochfelder, who’s worked at Donna Karan and Rachel Roy. The overall DEVON vision is rooted in my passions in architecture, travel experiences as well as American and global cultures, which are reflected  closely in the design of all apparel and accessories found in the collection.

All of the apparel sold in DEVON is manufactured and produced in the US; what other models of sustainability and ethical production practices are incorporated into the store and its products?

Devon: Everything was designed with sustainability in mind, I want to amplify environments, not pollute them. The furniture is eco-friendly and designed from recycled aluminum from automobiles. Everything is manufactured in the US to maintain the highest quality standards process, and so my team and I can be as close as possible to the entire production process.  Productions cost are not an issue for me; quality is an issue for me, and having a eye and hand in the entire process allows DEVON to maintain quality assurance in every capacity.

The Southern California market is very unique in regards to permanent and visiting shoppers. When developing a luxury retail environment in California, what advice would you offer designer or retailers?

Spaces need to accentuate and reflect the product. Remember when Judith Lieber started to design her clutches? They were designed to sit on a table, they were meant to be focal points and conversation pieces, they were not meant to be set on the floor or on the side of chair. To this day, she maintains that.  I view the retail space as a product extension of DEVON itself—it should aesthetically and viscerally represent the DEVON brand. The retail environment should be a manifestation of your brand; the DEVON store serves as another avenue to translate my technical understanding of form, space, and aesthetic into all elements of my brand.

What are your fashion favorite brands? What online sites do you read on a daily basis?

I love Balmain, Alexander McQueen and Christian Lacroix – designers who aren’t afraid to take risks. I love shopping at Maxfield’s and for reading, Fashionising and Women’s Wear Daily online.