Elyse Walker on Rebuilding After the Palisades Fire, Resilience, and the State of Fashion Retail

Summary

Podcast Summary: Let's Get Dressed – Episode Featuring Elyse Walker

Title: Elyse Walker on Rebuilding After the Palisades Fire, Resilience, and the State of Fashion Retail
Host: Liv Perez
Release Date: July 7, 2025

---

Introduction

In this heartfelt and insightful episode of Let's Get Dressed, host Liv Perez welcomes Elyse Walker, a towering figure in the LA fashion community and a beloved member of the Palisades community. Throughout their conversation, Elyse delves deep into her journey of building a successful fashion retail business, the harrowing experience of losing her store to the Palisades fire, and her unwavering resilience in the face of adversity. The episode not only offers a glimpse into Elyse’s professional endeavors but also sheds light on the personal challenges and triumphs that have shaped her leadership.

---

Elyse Walker’s Fashion Journey

Early Beginnings and Family Legacy
Elyse Walker's foray into the fashion industry is deeply rooted in her family's legacy. "My first Elise Walker store opened in 1999," Elyse shares, highlighting the humble beginnings of her venture. However, her true initiation into the retail world began earlier: "The first store I actually ever opened was in 1987 on Madison Avenue. I opened a Capretto shoe store, which is still my family shoe business" (07:20). This foundation in the shoe business provided Elyse with invaluable insights and a robust foundation for her future endeavors.

Transition to Clothing and Multi-Brand Retailing
Moving from New York to LA was a transformative experience for Elyse. She recalls, "LA is the capital of denim of the world," emphasizing the vibrant and dynamic fashion scene that inspired her to expand beyond shoes into a broader spectrum of fashion items, including clothing, jewelry, and handbags. The energy and diversity of LA's multi-brand stores ignited her passion: "There was a whole sort of different fashion sense out here... It kind of sparked my love for extra love for fashion" (08:14).

---

Building the Retail Business in Palisades

Identifying a Market Gap
Elyse Walker’s decision to establish her store in the Palisades was driven by a clear market need. "When we opened in the Palisades, the question was how come there's not a lot of great retail in this wonderful town," she explains (11:08). Observing the lack of fashionable retail options in an affluent and style-conscious community, Elyse saw an opportunity to fill this void with curated, high-quality brands that resonated with the local clientele.

Unique Retail Vision and Community Focus
What set Elyse Walker apart was her unwavering focus on community and relationship-building. "People, then product," Elyse emphasizes, underscoring the importance of personal connections over mere sales (36:25). Her authentic approach fostered a loyal customer base and a dedicated team, ensuring the store wasn't just a retail space but a community hub.

---

The Palisades Fire: Experience and Impact

Day of the Fire
The Palisades fire was a devastating event that tested Elyse Walker's resilience and leadership. On the day of the fire, Elyse recounts waking up to extreme wind conditions: "We were already on high alert at 8 o'clock in the morning" (24:13). Acting swiftly, she and her team evacuated both her stores within an hour, prioritizing safety over merchandise: "We have two businesses in the Palisades... and we got both teams out within an hour" (24:22).

Personal and Professional Aftermath
The loss was not just of property but of a significant part of her life's work and community: "It was a home. It was certainly my retail home" (24:13). Elyse describes the emotional toll, highlighting the loss of homes and the impact on her team: "We had three people on our team lose their homes... my kids lost their schools" (34:03). Despite the devastation, Elyse remained focused on recovery, emphasizing the importance of the people over the products.

---

Rebuilding and Future Plans

Immediate Response and Recovery
In the wake of the fire, Elyse took decisive action to keep her business afloat. "We quickly set up a shop. We have a warehouse and office in Culver City... we made a mini store just for them" (35:58). This swift transition ensured that her team remained engaged and connected to the business, even in the absence of the physical store.

Partnership with Rick Caruso and Reopening Plans
A pivotal moment in Elyse's rebuilding process was her collaboration with Rick Caruso, a prominent leader in the community. "Rick Caruso... is a spectacular leader... He doesn't take no for an answer" (38:19). Their partnership has been instrumental in planning the reopening of her store in the Palisades by 2026. Elyse expresses her confidence in the resilience of the community and the collective effort to restore the beloved retail landmark: "Everyone knows 100%, like, 100% the Palisades is coming back" (44:01).

---

Resilience and Leadership

Navigating Through Adversity
Elyse's response to the Palisades fire exemplifies true leadership. "If I fell apart, everything would," she states, underscoring her commitment to her team and community (33:05). Her ability to remain steadfast and focus on solutions rather than despair has been a source of inspiration for many.

Building a Supportive Team Environment
Elyse places immense value on her team's well-being and morale. "How do I get these people back to work and clear their heads? ... What's the most important, valuable thing in our company? It's people" (36:24). Her approach ensures that her team feels supported and integral to the business's success, fostering a culture of mutual respect and dedication.

---

The State of Fashion Retail

Brick-and-Mortar Resilience
Contrary to the prevailing narrative that brick-and-mortar retail is in decline, Elyse advocates for its enduring relevance. "Retail for us was never dead in 2020" she asserts, reflecting on her store's performance even amidst global challenges like COVID-19 (48:37). Her focus on in-store experiences and authentic customer relationships has positioned her business as a resilient player in the fashion industry.

Embracing Authenticity and Community
Elyse's philosophy centers on authenticity and genuine community engagement. "Authenticity almost always serves me well," she advises, emphasizing the importance of being true to one's brand and values rather than following fleeting trends (53:01). This approach not only builds trust with customers but also creates a loyal and supportive community around her brand.

---

Supporting the Community and Future Growth

Encouraging Community Support
Elyse actively encourages listeners and customers to support her businesses across various locations. "If you can go and support those stores... It truly makes a difference. It doesn't just help us financially" (54:35). By expanding her retail presence and fostering connections through multiple channels, she ensures that her community remains engaged and supportive.

Philanthropy and Social Responsibility
From the outset, Elyse has integrated philanthropy into her business model. "Since 2004, we started an event for Cedars Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute... we raised $11.7 million over 10 years" (50:17). Her commitment to social causes not only enhances her brand's reputation but also reinforces her dedication to making a positive impact within the community.

