Elle and Riley Cashmere Opens First U.S. Store in Beverly Hills

New Zealand-born cashmere brand Elle and Riley has landed in Los Angeles, opening its first U.S. store in Beverly Hills.

Elle Pugh, who launched the brand with her mother Yolande Ellis, moved to L.A. a year and a half ago to prepare for this moment. 

“We’ve always loved America,” said Pugh, recalling frequent family visits. “Obviously, the market here is huge, so many people, so many tourists. You can’t really compare with the 5 million people who live in New Zealand. But for us, California just has this lifestyle where cashmere feels so deeply entrenched…that laid-back luxury lifestyle.”

They entered physical retail early, opening the first store in 2016, the year they launched. Since then, they’ve grown to six locations across New Zealand. The new 800-square-foot boutique — at 9619 Brighton Way — marks Elle and Riley’s first major international expansion.

“We just had a real love for cashmere,” Pugh said of starting the brand. “And at the time in New Zealand, there really wasn’t a lot of it available.” 

​​Over time, the brand’s reach began extending beyond its home market, with fans including Sofia Richie Grainge.

“We noticed a lot of our customers who were shopping were from the West Coast,” Pugh said. “They were visiting New Zealand on holiday and would buy a whole lot of cashmere to take home.…We started getting a lot of online orders from California.”

Bestsellers in California include the Essentials line of classic cashmere pieces and the Featherweight collection, designed for warmer climates. Entry pieces like the Cashmere Crew Tee retail for $390, while core styles range from $550 and up — offered in neutrals like black, cream, oatmeal, as well as powder pink, cherry red and seasonal pops like burgundy.

From the outset, physical retail was integral to their vision. Cashmere, Pugh said, “is so tactile and soft. People really want to come and experience it and feel it.” 

Still, the U.S. footprint comes amid turbulent global trade conditions. Manufacturing remains centered in Asia, with long-standing supplier relationships in Mongolia, Shanghai and Nepal.

“Of course [tariffs] have [impacted us],” Pugh said. “We’ve absorbed it for our customers in the U.S.…The new tariff implications that Trump’s talking about are certainly going to affect us a lot more than the current ones. He was talking about 110 percent the other day. That’s not ideal.” For now, the brand is resisting price hikes that might alienate its new customer base.

Despite growing internationally, the business remains self-funded. “It’s been probably a slower journey than if we had taken on some investment, but we’re happy with the way we’ve done it,” said Pugh. “We love having a final say in everything.”

Inside the Beverly Hills boutique, the brand has recreated its signature store design with soft hues and wooden accents. “We really try and make it feel like a very welcoming living room,” Pugh added.

Looking ahead, the cofounders plan to expand further into Southern California, New York and luxury resort markets like Aspen, while scaling e-commerce. “Once you put [cashmere] on, it’s like nothing else,” said Pugh.