In 1979 I opened the first and only existing clothing shop in Soho, on West Broadway between Spring and Broome streets. It was called LINDA HOPP, a nickname given to me by my mentor, the brilliant fashion photographer Gosta Peterson. The shop was an instant hit. It was designed in the Bauhaus style by my brother Robert Rodin, an architect, something quite unlike the emerging Soho neighborhood. And the fact that it was a clothing shop was also news to Soho.
I designed a line of clothing and also carried other wonderful designers — Calvin Klein, Todd Oldham and Norma Kamali. Dawn Mello, the Fashion Director of Bergdorf Goodman came in one day to shop for herself and asked me if I’d like to open a small boutique in Bergdorf's which we did. It was called THE HOPP SHOP. We had windows on Fifth Avenue and a charming small boutique like space on the 3rd floor.
Fast forward to my post LINDA HOPP days. I became a fashion stylist for the next 35 years and then created my own beauty line — RODIN olio lusso. And here I am today going back to my LINDA HOPP roots. I've designed a small curated collection of denim — I've been wearing Levi's since I was 5 — and I've always been a lover of anything and everything denim. The new line is once again called LINDA HOPP.