---

Key Takeaways and Notable Quotes

• On Leadership in Crisis:
  "If I fell apart, everything would." – Elyse Walker (33:05)

• On Building a Business:
  "People, then product." – Elyse Walker (36:25)

• On Resilience:
  "Never go with your instincts. They're like 90% right." – Elyse Walker (33:26)

• On Authenticity:
  "Authenticity almost always serves me well." – Elyse Walker (53:01)

• On Community Support:
  "There's no merchandise that can't be replaced. But the relationships... those did not burn in the fire." – Elyse Walker (36:24)

---

Conclusion

Elyse Walker's story is a powerful testament to resilience, authentic leadership, and unwavering commitment to community. Through her experiences of building a successful fashion retail business, facing catastrophic loss, and planning a triumphant return, Elyse exemplifies what it means to lead with heart and vision. This episode of Let's Get Dressed not only highlights the challenges of the fashion retail industry but also inspires listeners with Elyse's dedication to overcoming adversity and fostering a supportive, authentic community.

---

Listen to the full episode here to gain deeper insights into Elyse Walker's remarkable journey and her vision for the future of fashion retail.

Transcript

[BritBox Advertiser]

There's some incredible TV coming out of the UK right now. Brits just do it differently. The accents, the wit, the scenery, the devastating one liners disguised as compliments. It's all streaming on BritBox. They have the best mysteries, dramas, comedies and seriously addicting originals like Outrageous, based on the true story of the Mitford sisters. They were kind of like the Kardashians of the 1930s. Wealthy, audacious, chaotic, wildly opinionated, and always making headlines. And chances are you've never heard their story. It's stunning, it's jaw dropping, it's very British. So check out Outrageous. It could be your next favorite. Don't miss Outrageous. Streaming now only on BritBox.

[Liv Perez]

Hi everyone. Welcome back to another episode of let's get Dressed. It's your host, Liv Perez. I hope you guys all had an amazing fourth of July weekend. The sunburns aren't too bad. You got to eat, hang out with friends and family, all the things. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to today's episode. We're back in the office, we're back at work. Few things that hurt more than that Monday after a long weekend, but we're in this together, guys. Today's guest is someone who I have admired for years. She is a legend in the fashion community, the LA community, and most importantly, the Palisades community, and is a major force in the fashion world. Elise Walker has built one of the fashion industry's most influential retail businesses, known not just for its curation, but for its sense of community. In today's conversation, we cover a lot. It's definitely a longer episode than usual. We chat about how she built her business and shaped LA's fashion landscape from what it takes to be a buyer, understand your audience and open a multi brand store. We also dive deep into what it was like losing her store in the Palisades fire and what rebuilding looks like now. She's recently announced that she'll be reopening in 2026 alongside Rick Caruso. So we chat about the realities of rebuilding, being a leader during really hard times, the challenges of retail today, the future of fashion, and of course, now more than ever, why it is so important to support local businesses. As you guys know, this episode means so much to me. As so many of you know, my family also lost our family home during the Palisades fire. So it was amazing to get to sit down with Elise and hear about how she is leading the charge and reinstilling so much hope into our communities over there. I'm really excited for you guys. To hear it. Let's go get dressed with Elise Walker. Hi, Elise.

[Elise Walker]

Good morning.

[Liv Perez]

Good morning. Bright and early.

[Elise Walker]

Bright and early. That's the best way.

[Liv Perez]

It's the best way. But I also, I appreciate having you here bright and early because I just know you have a stack day.

[Elise Walker]

So does everyone. But yes, we have a stack day today.

[Liv Perez]

When they were like, she will be there at 8am, I was like, great. I will be up at 6, I will be ready and I will have her out the door for what I know is probably her like 9:30 meeting.

[Elise Walker]

And I hate being late. Like, I have late anxiety.

[Liv Perez]

Okay.

[Elise Walker]

And so I knew if it was 8 o', clock, I could get here on time.

[Liv Perez]

Yeah. You showed up at 7:59. Yes, I looked at my phone and I was.

[Elise Walker]

And that was late. I was. I considered that late.

[Liv Perez]

That's Elise Walker, ladies and gentlemen. Totally. Well, thank you for being here. You walked in the door and I adore your outfit, obviously.

[Elise Walker]

Thank you.

[Liv Perez]

It is so good. Walk me through what you're wearing for the pod today.

[Elise Walker]

Well, one of the things I love about what we do is we build on wardrobes and hopefully we work at building relationships over decades. So I am actually wearing things that are quite old. This is an old, old Victoria Beckham blazer.

[Liv Perez]

Love.

[Elise Walker]

And this is an old. When I say old, like north of five, this, this could be five to eight years old. And then this is heir dam. But it's still the best shirt I own. When. When in doubt, I always take this out.

[Liv Perez]

I always get excited when someone says that to me because it means that they've made good investments in their closet. Yeah.

[Elise Walker]

And it also means that, yes, we want to get the newest things, but we want things that maybe will be there in five years too.

[Liv Perez]

And your ring stack is unbelievable. Is that. That's a Spinelli on this.

[Elise Walker]

I also need to give a shout out to Shylie Rose Ariese, who just sent me this. And I know we'll be talking about the 90272. She gave me this necklace with the palisade zip code and on the back it says next chapter. So she just gave me this necklace.

[Liv Perez]

Beautiful.

[Elise Walker]

Yeah, I love it. But I. This is my girlfriend's and it's called Wild Box and she just started this brand. Rosanna is my friend and we have it, I think, in about two or three stores.

[Liv Perez]

Beautiful.

[Elise Walker]

And then this one's pretty cool because it's a collaboration between Horse and Booze and Spinelli Kill Colin. People are always like, wait, is that a Spinelli Is that a horse and booze? What is it? And it's actually a collaboration between the two designers. And this one is. Oh, I think I could have used a manicure for today. But anyway, it's okay. We can close. We can just close. Is Silva and C. Also one of my absolute favorite designers. And then the end is another one from Wild Box. And then Soralina.

[Liv Perez]

Oh, beautiful.

[Elise Walker]

These are Jenna, Blake, and then these are Wild Box again.

[Liv Perez]

What are these incredible eyewear pieces? Like, what is this, like, amazing sunglass you have on? This is a duo.

[Elise Walker]

So people think that I love wearing glasses and it's part of my look, but I actually hate wearing glasses because I've been wearing them since I'm four years old. But I have an eye sensitivity. Okay. So people think it's part of my look. Like, oh, she's wearing the sunglasses to fashion Week, and it's not. It means I'm having a bad eye day.

[Liv Perez]

I think it's part of your look, because when we spoke a few weeks ago and now you both times, I think you had these on, and I.

[Elise Walker]

Was like, oh, well, remind me. She is fabulous to show you my eyeglass collection, but someone told me I have this thing called uveitis, and someone told me it's the same thing that Bono has.

[Liv Perez]

Oh, so you're in good company. That's fine. It's really fine. If he can do it and be Bono, you can do it.

[Elise Walker]

Exactly.

[Liv Perez]

Amazing jeans ammo.

