Kule collection launch

Nikki Kule portrait by Marko MacPherson for Keep it Chic

KiC recently caught up with one of our first Style Setters, Nikki Kule. Last summer I was thinking about a kid’s cashmere fisherman-knit sweater that Nikki had designed a few years ago.  I asked her if, by any chance, she had one left over. “You’re in luck!” she replied and proceeded to tell me about the Kule women’s line she had set to debut this fall.

So, with KiC photo team in tow, we stopped by her uber chic (70′s mixed with antiques) apartment to preview the premier Kule collection. You have to remember, despite being an Upper East Side mother of two and head designer of Brooks Brothers’ children’s line, Nikki is super cool and relaxed with boho-meets-prep style. The eponymous collection captures its “preppy luxe” tagline to a T, with perfectly cut grey wool trousers, tailored jackets that are “just so”, sleeveless sweaters, Breton striped tops, and a bunch of great accessories. The entire line, plus some hand-picked “essentials” from MiH, Woolrich, Black Fleece and others, are available on her Kule website.

And yes, there is the most divine cashmere fisherman-knit sweater in her new collection!

You have been successful at designing children’s clothes, what made you want to re-launch Kule as a women’s line?  I have been so lucky to have customers who have been so incredibly supportive over the years and willing to share directly with me what they want and what they are looking for. So many of them asked me to make the kids clothes in their sizes. Also, many of them would wear the kids clothes themselves. I made a couple of capsule collections for women years ago and they did very well.  As soon as my kids grew out of the kids clothes I decided it was time to do something that was pure me.

Who is the Kule customer?  She definitely has style and wants to always look great but she does so in the most effortless way. I want my customers to always feel comfortable but cool and modern at the same time.

You describe Kule as being Preppy Luxe. What is your inspiration for the line?  I love everything that is classic and timeless.  But even with the most iconic styles, fashion is never finished.  I am inspired to reinterpret them in the most luxurious fabrics with a modern take. This season I found inspiration in the Scottish Aran knit sweater, the stripe boat neck tee and an old vintage Fair Isle sweater.  I made them in super luxe cashmere with a sleeker fit to bring the classics to this decade. The preppy look is what I grew up with and what I aspired to wear as a teenager. I was always influenced by the New England aesthetic– the collegiate look from movies like The Graduate and Love Story and stores like LL Bean and Brooks Brothers.

Kule essentials:  Everything I design is meant to be timeless and classic.  That is the definition of an icon and the essence of the Kule brand.  I want my customer to feel that each piece is an investment that they can wear for a long time. I plan to have my basic items, like the cashmere sweaters, always available.

Your fall essentials:  Fall essentials aren’t so much about the items as what I am doing.  For example, I love taking walks in Central Park with my kids on the weekend.  That to me is a ‘fall essential.’ As for clothes, I will be wearing my Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Macintosh bowler bag and Mih oversized white shirt with a Kule Scottie ivory sweater and a Woolrich down coat.

Coming next season:  This was a very small collection that will be sold mainly online.  Next season the collection will include more handbags and I am currently working on shoes. Mostly, I have been working on sourcing globally to expand Kule’s design capabilities and to insure a truly unique look to each piece.

Chloe Lonsdale

I met Chloe, founder and creative director of MiH (Made in Heaven) Jeans, at an intimate girls’ fashion dinner she held last year, immediately fell in love with her, and have been meaning to write about her ever since. The British Chloe has denim running through her veins, her father created the British Jean Machine stores in the 70s (there were over 100 storefronts in its heyday), her model mother wore nothing but jeans, and her godfather originally founded MiH. In 2005, Chloe asked her godfather if she could relaunch MiH; it was a brilliant move. Preston and I both own a small wardrobe of their Paris style jeans, and I really like the knits, tops and jackets that are starting to fill in the collection. Chloe is not only fun (a real girl’s girl) and savvy, she is also now the mother of three (she had her daughter days after I interviewed her below). I’m impressed. And forever thankful for those flattering MiH jeans!

When you relaunched MIH, what in essence did you keep the same about the brand? What did you change? It was exactly that–I kept the essence of the brand, the energy that my Mum brought to the product when modeling it in the 70s. That timeless, effortless way of wearing jeans that was quite unique compared to the western denim aesthetic. As to what I have changed, it is 30 years on and women do not want to look like they are living in the 70s so it was important to offer something that was modern and relevant, while still being true to the brand’s heritage.

You travel a lot between New York and London. How do Americans wear jeans differently than the British? The Brits are more experimental with how they dress and that applies to denim as well. In the US, there is usually one strong trend at a time.

Go-to MIH pieces: London and Paris jeans, our oversize shirt and our leather biker jacket.

Fave fall MIH pieces: Our new knitwear–the Figured Guernsey and the Oversize Tube Jumper in Donegal worn with super soft skinny Vienna jeans in Creedance.

Who in your opinion is the ultimate jeans girl? Brooke Shields in the original Calvin Klein ads remains so iconic for me. The images still have the same impact today as they did when they first came out.

Fall essentials: A new handbag, I have my eye on a beautiful Celine one, and a great peacoat.

Fave addresses in London and New York: London has to be home and our new local Pizza East at the top of Portobello Road. When I’m in New York, I am always happiest staying at the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca, and I make sure I eat at Cafe Gitane around the corner from our office in Nolita.

Next destination: I’m not going anywhere for a while as I’m due to have a baby next week!

Keeps you sane: My husband, swimming and watching back-to-back episodes of Suits.

Being a mom means: Committing myself to very little sleep for the next five years!

Follow this link to shop more MiH here…..

Feeling blue

At the couture shows © French Vogue

Lately, I seem to be stockpiling blue button-down shirts: a classic one from agnes b., a lighter voile version from J. Crew, a oversized peasant shape from MIH, even a pretty good one from Old Navy and a men’s one from H&M to wear as a beach cover-up. Blue shirts have become a minor obsession. Why? I can’t really say. Maybe it’s because they look good with everything and sometimes white is just too straightforward.