The meet cute story is that Nat and I have known each other since our early 20’s. She had just moved here, from Australia, and we met at a yoga dance studio where she worked that I would take classes at. We were both at the beginning of our careers and lives, pre babies and husbands and had no idea what was in-store but she was so sweet and shy and new to LA and I instantly adored her!
When she was just starting to develop the brand, “boho chic“ was having its peak moment (I cringe when I hear that term now) but I think we were both individually starting to define what our own personal style was and out of that came this other thing. I always loved fashion, but my taste was all over the place as it is when you're young, you really must learn what suits and flatters you the most but also, what woman do you want to be in the world, how do you want to be perceived. Natalie came up with these styles and silhouettes that felt effortless, not trendy, not contrived, just timeless. It was like those cotton Indian floral hippie blouses we all used to troll vintage stores for in high school you couldn't find any more but elevated. She redefined those into the perfect dress, the perfect blouse and then it became this iconic moment where suddenly everyone at school drop off was wearing them, they were everywhere you looked, it was insane. It was such a moment and I was so excited and proud of her. Literally EVERYONE had a Fiore dress. It became a uniform.
As time went on, and social media was becoming a thing, we were all trying to figure out how to use it creatively to our advantage and I think that's when Nat and I developed this very organic relationship of mutual admiration for each other's style. I absolutely lived in her clothes. I would go into the office and grab all the beautiful new styles she'd do that inspired me, she’s always been so generous and then I would go off and do these photo shoots with a photographer friend that I would just sort of creative direct on my own and we'd end up with all these gorgeous images for content to post it sort of solidified us. That was it. Over time, the way I started to dress had so much to do with the styles that Nat was defining as an emerging designer with her core pieces of the brand that I think we sort of became synonymous with one another.
We have always worked together in some sense so it just seemed like a natural evolution at this stage in both of our lives and careers to do something in a bigger more defined way together and I could not be more excited about it.
When people see the collaboration they say “Oh my god, it’s so you!” but that's because Natalie’s designs are so much a part of how I defined my own style, they're intertwined. There is an innate femininity to the brand without being frilly or girly that I have always loved. It feels European, it's put together in a completely casual way, it's not fussy. It is femme-core at its finest - you don't have to think about it.
There are a few styles that I have worn for over 10 years now that are my go-to for any and everything and she knows what they are, which I love. Sometimes it feels like she made them with me in mind, which is lovely. When I put them on, it's like a glove that just fits, effortless.
I think what is special about what we did together is it’s really a timeless collection of staples that are interchangeable. In my mind we wanted to evoke Bianca Jagger and Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco in the 70’s. You pack 6 pieces into a tiny carry on and your set for a getaway. There's no color, no floral so everything goes together in a way that is so elegant. Just the taupe and black palette in stripes and polka dots, two iconic patterns that speak for themselves. The silhouettes evoke an ultra-feminine woman but the patterns are bold, that's what I feel when I put them on.
You can wear them flowing over swimwear in summer to the beach and you can wear them under sweaters and coats with loafers or boots in the fall, what more do you need?!