[Elise Walker]

Ooh. I can't wear these fast enough. As soon as they come out of the wash, they're on my body. I love it. One thing is I like to be comfortable. Even black dye. I feel like if I'm in something that's too tight, too short, itchy is the worst. I don't have a good time, so I'm almost always comfortable.

[Liv Perez]

I'm the same way. I have friends who, like, wear the corset, wear the thing, and are like, nope, I don't need to be comfortable. For me, getting dressed every day has to be about. I have to be able to move and feel like it's a second skin for me.

[Elise Walker]

Exactly.

[Liv Perez]

Well, I'm really thrilled to have you on the show today because you are someone who, as myself, being born and raised in la, you are a fashion icon here. I remember growing up and Elise Walker was the place to and still is the place to go. My mom used to take me shopping there all the time when I was younger.

[Elise Walker]

Oh, thank you. That's nice to hear.

[Liv Perez]

Yeah, we are.

[Elise Walker]

Wasn't Planned. We'll get into that.

[Liv Perez]

Or dyed in the wool, Louisiana. Elise Walker people. You've been doing this for so long. Your first store opened in 1999.

[Elise Walker]

My first Elise Walker store opened in 1999.

[Liv Perez]

Wow.

[Elise Walker]

It was a tiny little 800 square foot store one block from my kids school. But the first store I actually ever opened was 1987 on Madison Avenue. I opened a Capretto shoe store, which is still my family shoe business. And my corporate name to this day for Elise Walker is Capretto. So most people behind the scenes, like brands, know us as Capretto DBA doing business as Elise Walker.

[Liv Perez]

I like that you kept it in the family business.

[Elise Walker]

I did and I lost my mom. So anytime I see Capretto, which is all the time, any bill, if you bill me, it says Capretto. I think of my mom.

[Liv Perez]

That's beautiful.

[Elise Walker]

Yeah.

[Liv Perez]

What was the original vision for the store? And also can you walk us through what shopping in LA was like at that time?

[Elise Walker]

Well, I love. I moved from New York and I grew up still in the shoe business. My family's still in the shoe business. My father is still making shoes. So I grew up with wholesale and retail. And when I opened in the Palisade, well, when I moved to la, I was totally inspired by fashion because where I grew up was a bit more conservative. And I used to run to Banana Republic and buy a suit. I don't know. I wore a suit in my 20s. People will say I'm actually more free spirited and easier and younger now. I was very serious when I was younger and so I would go to Banana Republic and Ann Taylor and shop like the sale racks. But my fashion that I bought, I would like run into the city and go to Reminiscence and Antique boutique and Charivari when it was 70% off for sure because it was definitely out of my price range. But I started collecting pieces very, very, very young. When I came to la, there was Ron Herman, there was Madison Planet Blue. And I never saw stores with so much energy and women were grabbing three dot T shirt and Frankie B. And all this. All these things that I never really. And I'm not saying they weren't on the east coast, but I certainly had never noticed them before. So there was a whole sort of different fashion sense out here. I mean, LA is the capital of denim of the world. So there was this denim T shirt like Extravaganza Frenzy. And I never had experienced it. And it kind of sparked my love for extra love for fashion. Where I started Thinking, hey, I've been in the shoe business, my family's in the shoe business. Maybe I'm interested in clothing as well. Jewelry, handbags and shoes I was always interested in and, but clothing was not anything that was on my radar for work. And I was really inspired by these LA stores that did an amazing job of mixing brands, which is what we do. My kids were little, I would drop them off at school and then I would run around and visit these stores and I was very inspired.

[Liv Perez]

I think about all of the multi brand stores that I paid attention to when I was younger. East coast and west coast, like the kittens of the world. Even Madison Blue and Cream on the east coast, like none of them are Intermix. Intermix. All of them.

[Elise Walker]

Scoop back in the day, I mean Stephanie really, she set that trend.

[Liv Perez]

Walmart owns Scoop now. You can still buy Scoop at Walmart. But what was your original retail vision that you think made you stand out from all of these other stores that haven't been able to thrive and sustain as long as you have?

[Elise Walker]

Well, we, first of all, when we opened in the Palisades, the question was how come there's not a lot of great retail in this wonderful town, amazing community that wants to support their locals and people are fashionable. Right? It's a, it's a, you know, they're getting dressed, they're going to luncheons, they're on boards, they have jobs. How come there's no, there aren't too many stores. So I saw like a hole and a need in Palisades. I think people ask me all the time, how did, what made you do that? That was brave. And, and I don't think it was brave. I think because I had such a fresh, clean canvas and I had no fear and no expectations because I had nothing to lose. I just moved, you know, I didn't know anyone. I think I saw it so clearly. I think had I lived there my whole life, I might have said, oh, fashion will never do well in the Palisades because in general it wasn't a super fashionable community. The people were, but it wasn't known for retail fashion. Right. So for me it seemed so obvious. But just because I think I came in with like fresh eyes. Do you know what I'm saying?

[Liv Perez]

Yeah, you weren't, you weren't already. It wasn't normal to you.

[Elise Walker]

And I also, I didn't feel doubt or insecurity because I really had nothing to lose. That is a gift my parents gave my brother and I is never really having A fear to fail. And I think that failure is what holds back a lot of people. All careers, even relationships, I think, fail. Like who. Who wakes up in the morning and says, oh, I can't wait to fail today? Nobody. But if you don't take that risk, you can't have a success, I always say, or a hit or a home run or anything you're going to. I mean, was your first podcast ever, like, the Perfect one? No, no.

[Liv Perez]

This podcast has had numerous names and numerous rebrands. No, no, no. It's taken us a long time to find our market fit.

[Elise Walker]

Right. And then just when you figure it out, it will shift and change and.

[Liv Perez]

Stay on your tone.

[Elise Walker]

Yeah. So that was something my parents did very well, is gave my brother and I confidence to fail.

[Liv Perez]

How did you get to know your customer through that? Like, obviously, you lived in the area, but what helped you really understand who they were and what they wanted? And even now, to this day.

[Elise Walker]

Well, I also forgot to mention Fred Siegel. Fred Siegel, Yeah, of course.

[Liv Perez]

How. How could we forget to mention Fred Siegel?

[Elise Walker]

Yeah. What were we thinking? Must be early in the morning.

[Liv Perez]

Early, guys.

[Elise Walker]

Yeah, I don't know. They. I just drove carpool. I was room mom or. And, you know, people were fashionable, and Palisadians, they dress, you know, LA people have this kind of cool style sense. But traffic is so bad in la and it has only gotten worse. I was thinking, how can one pick up carpool, possibly have a career? Make dinner and get dressed. There is really no stores nearby. It was a commitment, you know, if you wanted to go to Barney's. Oh, my God. We didn't even mention Barney's.

[Liv Perez]

It is.

