William Rast opens its first stores in Century City, San Jose and Cabazon

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‘Sexy,’ Justin Timberlake-style, has arrived in California.

William Rast, the denim-based line co-founded by the pop singer and his childhood friend, Trace Ayala, opened its first-ever stores last week: two full-priced boutiques in Century City and San Jose, respectively, and an outlet store in Cabazon, Calif.

The full-priced stores -- which boast bold-and-boxy plywood elements that help affect a raw, industrial look -- carry the full assortment of the brand, with half the stores dedicated to menswear and the other half to women’s apparel. There are plenty of jeans, of course, but also sporty leather jackets, woven shirts and silk tops (for women).

‘Surprisingly, we only started this process about four months ago, and all the stores opened on time,’ said Colin Dyne, chief executive officer of William Rast. He added, ‘I think the architecture, the fixturing and the combination of light wood with black-and-white and neon – the design [of the stores] is a combination of new and old. It’s got a very architectural look to it.’

And the company is just getting started. There’s a plan to roll out 40 to 50 stores over the next two and a half years -- with roughly seven stores already in the negotiations phase.

--Emili Vesilind Photo of the Century City store courtesy of William Rast.