LOS ANGELES — Renee Johnston and Michelle Webb are the owners of Catwalk Designer Vintage. They both have been connected to the music video industry since it started in the early 80’s.

“I had come from a record company where I was a video producer at Atlantic Records back in the day, and I had worked with Renee styling music videos,” said Webb.


What You Need To Know

  • For 19 years, Catwalk Designer Vintage had been open to the public

  • The Fairfax District Shop had to close to the public in March Because of Covid-19

  • For years, celebrity stylists have come in for private shopping

  • To stay afloat, they're focusing on private shopping and digital outreach


“I saw how talented she was.”

Their store has been closed to the public since March, which caused sales to drop 80%. It’s why they are doing fashion shows on Instagram — looking to build up online and private clientele.

“If people can’t come to us, we’re gonna come to people,” Johnston said.

Their connection to entertainment industry has kept them going a bit. Private shoppers still come in and buy from them, including stylists for superstar Miley Cyrus.

Cyrus wore some of their merchandise in front of the world on New Year’s Eve. For years, celebrity stylists have also come to Catwalk for specialty jewelry, name brands, and clothing from today plus decades past, as far back as the 60’s.

“A lot of celebrities – they really wanna be original. And what I think I do here and what we do is – we capture the essence,” Johnston explained.

They don’t know when normal public shopping will return, if ever. It’s why they are trying to become the go-to place for private shopping.

“We’ve been doing that all along but with a lot of distractions from people just walking in and out,” Webb added.

“So now we can really focus on of our greatest talents which is dressing people one-on-one.”

For 19 years shoppers in the Fairfax District have come their way. Now they are reaching out digitally in the hopes many will return for a one-on-one experience fit for Hollywood.