Designer issue 22

FINE THE FLUID TALES BEHIND LA’S MOST BEWITCHING PATTERNS

JUSTIN TYLER CLOSE RICHIE DAVIS MAKEUP CAITLIN WOOTERS HAIR ELISE WELCH MODEL CARSON @ FORD MODELS

PHOTOGRAPHY

STYLING

TEXT

ERIN DENNISON

If anyone understands the importance of detail, it’s Rozae Nichols. From the intricate patterns to the multifarious narratives they illustrate, the designer’s latest sartorial offering, Clover Canyon, showcases an instantly recognizable visual identity. Crayola palettes are displayed with measured opulence and adorn complementary silhouettes, resulting in garments that are both venturesome and poised—much like the designer herself. From the line’s 2012 debut, each season’s themes have been embossed with a sardonic playfulness that keeps their complex cultural anecdotes lighthearted. Contradictory, curious, and thoughtful, Nichols moves with intent.

Rozae greets me at the door of their tenth floor offices, and leads me across a well-lit space of samples and polite employees. She is gracious, well-spoken, and striking, wearing an exquisite shade of burnt red matte lipstick (that I really should have inquired about). Over the next hour and change, our conversation morphs from the tricky logistics of LA production to the algorithm of nuanced wit. All in all, we discuss what makes this unique brand, its creators, and consumers, tick.

So, what comes first, the story or the approach?

Nicols explains, “More than anything, it’s the textile and the narrative within the history of textile development that has always fascinated me since the 25 years of doing this. I’ve always worked with print and pattern. And I’ve always had a head for regional textiles and symbols—how cross-cultural they can be and how exclusive they are to certain regions of the world.”

She elaborates by describing an analytical perspective more comprehensive than I anticipated. “They’re certain universal symbols that exist but in different colorations, depending on dyes available in various countries, or the celebration of hues, which are symbolic to different cultures. That is one of the foundations of the idea of this line. So it’s not just the journey of the physical place, it’s also the research and appreciation of all the pattern involved in all of these places.”

As history so often has it, many regions have endured a complicated chronicle laced with political unrest, resulting in a synthesis of cultures. Clover Canyon isn’t shy about addressing the obscure veracity right along with the notable fancy. “For

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MORE THAN ANYTHING, IT’S T H E N A R R AT I V E WITHIN THE H I S TO R Y O F T E X T I L E D E V E LO P M E N T T H AT H A S A LWAY S FA S C I N AT E D M E . . . I ’ V E A LWAY S HAD A HEAD FOR REGIONAL TEXTILES A N D SY M B O L S — H OW C R O S S - C U LT U R A L THEY CAN BE AND H O W E XC L U S I V E T H E Y A R E TO C E R TA I N R E G I O N S O F T H E WO R L D.

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example,” Crayola explains, “we used tribal beading this season.

well above standard wage requirements), which Nichols has

I found this to be more beautiful and intrinsic to quality than the

judiciously termed fluid. “The key is transparency. For us it’s

colonial fine gems and excavation of diamonds in South Africa.

quite genuine. I’ll say it’s never easy, but it certainly becomes

So we played with juxtaposing all of those images. Using beautiful

more fluid.” A note to LA designers—elevated standards in

western cut jewels and interweaving them with African cloth. Or,

content and manufacturing are certainly not the easy route, but

on the other hand, using the beading and mixing those images

they are attainable, and fulfilling.

with traditional English lace and so forth. Constantly crossing . . . and celebrating the weight of the beauty of both sides.”

To define anyone by their job description is reductive at the best of times, but in the case of Nichols and her small,

From imperialism to Irish folklore, the contemporary

but potent creative team, it’s positively misleading. Presumably,

line has found its voice by delving into the edification and spirit

there are few fashion designers who muse such grandiose

of the regions it muses. Even in its youth, Clover Canyon has

notions as Aristotle’s manners with the constitution of ancient

managed to solidify an identity of a rolling aesthetic conversation.

Greek patrimony, in order to construct a chiffon baseball jacket.

Unexpectedly scholarly, sure, but let us not forget to mention the

The hand-made prints of Clover Canyon are painted by brush,

potency of their flattering silhouettes and carefully chosen hues

guided by an unmistakably anthropological whimsy.

every season. And of course, the brand’s responsible production

collections deep, this instantly esteemed women’s contemporary

practices (they print locally, cut in-house, and pay their workers

line is heady for the cerebral, but elegant for everyone.

Only five

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