What's in Store: Five Takeaways From The House of LR&C in Park Meadows

The House of LR&C, a clothing store started by new Denver celebs Russell Wilson and Ciara, just opened a location in Park Meadows.

The two started the House of LR&C (the initials stand for Love, Respect and Care) online, then opened a pop-up in Seattle in February 2020; there are now two permanent stores in Washington. House of LR&C CEO Christine Day (former Lululemon CEO), along with Wilson and Ciara, plan to open nine stores in addition to the Park Meadows location this year. The shopping center — make that "retail resort" — had already been selling LR&C clothes through Nordstrom, where the Good Man Brand, its men's line, is the top men's brand.

Wilson, who just started training camp as the new quarterback of the Denver Broncos, and Ciara, a Grammy Award-winning singer, wanted to open a store in metro Denver because they've moved to Cherry Hills. The House of LR&C took over the space that had been occupied by Vera Bradley, adjacent to the fountain. It officially opened after a private bash (fourteen Broncos!) on July 23.

Five takeaways if you go there now:

1. The House of LR&C is committed to sustainability
The House of LR&C is a certified B corporation, which means it's been deemed environmentally and socially responsible by B-lab. "B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials," according to the nonprofit B-lab's website. For example, all of the hangers in the store are made of cardboard and take only six weeks to decompose. LR&C uses recycled cashmere, polyester, silk and organic cotton in its clothes, and works with the Leather Working Group, a company that focuses on "environmentally friendly" leather production. "They really take sustainability seriously," says Antoinette Vincent, the store's manager.
2. The House of LR&C is all "luxury-lifestyle"
The clothing may be sustainable, but don't expect Birkenstocks. This is "luxury-lifestyle," according to the brand; Vincent describes the clothing as "high-end tailored pieces." Wilson and Ciara hand-pick the leather shoes they sell, which go for around $200; a pair of leather pants has a $598 price tag. But there's also a plain black T-shirt for $68, and a $40 kid's shirt-and-shorts set.

3. Much of the decor in the Park Meadows store is reused and thrifted
When stores leave the mall, the space is often gutted and its new occupant outfits it from scratch. But as part of LR&C's efforts to be less wasteful, this store thrifted a lot of its decor items and reused some Vera Bradley items, including the lighting fixtures painted by a local artist. Decorators also thrifted items like a leather bench and chair rather than buying brand-new furniture, Vincent notes.
4. The store is not a pop-up
A lot of stores in Park Meadows seem to come down almost as soon as they open. The House of LR&C plans to stick around in this location as long as it is doing well — and the evidence is that it will. The company is also considering opening a location in the Cherry Creek mall, and bringing Good Man Brand to Denver International Airport in the fall.

5. The retailer is dedicated to giving back and inclusivity
In 2014, Wilson and Ciara started the Why Not You Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty by supporting children's access to education, as well as health and food security. "Three percent of our proceeds go there," Vincent says. The retailer has donated a million dollars in the two years that it has been open, according to the House of LR&C website. The House of LR&C is also dedicated to inclusivity. It has a gender-inclusive line called human nation, and many of the items include information on mental health. The T-shirts even have a flowcode that takes you to a list of mental health resources.