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When most designers decide to relocate a store, it's usually to upgrade to a larger space or better neighborhood. When Henry Duarte recently moved his Melrose Avenue store in Los Angeles, he took a step back -- literally. Duarte went back to his original location in Sunset Plaza.
The denim couturier, whose fans include everyone from Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland to Sheryl Crow and Jennifer Lopez, left his first store under duress after he and his partners had a falling out in early 2001. Shortly thereafter, the store -- and the remaining stock -- was renamed MinkVox.
"I always wanted my old corner back," said Duarte in a telephone interview. "When I got a call from the landlord, he said, `They moved out' and I leased the store in a minute."
Duarte is a nostalgic guy.
"I haven't changed anything," he said of the 1,000-square-foot boutique. "It's just the way it was. When I saw it again I thought, `Wow, I did a good job on the interior.' All I needed to do was fill it in and prop it."
Duarte never took to Melrose Avenue. While his neighbors included Costume National, Cynthia Rowley, Resurrection, Miu Miu, Betsey Johnson and Fred Segal, he said Melrose Avenue was never a walking street and parking is difficult...