Silk Laundry Celebrates the Opening of Their First US Store in Los Angeles

A warm Wednesday night at Chateau Marmont’s Bungalow Four provided the setting for It girl brand Silk Laundry’s party to celebrate their first U.S. store. Founder and creative director Katie Kolodinski had flown into town to toast the opening of the Melrose Avenue boutique and was joined by Tallulah Willis, Kilo Kish, Juliette Labelle, Ganna Bogdan, Kat Typaldos, and Agnes Azria, among others. As guests lounged around the garden and danced to a playlist by musical artist Zsela, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were passed around and Silk Laundry outfits were compared and complimented.

Founded in Australia in 2015 by Kolodinski, Silk Laundry is both a study of the planet and the people in it and a reflection of Kolodinski’s ever-evolving wardrobe as she moves through the world. “The reason I started the brand was because I was really hot,” says Kolodinski, who was born in Canada to a Ukrainian mother and Polish father before migrating to Australia to study psychology. “I was living in Queensland, which is quite tropical and really humid, and all I wanted to wear was slip dresses so I was going to secondhand stores and getting like old lady, nylon night dresses and then dying them and embroidering them...but the fabrics weren't really doing it for me.”

That debut collection of cult silk slip dresses has since grown to include unisex separates, knitwear, and coats and a fan base that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Florence Pugh, Emily Ratajkowsi, and Jake Gyllenhaal. “The way that I've moved around and traveled has affected what I design and the fabrics I'm using,” she explains. “When I opened a store in Canada, which has winter weather, I started making things that were warmer. Now I’m living in Barcelona, so I'm doing more crochets and cotton. I've also been traveling a lot to South Africa doing conservation work with wildlife, so now I need hardier clothes like bandanas, pants with pockets, and men's-inspired work shirts. My life is super varied, and so my wardrobe is becoming more varied.”

The opening of Silk Laundry’s first permanent U.S. store meanwhile marks a pivotal moment in the brand’s growth. “Los Angeles as the city is synergistic with our values sitting at the intersection of luxury, conscious living, and philanthropy– three of Silk Laundry’s guiding principles,” she said as she took in the scene. “I think LA is such a fabulous city because you have everything here: the ocean, the wilderness, and the snow. The people here are also so unique and kind and clever. I think it's gonna be a real turning point for us.”