Jasmin Larian’s Sculptural Inspiration For Cult Gaia’s Newest Flagship Locations

After 10 years of building a global presence through social media, e-commerce and wholesale, Cult Gaia celebrated the launch of two flagship locations. The stores located in Los Angeles and New York City will be a natural outpost for brand fans to shop and experience this physical touchpoint as an extension of the aesthetic they know and love. Much like the products, the stores will allow the eyes to wander and consistently inspire discovery with detailed arches, unique plaster and skylight detailing. Jasmin Larian, founder and CEO of Cult Gaia, designed the stores to give her customers a unique shopping experience.

While the brand has had many successful milestones, Larian had never felt the brand translated to its full potential online or at wholesale partners. “I never liked giving up control to wholesale in terms of the experience that people have with our product. That was always something that was hard for me. I think your experience purchasing a product is also an extension of the product,” she said. “I feel like I discovered our customer and they us through social media and our e-commerce business but I always wanted to offer them more of us and who we are in a physical space. Having to depend on just images to sell a product is what made us successful but what gives us longevity is the beautiful product, the details that digital can’t capture. It’s so exciting and meaningful when we can interact with our customers physically and when they purchase a piece that’s tangible it’s the most validating for me. Being in store is the Cult Gaia experience and a physical extension of the aesthetic we know and love. Our stores have all the detail, magic and restraint that our pieces have. Designing these spaces from start to finish give us the ability to own the customer experience and the vibe completely”

Cult Gaia’s popularity for it’s sculptural designs has not onlt garnered the attention of major celebrities but entire generations of women. Larian attributes the timelessness of her designs to designing against trends, “I’m not a trend girl. I always say the things we make she should want to wear in five years, it shouldn’t be beautiful because everyone else has it. And she shouldn’t want it because it’s a trend. She should want it because it’s something she wants to keep forever.”

When designing the Los Angeles and New York flagships Larian wanted them to feel like a sanctuary that gave the customer an experience where they would want to stay explore regardless if they were purchasing a product. “For Melrose, I was initially drawn to this space because of its half circle shape and location. I also love the design details throughout the store and how my vision of wanting a Cult Gaia temple consecrated to our product came to life. One of my favorite parts is the floor, a puzzle of over 600 individual slabs of limestone, each painstakingly hand drawn and custom cut to create a unique pattern. Another personal highlight are the lights within the store that are plotted in the shape of a Leo zodiac sign, as an homage to me and all my fellow lions. Everything about this store has a special meaning to me and was created with such care. I’m excited for our customers to experience it!” exclaimed Larian. “As for the New York flagship, I drew inspiration from the great colonnades seen in ancient temples. There will be three rooms sculpted within the length of the space, each space providing an intimate shopping experience for customers while at the same time creating an urge to explore. A reflective contrast to the Cult Gaia products, the store will be draped in earthy travertine and plaster surfaces. Nothing in the space is standard; each element is individual.”

As far expanding into more brick-and-mortar locations, Larian wants be where the Cult Gaia customer is. There is currently a Cult Gaia pop-up in Miami but no talks of permanent location as of yet. As with their clothing the Cult Gaia flagships give fashion lovers a place where fashion imitates art.