The former Hollywood Foreign Press Association space in West Hollywood has been given a makeover — literally — as the new home of Wild West Social House, a membership-based fashion rental service that bills itself as a cross between Soho House and a luxury showroom featuring the best new and vintage designer brands.
The brainchild of Middleman Store founder Kyle Julian Skye and former Fred Segal men’s buyer Max Feldmann, Wild West Social House offers its members a place to pull (or purchase) clothing, footwear and accessories, while also functioning as a social club for meetings, happy hours, casual get-togethers and evening events alike. Already a hit with in-the-know stylists and celebrities, Wild West opened last year in a smaller location off Sunset Boulevard, but quickly expanded to its new Robertson Avenue space in September.
The new location boasts two floors of impeccably-curated racks and a private styling area, in addition to meeting rooms, open work spaces, a billiards room and a large patio. Skye and Feldmann hope to eventually add a dedicated bar and dining options as well. While the club counts a number of A-list actors and musicians among its members (“Award season is a busy time for us,” Feldmann notes), the owners say Wild West has become a destination for everyday consumers and fashion fans as well.
As Skye tells THR, the club “aims to change the way people interact with clothing for the better — to build an ecosystem for great products to thrive in,” he explains, and offer people “the ability to still ‘make a day’ of going to a boutique, while delivering pieces in a way that makes sense for today’s consumer.”
Thousands of pieces are available to pull from Wild West, with separate sections for men’s and women’s fashion (though the owners will tell you the majority of their pieces are really gender-fluid these days). Members can select everything from designer gowns, handbags and jewelry, to casual denim, leather jackets and vintage band tees. The clientele ranges from stylists pulling red carpet and photoshoot looks, to actors looking to make a stylish impression at auditions, to busy entrepreneurs and business owners who benefit from having someone curate a weekly wardrobe for them. Wild West has also become a go-to spot for influencers seeking out unique looks for their social media content, as well as everyday consumers tired of the repetitive retail offerings.
Items at the showroom are culled from a small list of consigners, as well as from Skye and Feldmann’s personal archives (the former grew up with punk and new wave musician parents, while the latter ran “Recess,” a vintage shop-in-shop that had outposts in Fred Segal’s West Hollywood, Malibu and Vegas locations). The two also source pieces from local and international designers directly.
Membership rates for Wild West Social House currently start at $299/month, which lets users rent any combination of clothing up to $3,000 in total value. The highest tier of membership is $999/month, and allows members to rent up to 15 pieces at a time, with no cap on dollar amount. Free clothing drop-off and pick-up is also included, along with complimentary tailoring.
Of course, there is no shortage of showrooms in L.A. for stylists and celebrities to pull from, but Skye and Feldmann say Wild West stands out for its “white glove” approach. Every member is assigned a personal concierge at the club, who can send over selects when new items come in, or help source a hard-to-find piece. “Your concierge knows you, your sizes, preferred brands, and styles,” Feldmann explains, “and if you need something shipped, tailored, picked up, or delivered, they’ll gladly assist.”
And while the idea of clothing rental or subscription-style services aren’t exactly new, the guys say Wild West improves upon the experience, by offering access and exclusivity. “The idea of a non-celebrity or stylist being able to rent the high-end clothing you’d see in a major boutique is unheard of, and even those allowed to, are restricted by unwieldy restocking fees,” Feldmann explains. “When we rolled out our model, it was catered to stylists who were overcharged and under-serviced, paying thousands a week for rentals while being forced to deal with cleaning, repairs, pick-ups, and drop-offs themselves. Along the way,” he says, “we realized the public loves renting clothes as well, but are served unsatisfactory options in a strictly transactional way.”
The goal: “to treat renting as a luxury experience for those who choose to seek it out.”
Nowhere is that better represented than in the club’s new space, a 1940s, Elizabethan-style building that had sat vacant after the HFPA was dissolved in 2023.
“The first sight of the stained glass windows and high, painted ceilings took Max and I’s breath away,” Skye says. “Since then, we’ve become familiar with the eccentricities of the building (‘like it is without a doubt haunted,‘ he jests) and somehow, that’s exactly what we needed.”
“The building’s past feels indelible to its present being, which is exactly as most of our garments feel,” Skye continues. “These pieces have traveled decades to find their home within our walls, through countless lives and wardrobes, and it’s only fitting that they’re given a home as beautiful and well-traveled.”
As for why he thinks celebrities and fashionphiles have flocked to the club, Skye believes the answer is simple: “We have such respect for the great retail stores and design houses of the past,” he explains, “but share a frustration for much of what fashion consumption has become. We share a belief,” Skye says, “that all the clothing the world needs, already exists.”
Wild West Social House is open now at 646 N Robertson Blvd. See membership rates and hours on their official website.
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