[Elise Walker]

We're really slow. We're really slow today. All right, we're waking up.

[Liv Perez]

10 minutes to go refresh. Barney's.

[Elise Walker]

Fred Siegel.

[Liv Perez]

Kitson Blue and Cream.

[Elise Walker]

Exactly. So it would be. It's still a commitment when you are a West side girl. Because you're an east side girl. It's a commitment to go to the east side.

[Liv Perez]

My mom and sister live on the west side, so I totally understand your struggle. Like, getting to. Getting together is not just like, hey, do you want to grab coffee today? It's like, hey, do you want to meet at this time, at this hour at Brentwood?

[Elise Walker]

It's a strategy and a compromise.

[Liv Perez]

Yes. It's 50. 50.

[Elise Walker]

Right. So I'm sitting here driving carpool, picking up my kids, trying to do work, life balance, make dinner, and I was just like, no, it's a very. It's a hard commitment to get to many of these stores. So I just saw a need in the Palisades. Like, who wants to leave the Palisades? It's the most beautiful community nestled up in the mountains of Los Angeles.

[Liv Perez]

What brands? And also, guys, if you hear. We've got a garbage truck outside that's just really enjoying our block today. So if you hear it, sorry. You've been in the business for over 20 years. Like, what designers have been most exciting to you and to your customers? And who's most exciting to you right now?

[Elise Walker]

Oh, wow. That's a big one. Okay. Well, we carry, at any given time, over 200 brands. That's now, that includes jewelry. And, you know, we even have some books. And there's probably 20 jewelry designers. There's probably 20 denim designers. We have contemporary, advanced contemporary designer. And of course, shoes and handbags, which is my favorite. There's so many ways to go here. Okay, let me think. Well, there's certain brands that I feel like I grew up with. Like, Leela from Mother came to me and said, I'm. I'm starting a denim brand called Mother. And we're like, mother? What kind of name is Mother? Who's going to buy Mother jeans? Well, everyone. So. So I feel like that those were kind of relation. That was one of the many relationships that I grew up with and grew up side by side with. And then I remember, you know, I remember being in the car when we found out we got Saint Laurent, which used to be Yves Saint Laurent, and one of my girlfriends was the president at the time, Liz Radler. And we were buying shoes and handbags. Cause we had very strong support early on with shoes and handbags from Capretto Shoes. People were like, how do you have these brands in the Palisades? It was from my family's business. And I want. All of a sudden, as we were growing, I wanted to add Yves Saint Laurent. Cause that's what it was at the time, Ready to wear. And it was not an easy open. That's one thing that people don't know. You just don't say, I want a brand, and you get it. Sometimes we have to, like, court designers for years. Like Celine. Took me a decade.

[Liv Perez]

Wow.

[Elise Walker]

A decade to get. It takes time. So anyway, Liz called me one day, and she said, I have two things to tell you. One is, I'm moving on. I'm going to Alexander McQueen. And the second thing I'm going to tell you is, I opened you for Saint Laurent. Ready to wear.

[Liv Perez]

Wow.

[Elise Walker]

Yeah.

[Liv Perez]

And what'd you do in that moment.

[Elise Walker]

I mean, we've been with them ever since.

[Liv Perez]

Yeah.

[Elise Walker]

You know, so anyway, from LA based brands to Paris and Milan and all those brands. I mean, we've also had a super long career with Gianvito. And there's many times where we will say, we love your new collection, but last year's boot was still the best. Can you remake it for us possibly in new colors? And they almost always say, yes. Wow, we do that a lot because if something's good, it's good. Yeah, right. So even right now, we're working on a wedge with Paloma Barcelo that's the perfect summer wedge. And when you wear it, it feels like you're walking on marshmallows. We're like, can you please remake that for us next year? We don't spend a ton of time, I think, as much as maybe other brands do, on exclusivity. Not that we shouldn't, but if we like something, we get behind it and we usually buy into it in a big way.

[Liv Perez]

This is an interesting conversation because buying, to me is a fascinating business that I think a lot of people who want to be in fashion maybe have an idea of buying that it actually isn't. Buying, to me is this very delicate balance of math. Knowing your customer and then also knowing what's in the market. Can you shed a light a little bit about what that process is when you're working with brands and making sure that one, you're not buying too much stock of something, but you're also meeting your customer where they're at?

[Elise Walker]

Well, I've been buying, or I've been exposed to buying honestly since the 80s because I used to go with my mom to the shoe market. And at that time we would make books and cut out pictures and tape them in and say, here's our low heels, here's our mid heels. Oh, we're missing this. So I've been doing it my whole life. My brain works very mathematically, so I tend to see things in kind of. I call it like a matrix. People who work with me, they're like, it takes time till they get my rhythm on how I see things. And I don't want them to see them my way. I want them to see it their way. Because I don't want one perspective in buying. So I see things kind of as multiples very often, or storytelling. I think buying for a store is no different than interior design. Right. You want your couch and your pillows and you want the colors to work, but maybe you want them to Contrast. But maybe you want them. You know, you want to challenge this fabric to that, but then you don't want a headache. So we sit here, we scrutinize our buy. Possibly too much. Can say, well, that's never too much, but we really literally comb through to the piece. And the other thing you have to do, which is also the fear of not making a mistake, is you're not going to bite perfectly. Sometimes you're going to take a risk and it's not going to work. And sometimes you're going to buy something that you think is a slam dunk, and it doesn't work. If you have strong relationships in industry, sometimes a brand will help you. Sometimes they'll take a style back. Sometimes they'll let you swap into a style that's working. But. But it's like a constant, constant, constant thing. And then wide leg jeans might be in, and you might swing too far, and you're like, nope, women still like a straight leg. It's flattering. And I mean, it's daily. It's a daily thing that we do. But I think that hopefully, I think I give my team the confidence to also go out and say, go for it. Like, if last year you bought this brand and the dresses didn't sell, most. Most panis would say, don't buy dresses from them anymore. We're saying, be cautious. If you buy dresses, they didn't work. But if you leave the showroom and you're like, I don't care. I'm obsessed. They had three dresses. I know. We need. We'll say, go for it.

[Liv Perez]

How does merchandising play a role in that? Merchandising is fascinating to me how something is shown on a floor and if that has ever made something sell better.

[Elise Walker]

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, first of all, if you give something a mannequin, more people are going to notice it. Also, when we're buying, sometimes we'll see, like, the most incredible piece, like maybe a Jersey top from Christopher Esber. When we photograph it for our website, you can see that it's off the shoulder and this and that. But on a hanger, it's jersey. It's just kind of in there. Yeah. And you have. We have to take that into consideration as well that that's not gonna be an easy sell inside the store, you know.

