James Perse

By: Susan Michals | Photography by Steven Lippman | June 04, 2009 | Design

MM: I hear you’re taking your other Malibu store in a new direction.
JP: It’s going to be called Yosemite, and it’s going to be an active line. We’re developing this brand that’s everything from yoga to hiking to outerwear. We’re going to have running shoes and hiking shoes. I’m not developing my own running shoes, by the way, but it’s going to be all my picks and the things that I love that are from the best-performing brands. Right now, to get a pair of running shoes, you have to go to Santa Monica, and there’s no one store that encapsulates everything. We’re also giving a percentage of the profits to back to the community. We plan on working with organizations like The Surfrider Foundation, California Wildlife and the fire department.

MM: Now that you have a child, is that going to influence your designs?
JP: I did kids’ stuff before and didn’t quite understand it, but …

MM: Are you like (to the baby), “Dude, I wanna put you in this outfit and this one…”
JP: (laughs) Oh, for sure. I’m getting yelled at by more mothers [about why] we haven’t had the kids’ line out yet.

MM: And now you understand why.
JP: One of the best achievements I’ve had is to get little kids talking about the softness of the T-shirts, like they were their blankies. The youngest kids could communicate the most efficiently what we were doing with the brand, what the brand was about. It was the ultimate compliment.

Special thanks to groomer Mitch Stone

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