In a Brentwood canyon tucked beneath towering sycamores and oak trees, Jenni Kayne begins most days at home. Before meetings, store visits and the rhythms of family life pull her across Los Angeles, there is soft light filtering through glass walls, nature just outside every window and the idyllic surroundings that have shaped her aesthetic for decades. “I’m a quintessential California designer,” Jenni says. “I feel really rooted and really at home here. For me, it always goes back to nature and the landscape.”
That feeling—understated, grounded and deeply connected to place—has become the foundation of one of the most quietly influential lifestyle brands to emerge from Los Angeles in the last two decades. What began as a small fashion line launched by Jenni at 19 has evolved into an expansive empire spanning clothing, interiors, beauty and design. And while the brand now has an international reach, its DNA remains unmistakably local. Jenni has quietly helped define the modern California aesthetic: relaxed but refined, luxurious without feeling flashy and deeply connected to nature.
Her latest book, Pacific Natural Everywhere—her third released by Rizzoli—cements that philosophy. The beautifully photographed volume explores how the restraint, ease and indoor-outdoor sensibility associated with California living can translate globally, from Wyoming and Colorado to Portugal and New Zealand. Organized around natural materials including Aspen, Pine, Oak and Ryegrass, the book examines homes where architecture and nature exist in humble conversation with one another. “It was really clear that it was a feeling,” Jenni says of the book’s central idea. “This idea of California living everywhere. I think that’s something people are trying to achieve no matter where they are in the world.”
Raised between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, Jenni grew up immersed in a distinctly Los Angeles creative and entrepreneurial sphere. Her father, Richard Kayne, co-founded the influential investment firm Kayne Anderson, while her mother, Suzanne, became deeply involved in philanthropy and the arts. Together, they raised three daughters who would each pursue creative paths. Sister Maggie Kayne became a prominent figure in the contemporary art world through her gallery Kayne Griffin Corcoran—which merged with Pace Gallery in 2022—while Saree Kayne focused on anthropology and philanthropic work through the family foundation.
Surrounded by artists, collectors, architects and designers from an early age, Jenni developed a visual vocabulary rooted in California sensibility. She attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, where she says her creativity was deeply nurtured through the school’s artistic environment. “I was definitely more creative and artistic than academic,” she says with a laugh. “Traditional school was not for me.” Jenni knew from childhood that she wanted to become a fashion designer, and soon after graduation, she launched her namesake brand in 2002. Initially conceived as a conventional ready-to-wear label, Jenni Kayne quickly became known for elevated essentials and impeccably understated knitwear—pieces that embodied the ease of West Coast dressing at a time when Los Angeles fashion was still often dismissed as too casual to be taken seriously.
“People used to make fun of California,” Jenni says. “Designers weren’t taken as seriously if you were from LA. But I embraced that idea of jeans and a T-shirt. I think there’s a restraint and an effortlessness to living here.” Long before “quiet luxury” entered the cultural lexicon, Jenni was building a brand around timeless neutrals, tactile materials and the idea of personal style that lasts season after season. “I really believe in building a uniform,” she says. “Clothes should be able to take you throughout your day.” As Jenni herself evolved into motherhood and family life, the brand evolved with her. After years of runway shows and wholesale distribution, Jenni shifted toward direct-to-consumer retail and immersive lifestyle spaces. Today, Jenni Kayne boutiques feel less like fashion stores and more like complete expressions of the brand’s worldview, with her signature cocoon sweaters and silk slips displayed alongside candles, furniture, shoes, handbags and cashmere throws.
Nowhere does that vision feel more at home than in Brentwood. Jenni first opened at the Brentwood Country Mart in 2012 with an apparel-focused boutique. A decade later, the brand expanded with a dedicated Jenni Kayne Home store, creating a fuller representation of the lifestyle brand she has spent years building. “I can’t even imagine having a store somewhere else,” Jenni says of the Country Mart. “It’s such a staple on the westside.” The connection runs deep. Growing up, Jenni remembers coming to the Country Mart for Reddi-Chick baskets and fries—traditions now shared with her own children. She credits longtime owner Jim Rosenfield with preserving the integrity and intimacy that make the Mart feel uniquely local despite its cultural cachet. “There’s something for everybody,” she says. “If you live in Brentwood, you end up there way more than you think you will.”
Despite overseeing a rapidly expanding company, Jenni and her husband, real estate agent Richard Ehrlich, remain deeply rooted in home life. They live with their three children in their Brentwood canyon property, which is featured in Pacific Natural Everywhere. Designed in collaboration with acclaimed Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen, with landscaping by Christine London, the home became a major inspiration for the book itself. The property’s mature oak trees helped dictate the layout, while soft native grasses were planted as an homage to the area’s natural terrain. A lifelong equestrian, Jenni has long felt deeply connected to animals, and the family home reflects that spirit, with horses, goats, a donkey and other pets woven into daily life on the grounds. “You would never know you’re in Brentwood,” Jenni says. “That’s what I love about it. You have access to the westside and the convenience, but it feels magical and quiet.” Like many of the residences featured in her book, the property is centered around the relationship between architecture and nature. Glass walls open outward from nearly every room, blurring the line between indoors and outdoors. “When you walk into your house, you want your shoulders to drop,” Jenni says. “You want to feel like you can live in your space.”
That same philosophy of comfort, simplicity and connection continues to shape the brand’s evolution. Jenni Kayne has since expanded into furniture, interiors, tabletop, children’s clothing and wellness.. Oak Essentials, the company’s clean skincare line, has quickly developed a devoted following for its spa-like formulations and emphasis on ritual and simplicity. The brand has also launched a budding interiors division designing homes and hospitality-style projects around the world, including a farmhouse in Hudson Valley, New York and Te Arai Links in New Zealand, where her parents now reside.
At the same time, Jenni continues to grow internationally. Earlier this year, Jenni Kayne launched shipping across Canada, Europe, Australia and additional global markets, reflecting growing demand abroad. “I think California living really is an ethos that can translate anywhere,” she says. That perspective also informed the brand’s recent collaboration with fellow Southern California company Business & Pleasure Co.—a collection of umbrellas, seating and outdoor accessories that extends the Jenni Kayne aesthetic into exterior spaces.
Travel, too, remains a major source of inspiration creatively. While she and her husband describe themselves as homebodies who prefer entertaining friends to nights out, she speaks passionately about the places that continue to shape her worldview. Her favorite California escapes include San Ysidro Ranch, Sea Ranch, Ojai Valley Inn and Rancho Valencia, while destinations like New Zealand, Montana, Colorado and Amangiri have similarly informed her appreciation for nature-driven design and slower living. “I think travel has a huge impact on creativity,” she says. “When you’re relaxed and not stressed and busy is when you’re most creative.”
Still, no matter how global the brand becomes, its emotional center remains Los Angeles—and the westside point-of-view that shaped Jenni from the beginning. Natural materials, thoughtful spaces, understated clothing and slower living: from her Brentwood home, that once-local philosophy has slowly and surely become worldwide.
Jenni Kayne Brentwood
225 26th St., Suite 30b
424-268-4765
Jenni Kayne Home
225 26th St., Suite 39
424-291-8680
jennikayne.com