[Liv Perez]

So what's the solve?

[Elise Walker]

Well, sometimes we go for it, and sometimes we don't. Or we make sure we shoot it really well online, or we give our team digital assets. But, I mean, by the way, there's so many more layers today with digital than there was it used to be you just bought it, you put it on the floor, and whatever happened, happened.

[Liv Perez]

But you know what's interesting? In chatting with you so far, it seems like a lot of these decisions are made. Yes, I know you were saying there's a lot of mathematics going on in your head, but it also, it seems like you're trusting your gut and your taste, and you have impeccable taste. So I could understand how in these merchandising decisions, in these buying decisions, a lot of your choices come from your own genuine love of fashion and what you think will attract other people, too.

[Elise Walker]

I think I've been on the sales floor long enough to hear what clients love. I always say this, like, you don't see this in a sales report, but women over 50 very often like to cover their arms, things like that. There's no, like, sales report that says that you have to be on the sales floor. It's still my favorite place to be. I always say in the dressing room. I try to get my team on the sales floor, in the stores as much as possible. It's hard because buying market now is constant monthly. New York, Louisiana. Paris, Milan.

[Liv Perez]

So many different weeks.

[Elise Walker]

The Australian market's so strong.

[Liv Perez]

Copenhagen, Copenhagen. You could literally be at a fashion week every week if you wanted to. I want to get into the state of retail a little bit, but I think before we do, I want to talk about your Palisades location and what that experience has been like. Obviously, Elise Walker, and the Palisades is a landmark to so many here. It was lost in the Palisades fire. I would love to hear from you what that experience was like, what that day was like for you, and we'll get into more of it from there.

[Elise Walker]

Well, remember, for us, it's not just a store. It was a home. It was certainly my retail home. And I spent more hours and so did my team probably there than anywhere. Right. I also have people who built their entire careers there who started as teenagers and either stayed on, like Molly has been there for 18 years, or Sable, who came and then wound up launching Sablin from there. And so it was a launching pad for many, many people. But it was also where I raised my kids, and it's also where all my friends, most of my friends, live. But we woke up and I was in Northern California that day, and I got a call from our president, Summer hall, that in her life, and she is a Calabasas native, she said she has never, ever felt Winds like this ever. So we were already on high alert at 8 o' clock in the morning, calling stores, just saying off the chart wins today. We have to be on the lookout, absolutely not knowing what was gonna happen. So when the fire started, you know, 8, 9, 9, 10 o' clock in the morning, we were, we got our team out of. And we have two businesses in the Palisades. We have Elise Walker and then we have Town by Elise Walker, which is our casual men's and women's concept in the Caruso Center. And we got both teams out within an hour. Not ever thinking the fires are gonna come into town. We're just thinking, get people home, get them off the road. When the fire department comes in, it's 25 less cars to worry about. That's it. And also, we all know that in LA, when there is a fire, it's, you know, PCH can shut down, 405 can shut down, Sunset can take four hours to get from the Palisades to the 405. Let's just get everyone home safe. Some people have to pick up kids, you know, just get out of there. So we were, in hindsight, very, very proud to be that aggressive again, having no clue of what was about to happen, but knowing we could see the fire from our store. I mean, when you can see a fire, you go, yeah, yeah. So, but as the day progressed and you were just sitting, you know, watching TV and it was really unfathomable, you know, And I raised my kids. We lived in the highlands and that is a fire zone. Like we grew up, we knew we were in the fire zone and we had areas to get out if we needed to. If I lived in town, I would have never, ever have had those plans. You just wouldn't picture the Palisades town of a fire coming through. And as the day progressed, we're watching and we're watching. I was very lucky. I'm very close with my family and my cousins Stacey and Jonathan happen to have been in from New York, and I had them over for dinner and my family. So I was watching this whole thing unfold with, like my family around me. And I remember one of my most vivid memories is watching a newscaster on Temescal Canyon. And the embers, like millions of embers are blowing at over 100 miles an hour. We know now. And I'm thinking, how does one. How do you stop that? I don't know. Of course, still not thinking what was going to happen was even happening at that time. So we, everyone was kind of Quiet. And we're just watching and glued to the TV. And finally 11 o', clock, our stores were still standing.

[Liv Perez]

Am just 3pm okay.

[Elise Walker]

We went to sleep and we said we have to stop watching TV. First of all, I normally get into bed at 8pm Love that. That's why I like to go to dinner at 5:30.

[Liv Perez]

Don't tell anyone, but I do the same thing.

[Elise Walker]

I love it.

[Liv Perez]

It's the best.

[Elise Walker]

And so 11 o', clock, really, it's like an all nighter for me. And at 11 o' clock my phone rings and my son's like, turn on Fox 11. And it was the strangest thing. It was my friend Alex Michelson in the Palisades standing in front of my store. The entire thing was ablaze and it was just standing like 10 minutes ago. And he said, this is Elise Walker. She's been a pillar in this community and a personal friend. And I thanked him later because I didn't realize at the time, but it really helped. One, I had my family all day with me and all night till the last second. And it really helped that there was like this, that someone I knew was kind of like laying this to rest. It was because I know him and I know his voice and he acknowledged, you know, the contribution we always tried to give and work on in the community. But still in the morning when we woke up and we saw all the decimated the homes, I really honestly thought that was a terrible AI joke. Yeah, I did not think that was. The bluffs could be gone. I mean, and I really, I think it's unbelievable how many people got out. And there were a few casualties. One of my friends lost someone very important and close to her.

[Liv Perez]

I'm so sorry.

[Elise Walker]

But still, most people, as we know, were able to get out safely. And I hope all the animals got out as well.

[Liv Perez]

I hope so too. I know I was sitting right there and my mom who lost her house was actually here with me. We were having breakfast and she, she got the fire alert. And from Palisades to her house is so far.

[Elise Walker]

Right.

[Liv Perez]

And I remember she, I, you know, growing up in Malibu, we have very similar experience to you, which is that we're used to fires. They would come down the mountainside all the time. We would see them. And we've evacuated more times than I can count. And I remember she had a very strange feeling. She was like, I need to leave. And she went home and we lost our house too. But just seeing the way that the embers blew that day was mind blowing.

[Elise Walker]

How did she get out? Did she go north?

[Liv Perez]

She went north, up and around, dropped down through Zumarez, which was still open. You know, she rushed out of here at 11 and I think was home by 2. But she was. Our house was the last house to burn on pch. So she had a good amount of time, thank God, to go and evacuate and get as much as she could. But I don't. I like you. You know, we are on the strip of beach. I don't think anybody ever thought that those areas were going to burn the way they did.

[Elise Walker]

I know. That was amazing.

