ML - Vegas Magazine

2014 - Issue 2 - Spring

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOB KEPLER T he retail gods have smiled upon Sarah Nisperos—even as colleagues and competitors may laugh at the petite, feisty, tirelessly upbeat fash- ionist a's approach to business. W hile ot her stores a im to move product, Nisperos has turned her Downtown shop, Coterie, into a nonstop fashion party—pushy salespeople be damned. Her delightfully cluttered store—with cool magazines up front, loads of compelling threads on the racks, and work from local artists dominating the walls—is designed inten- Fashion's Happy Hours RETAILER AND SALONNIÈRE SARAH NISPEROS IS CULTIVATING CONVERSATION AND STYLE IN HER NEWERA SHOP, COTERIE. BY MICHAEL KAPLAN tionally to attract people who want to hang out and add something to the conversation. The selling of designer jeans, she figures, will take care of itself. Hence, iPhone chargers in the back and a big ottoman right in the center of things. T he f irst t ime I v isited t he store, I not iced a secu r it y guard and wondered why Nisperos needed him. It turns out she didn't. It was the height of summer and he was there to soak up the air-conditioning. "Bars are all about people ha ng ing out ," she says. "W hy can't a clothing store be the same thing?" Consider ing her backg round—a genera l manager, buyer, and innovative store opener for Ma rc Jacobs who beca me a yogawea r designer and launched Coterie at the request of her longtime buddy Tony Hsieh—it would be a mug's game to bet against her. Sharing Hsieh's desire to build community, Nisperos has turned her store into something of a salon where styl- ish, hard-to-find designer garments just happen to be available for purchase. With impeccable taste, she stocks elite brands like UNIF ("which has a huge cult following," she says), Skingraft, Jean Shop, and Iron Fist ("That one ref lects the 1990s but hits the 20s and 30s demographic that follows clothing in social media"). Despite her acumen as a tastemaker, how- ever, investors quest ioned Nisperos's decision to create a hangout space and to keep the old CHECKS CASHED sign (now hung upside down) rather than put up a neon COTERIE sign. It was hard to grasp how she would generate money with a business plan that involved people lounging. But instead of ROI, she says, "it generates ROC: return on com- munity. Eventually that becomes return on investment." Nisperos intends to expand the store into Coterie's back room, recently vacated by Downtown Project employees. One idea is to turn it into a "denim bar," a members-only club with single-malt Scotch, fashion symposia, a humi- dor built into what was once a vault, and a prog ram in which members earn points by, yes, hanging out. For now, though, she's cultivating a vibe while developing a follow- ing among Downtown's thinkers and talkers. "During the best days, the store is a party," she says. "Everyone we know is in here. They're eating, working, dancing, trying on clothing. They feel like they have a sense of emotional ownership. They open boxes and even help sell stuff. We don't have mirrors in the dressing rooms, so you have to come out and show everyone what you're trying on." T he com munit y feeling clea rly jibes w it h Hsieh's ma ndate, but Nisperos—who knew how to draw a crowd for Marc Jacobs—believes her idea has legs. "It was scary at first," she says of implementing her "social sales" paradigm. "But now I think every store should do it." 515 Fremont St., 702-350-2939; coteriedowntown.com V INSIGHT Favorite local band: "Imagine Dragons, of course—my boyfriend's brother is in the group. I just saw them at the Hard Rock and they were amazing." Favorite kid- friendly place: "Sky Zone. It's wall-to- wall trampolines and no floor. I want to do a staff meeting there." In the new Downtown boutique where she holds court, Sarah Nisperos is fashioning a lively social scene. 58 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM DESERT PATROL 058_V_SP_DP_Spring14.indd 58 2/10/14 5:04 PM

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