Downtown New York-based denim label Still Here is opening its first store outside the city, marking a strategic expansion as the brand grows from three to five retail locations this year. The husband-and-wife team behind the label, Sonia and Maurice Mosseri, will open the new Los Angeles shop on Melrose Avenue after launching a fourth New York location last month.
From online experiment to multistate retail play
The Mosseris founded Still Here in 2018 and initially did not plan to prioritize physical stores. The brand’s trajectory changed after an early wholesale break: in 2019 the company sold its first 200 pairs at Barneys, which sold out in roughly 10 days. When Barneys later filed for bankruptcy and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted wholesale channels, the founders shifted to direct online sales via a ShopMy account but encountered high return rates.
The Mosseris attributed those returns to the brand’s construction: Still Here makes jeans from 100 percent cotton, a fit and feel different from the stretch-infused denim that has dominated the mass market. The solution, they decided, was to create in-person shopping experiences where customers can try on and feel the denim before buying.
“We were like, ‘Whoa, these sales are sticky,’” Sonia Mosseri recalled of the Nolita store’s early performance after returns dropped once customers could try on the product in person.
The experiment paid off. In spring 2022, coming out of the pandemic, the Mosseris signed a lease for a 340-square-foot storefront on Elizabeth Street in Nolita. That small space became the brand’s blueprint: lower return rates, sustained purchases and what Maurice described as word-of-mouth momentum among Downtown New Yorkers.
Expanding within New York, then west
Still Here added a second New York store on Madison Avenue at the end of 2023, despite initial doubts about whether the brand’s core customer — the so-called Still Here girl — lived uptown. A Williamsburg shop followed in 2025, and a fourth New York location opened last month. Now the company is launching on Melrose in Los Angeles, taking the brand beyond its New York base for the first time.
- Founders: Sonia and Maurice Mosseri
- Founded: 2018
- Material: 100% cotton denim
- Total stores after expansion: 5 (three to five in 2026)
- Popular styles: Cool Jean (with drawstring toggle), Sport Jean (waistband-free), Everyday Jean
Among the styles the label is known for are the fan-favorite Cool Jean with a drawstring toggle, the waistband-free Sport Jean and the classic Everyday Jean. The product lineup will remain consistent across the new Los Angeles location and the company’s New York stores, according to the brand.
Neighborhood retail and cult followings
Still Here’s rise reflects a larger pattern in Manhattan retail: small, distinctive storefronts can cultivate devoted local followings. Maurice Mosseri said the brand benefitted from downtown’s cultural dynamics, where a tight-knit community and word of mouth can rapidly elevate niche labels.
“If you have a cool brand and a great product in Downtown Manhattan with a small little shop, immediately people flock to it, because it’s ‘if you know, you know,’” Maurice said, describing how the Nolita location helped build the company’s customer base.
The move to Los Angeles suggests the company is ready to test whether that model translates to another major fashion-oriented market with its own influential neighborhoods and celebrity visibility.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Brand founded by Sonia and Maurice Mosseri |
| 2019 | Initial wholesale at Barneys; first 200 pairs sold out |
| 2022 | Opened 340-sq-ft Nolita store on Elizabeth Street |
| 2023 | Opened Madison Avenue store |
| 2025 | Opened Williamsburg location |
| 2026 | Opened fourth New York store and first Los Angeles store on Melrose |
For New Yorkers tracking retail trends, Still Here’s expansion offers a case study in how small-format stores and curated product — rather than mass-market wholesale — can sustain growth. The company’s emphasis on natural-fiber denim and in-person retail experiences underscores the continuing role of physical stores in a post-pandemic apparel market.
As Still Here goes west, the brand will face a new retail environment and customer base. How the Melrose location performs in Los Angeles will tell whether the downtown formula can scale beyond neighborhoods that originally shaped the company’s identity.
Camille Rousseau is the state correspondent covering New York business and retail developments for WE NEWS.