[Liv Perez]

How did you begin to process that? Both professionally, obviously, you have an entire business to run, but also personally?

[Elise Walker]

Well, first of all, the first store I ever opened, the shoe store I told you about in 1987. Two weeks later, the stock market crashed. I say that just because that's. Things just happen that are out of your control, right? We spend so much time building and protecting and planning, but sometimes things just come your way. Sometimes they're great things, right? Like, great. I always call them happy accidents. This, of course, was not one of them. But there's been many times in my career where things have just happened. Like 9, 11, Covid. I mean, all these things that affects everyone and global. Like global stock market crash too. So this was just. I would say I was so happy. Everyone was safe. Like, I mean, I was almost queasy. Like, what could have been? And people asked about merchandise. We never thought about the merchandise. I mean, that was like, never even on the radar. We also didn't think the place was gonna burn down. But even if it did, we wouldn't have made people stay to put things away. I was so weirdly grateful that, you know, my kids weren't there and that we got everyone out. I don't know why we were so aggressive. Must have been like your mom. Like, there was an instinct. Get out.

[Liv Perez]

I'm not quite sure why she very much. I've never seen her like that. And again, like, I've seen her evacuate our homes my entire life. There was something about her that day that was like a haunted feeling. It was almost like she was like, I need to leave right now.

[Elise Walker]

Right?

[Liv Perez]

This. This is not sitting right with me. And I remember looking at her and I. I still feel, like, mild guilt about it because I remember saying, do you realize how far you are from the Palisades?

[Elise Walker]

Right?

[Liv Perez]

Do you know what on earth would have to happen to get to your house?

[Elise Walker]

And it did.

[Liv Perez]

And it did.

[Elise Walker]

I know. That's. That's. I. I Mean, never go with your instincts. They're like 90% right.

[Liv Perez]

Mom instincts. You both have.

[Elise Walker]

Mommy, we have tentacles. Yes, Moms have tentacles.

[Liv Perez]

You both have them.

[Elise Walker]

You can feel things.

[Liv Perez]

And I'm. I'm grateful for both of you.

[Elise Walker]

So I think I went into fight or flight mode. I need to be a leader. I can't really fall apart right now.

[Liv Perez]

I have to say, even for me talking about it, sometimes I don't know if you. I. I. While you were speaking, I still get very emotional.

[Elise Walker]

I saw you.

[Liv Perez]

Yeah. I still get very triggered by it. And I have to say, like, I deeply admire. You have a lot of strength. Talking about this.

[Elise Walker]

I mean, I don't have a choice. Yeah, I didn't have a choice. Yep. If I fell apart, everything would. But I somehow got the strength. I was just like, okay, insurance. Well, safety first. So proud of this team. Everyone's in shock. We had three people on our team lose their homes, and then, of course, I had tons of friends lose their homes, and then my kids lost their schools. So there was so much emotion. There wasn't really time for me to even. I really did not shed a tear for weeks. It was just like, safety check, insurance check. Just to understand, we had two businesses. We had nine separate insurance claims. We had jewelry times two stores, Content, rebuild art. And there's a thing called business interruption. We were lucky that we were heavily insured. I will never not be insured. If. If you can be. I mean, if I. If it was up to me, I would have never checked the boxes for fire. So it would have been like, oh, that's not gonna happen. But my husband must have checked the boxes. So anyway, my thought was, how do I get these people back in work one to clear their head. Right. If we stay home, we're just gonna sit here and fester and worry about what could have been what, you know? So we quickly set up a shop. We have a warehouse and office in Culver City. We set up, like, a little, tiny mini store. Maria from our. Her team. Because we wanted. We called it, like, an emergency. Not an I hate to call emergency, but we called a meeting one week later, and we wanted everyone from the Palisades teams to feel like they were in a store instead of a warehouse. And we made, like, a mini store just for them.

[Liv Perez]

That is wonderful.

[Elise Walker]

It was merchandised, and we called everyone in, and I just. I don't know. I felt. I don't know where this came from. Must have come from my grandparents. My grandparents are holocaust survivors. Sometimes I think that it just, like, comes up, and I was like, no four walls can define me, and no four walls can define you. I don't know where this came from, like, whatever, but I meant it like.

[Liv Perez]

You were in fight or flight.

[Elise Walker]

I was in fight or flight. And I said to them, the relationships you've built internally. Cause some of these. Some people that have become best friends for life. And your relationships with your clients, those did not burn in the fire. And there's no merchandise that can't be replaced, and there's no four walls that can't be rebuilt. And everyone got out safely. So what's the most important, valuable thing in our company? It's people.

[Liv Perez]

People.

[Elise Walker]

I always say, people then product, or people people? People, then product. So I said, here we are. You know, it's like tears. And I have to tell you that in the middle of this speech that, again, I have no idea where it came from. This man comes into my warehouse, and no one comes to our warehouse. You know, appointments come and stuff. And he comes up the stairs to my little mini fake store, and everyone stops talking. And one of our. One of our sellers is like, excuse me, I'll be right back. In the middle of my brave speech, right, I'm like, what is going on? This. Yeah, this lovely Palisade dad found his sales associate, Adelice Walker, that his wife worked with, called her and said, my wife, we lost everything. And I just bought her this bracelet. Could you quickly get me a new one? And she called the manu, the designer. Someone ran and got it, brought it to the warehouse. He comes like. We're like, we're all the way. We're not close to the Palisades. And she runs downstairs, and he's like, I want to give her something that she had in the house and let her know everything's going to be okay.

[Liv Perez]

I'm so excited to hear that you're reopening with Rick Caruso. It's incredible news.

[Elise Walker]

He's a spectacular leader. He's confident. He is articulate. He has the most incredible team behind him. Everyone is so professional. I actually love the clarity and precision that his team works with. I'm a bit more like, whirl things, ideas around. They're very targeted and very easy for me to understand. And Rick was, well, first of all, amazing in building out the Palisades. I tried to open my stores on Swarthmore 25 years ago. I wanted to expand. I could not get some of the landlords to even get me on the phone. I tried and tried and Tried. He figured out how to bring that whole community together because that area was more than 50% vacant for way over a decade, and that's not good for any town at all. And he just doesn't take no for an answer. And he figures it out. I also. I love to be around him. I always leave his whole team saying that I could have stronger leadership the way that. And I'm lucky to be around it. Like, I always feel like I take a little bit of something away, like, oh, I could do that better. Look how fabulous they did it. But anyway, Rick was amazing with me. First of all, people are like, how do you feel about your partnership with him? We already partnered. I'm in his Calabasas. I'm in Calabasas Commons with Elise Walker since I think about 19. And then we did Town by Elise Walker. I think that was about 2018. And that was Rick saying, I know you have Elise Walker. I know you're on Antioch street, but I need a little piece of you on this side in Palisades Village. Can you open a kid's store? Can you open a home store? Can you open a men's store? Anything. Just. It could be a little tiny kiosk. So he really pushed me into that in a great way. Made me think outside of the box. So we've been partners. But with this case, he would check in with me almost every Friday. How are you doing? How's your team? I'm like, how are you doing? One thing you don't know. Cause Rick is so about, you know, the people. His family lost three homes in the fire. I don't think I've ever heard him really say that publicly. If he has, it's not very often. And he was out there in Altadena, he still is. And the Palisades, you know, making a difference, because he can, and he's amazing. And, you know, I know there was criticism in how come his buildings didn't burn down. A lot of the town buildings didn't burn down. But if I had the resources, I would have saved my home, too. So I'd love people to take more positive view when they can. But a friend of mine taught me this. She said, natalie, she said, if you want to be mediocre, everyone can like you. Because I used to get upset if someone wasn't happy with my business or this or that. So I would say, rick Caruso, there is nothing mediocre about you. You just keep going. You are unbelievable. So Rick checked on me, and he was great because I was like, in fight or flight mode. So I was just looking for a new store. What am I going to do? How quickly can we rebuild? This was a very large business for us. The numbers that that two Palisade stores did, the amount of people it fed and the amount of units we moved in a day were pretty extraordinary. So I'm like, how can we get people back in business? How can we replace business? How long is this going to take? So we looked everywhere, only on the west side though. And there were some great options, but none of them were the Palisades. And he would check in and one of his check ins, he said, I know you're looking around and I totally understand, but don't sign a 10 year lease because I'm gonna need you back here. I don't think he had a plan yet.

[Liv Perez]

He just had a conviction.

[Elise Walker]

And I heard him and I said, rick, I can't answer anything right now. I'm in fight or flight mode and I'm trying to get people employed. And again, the next check in and we were pretty close. We were looking in Santa Monica, we were looking in Brentwood. And then I was actually in Miami. We did a pop up there, which is something we've been doing crazy to keep our team going. And Rick's like, I have an idea. But I had a premonition the day before he called me that we were going to move across the street to that particular store which used to be the Amazon books Mom tentacles the day before mom tentacles. So he called and said, I have a grand idea. I'm gonna need your help and you are gonna be our perfect partner. And I must have called my husband. I said, he's gonna call me about the corner store, which I think's one of the most. I mean, the whole village is beautiful. And I was right. And when we, when he gave us that opportunity, it's kind of like in hindsight, oh, God. Of course that's what was going to happen. Of course. You know, I had to go through the imagining not being there. In hindsight, we were always going to go back there, but I had to go through the process.

[Liv Perez]

Right, so you're set to reopen 2026 back in the Palisades. A lot of people are, I think, still on the fence about returning back to the Palisades. Can you talk a little bit about your thought process?

[Elise Walker]

Well, originally I would call it a third. A third, A third, one third. Come hell or high water, they're staying. One third I'm not sure and one third, I don't want to live through fires anymore. I'm sure that happens in Malibu. That was the scariest thing that ever happened. And I'm just going to have a new chapter. I will tell you now, people are coming back and there's no other. I mean, there's lovely, there's tons of places to live, of course, but there's no place like the Palisades. It's a magical village. Also, I think everyone knows 100%, like, 100% the Palisades is coming back. It's not a matter of if, it's when. So hopefully our hopes are that with the strength and the backing and the confidence of the Caruso team and the strength and the confidence of my own team, that we can be a small catalyst in helping people on the retail and business side also come back. And so far, it has been a little bit contagious.

[Liv Perez]

Oh. The day the news broke, my husband, who's in real estate, the two of us were giddy. And I think for multiple reasons. I mean, one, we're so excited to see a landmark place come back. But two, you are instilling hope in a lot of people that this is coming back. This one place that brought so many people come together is making the choice to reopen, to rebuild its community there. And, you know, the last six months have been shaky. I think a lot of people have been like, is this going to be a 10 year thing? Is the Palisades ever going to feel that way? And it's people like you that are. It's going to be like it's coming.

[Elise Walker]

Back a long time, but every year is going to be 100% better than the year before. But we're going to help speed it up. Not us personally, all of us collaboratively are going to help speed beat it up. And I've had people call me crying like they didn't even. They don't. They may not even shop with me, but it means like, oh, we're gonna be okay. And I think the city and the country are gonna come out to support us. I have no doubt about that. So is it gonna be easy? No. But it's going to be amazing. It's gonna be possibly one of the most rewarding things I've ever done and. And my team feels the same way.

[Liv Perez]

In the past six months, I'm sure there have been a lot of moments that have taught you about being a leader, about being in the fashion industry. Is there a moment that stands out to you now that felt the most, maybe not rewarding, but A moment where you overcame something really challenging.

[Elise Walker]

I think that was what was so interesting, is I always told people in interviews and my team, oh, we're so much more than clothes. Oh, we're so much more than clothes. So, you know, we're more than shoes and jewelry and handbags. But, like, you're also trying to get there, right? And I was worried that my. We have about 25 people or 20 people on the Palisades team. I thought, you know, just because I've decided that I'm going to hold my breath because it's going to take longer. I think it's going to move much faster than any of us anticipate. I really, really do. But could I open right now in Brentwood or Santa Monica and possibly be doing more business for the next 12 to 24 months? Yes. But long term, no. You know, but is my team gonna be able to hold their breath, roll up their sleeves with me, and go for it? And I was nervous about that. I thought. I thought some people might say, like, I love Elise. I love the company. I can't. I can't do that. Like, and I would understand, right? They were. I got letters from my team. They were more excited than I was. Back to what I was saying. Forget clothes, handbags, shoes. The fact that they had that kind of drive, pride, commitment to their job and their work community, I mean, is beyond anything I ever thought in my work fashion career that the. That the reward would be so much greater than just business.

[Liv Perez]

Through this conversation, I've just been thinking about your business being about this physical location where people feel like they're in community and together. But over the last 10 to 15 years, it's been such a massive shift in the fashion industry in terms of e comm. And you've been through some crazy things. Covid the fires, ecom, shopping. Retail is dead. Retail is back.

[Elise Walker]

I never believed retail is dead.

[Liv Perez]

Me too. And you know what? Right now I'm so interested, because you have this moment where you're coming back next year, right? I mean, even walking through the grove, which I live right nearby, that Zara store on the corner is in. I don't know if you've seen it yet. It's like a department store.

[Elise Walker]

I want to see it. I've heard all about it.

[Liv Perez]

And to me, that's a massive investment on Zara's end into retail. And I saw Doan, the brand based here, just did a massive fire.

[Elise Walker]

Doan is massive raise.

[Liv Perez]

And all of that money is supposed to go just towards building out Physical locations so that they can build out their community. So all of those things are big indicators to me that retail is about to be stronger than ever. What do you think about it and how have you kept this business that the core of it is about this physical location?

[Elise Walker]

Well, retail for us was never dead in 2020. We did not have our own website yet. I had had a partnership with the Revolve Group and I had left that digital partnership. So we were without digital through Covid.

[Liv Perez]

Unbelievable.

[Elise Walker]

Was not easy. I mean it was not by choice. Like we, we weren't ready to launch elise walker.com, we were in development.

[Liv Perez]

Were you selling through Instagram?

[Elise Walker]

We were just delivering. We, we had tables outside with drive by pickup.

[Liv Perez]

But that's a testament, I have to say. Like one of the things that I've always thought about Elise Walker and you know, anyone in LA that talks about it is like, oh, like those salesgirls are my friends. Like they are they. If they find the right things for me and we're texting, like it's more.

[Elise Walker]

Just a store and I see them on the floor, like someone will pick something up and they'll be like, not for you.

[Liv Perez]

Right.

[Elise Walker]

You know?

[Liv Perez]

Right.

[Elise Walker]

So I will say people rally for us. I think, you know, we do good community work. We try to make an impact in every community we're in. Are we perfect? No. Could we do better? No. But that's what keeps me going every morning. Like we can do better. But I think that people under respect us that we just don't come in and try to like, you know, take like we want to do good deeds in a community. We want to sell, of course we want to grow our business, but we also want to do it in a way that's good for all. I think we are socially conscious company and we've had philanthropy in the heart of our company from the day we launched. But really since 2004, we started an event, Jennifer Gardner and I for Cedars Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute. Totally out in my store in the Palisades. Homemade. And we raised $11.7 million over 10 years from every designer, every client. Like it wasn't like a big PR campaign and there was no social media so you couldn't get raise awareness through that. It was all word of mouth. But through Covid, people were still supporting us, which again, we only had brick and mortar the second we opened in 2021. 21 was our most profitable year of our history, of our company.

[Liv Perez]

Unbelievable.

[Elise Walker]

And that was the year post post Covid. Still in Covid. But stores were opening that people were saying, brick. And every article, brick and mortar's dead. Brick and mortar's dead. And so we're sitting here in meetings like, I don't know what they're talking about. It's okay, Go back in the dressing room.

[Liv Perez]

Give them the headlines.

[Elise Walker]

No. And we have a thing called UPT units per transaction. Our UPT had never been higher. Wow. To me, I count UPT over dollars. I always say to my team, don't count the dollars. Like, dollars will follow. Count, repeat business, count upt, count new. How many people are new? How many people are staying with you? Like, just build your business within here. Don't look at dollars, because dollars will help not make you a great seller.

[Liv Perez]

It sounds like so much of your business is reliant, I mean, clearly on this incredible community for people who it's.

[Elise Walker]

There isn't any business that isn't reliant on people.

[Liv Perez]

But for people listening right now who maybe have brands or maybe they want to start brands, what's your best tip for really garnering, like, amazing, thoughtful community who cares about you back?

[Elise Walker]

I just say authenticity. I've made a few humongous mistakes in business, and all three times, in hindsight, I was not being authentic. I was maybe being a follower when we launched Alise walker.com finally in 2022. So we're kind of newbies to the digital world, and our Digital is only 10% of our business, and we're kind of okay with that. We just sort of ignored the brick, and mortar's dead. And I think it's in the. I don't think. I know. It's in the ethos of our company, which means that the sellers and stylists and managers and everyone on our sales floor has to feel that, too. I mean, you're. It's. We have to make a living. We have to make an income. But if you can also leave work proud of not just your success, maybe in the business you're in, but with your personal relationships that you're in. So we've tried really hard, but it wasn't a strategy. It wasn't like, get in the dressing room, get to know your client. I think it was authentic and organic. So back to what you're saying. I. For me, authenticity almost always serves me well. Strategy following what everyone else is doing has not served me well. My biggest hurdles have been when I jumped on the bandwagon.

[Liv Perez]

How can we support Elise Walker before opening?

[Elise Walker]

You've got a year to go anyone's.

[Liv Perez]

Asked me, I know you've got a year to go. So how can we support you, but also support Palisades, Altadena and beyond?

[Elise Walker]

Yes. So in terms of Altadena, it's something that my team and I are talking about, and we do want to find a way that maybe we can take our learnings, our expertise, our things that we're not good at that we figured out, and we do want to find a way to be supportive of commerce and Altadena. So that's something actually going on behind the scenes. We haven't decided exactly what it is yet, but we are 100% working on it because we want to be cheerleaders and helpers and role models if we have the opportunity to be the most important thing. And this might sound so fundamental, like, is really to go to our other stores, go in our stores in Tribeca and New York. We're in Southampton this summer. We're in Napa, we're in St. Helena, our Newport beach store and our Calabasas store. If you can go and support those stores because you can't get to the Palisade stores, it truly makes a difference. It doesn't just help us financially. Right. We have a huge hole. Gaping hole right now. Yes. Thank you. We want you to shop with us. It's so good for our team to want to know that you made the schlep all the way to Calabasas. Shop [e-mail] and. Or reach out to a stylist that maybe you knew, maybe you worked with. Even reach out if you're not gonna shop. Hey, Heather. How are you doing? How are the kids? I know this is. How's team morale? How are you? I cannot tell you what a difference that will be. You know, this was. I say their work home too, but. But my team is doing FaceTime appointments. All our team has, you know, their own Instagram handles. If you follow lease Walker Personal, which is mine. I'm constantly tagging Sydney and Shane and Annie. If you follow them one, you'll see what's new in the stores. But you can just DM them. They can FaceTime you. They can ship you on memo. We do half our business is memo. Meaning I need new work clothes, I need new mommy clothes. I need new this. I hate all the jeans in my closet. Or I have a huge event. Can you send me three options and whatever. And we build on that. Reach out. If you've ever worked with us or you've ever thought about working with us, or you've ever thought. I want to go see what this whole thing is in the Palisades. What are they talking about? Reach out to our styling team through EliseWalker.com, i think there's a port portal for stylists, but definitely through Instagram. We would love the opportunity to get to know you. So do it now and in a year.

[Liv Perez]

Both guys.

[Elise Walker]

Yes. Both. Yeah. Got it. Yes.

[Liv Perez]

Elise, thank you so much for being here. Truly, it's been so lovely to get to hear from you. And thank you for being a leader, both in fashion and business, but also as a person.

[Elise Walker]

Well, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity, Sam.