Skip to main contentThat special thing is happening in Portland fashion—some call it maturity, we call it puberty—where an industry grows enough that the founders can step aside and let the new kids on the block flourish. Therefore, we feel it is our duty to point the interrogation spotlight at Stumptown's new blood. Introducing the hottest new indie labels in PDX fashion: John Blasioli of A Broken Spoke; Nathaniel Crissman and Rachel Turk of church & state; and, on the major-label side of our fashion spectrum, Peter Kallen and Mark Galbraith of Nau (they are to apparel as Pollock was to abstract expressionism: they've broken the ice, proving garments can be made with compassion for the body, society and the environment).
These are folks with melon-sized cojones and the business plans and tangible talent to back it up—heralding a new breed of design creativity in Portland. Precision, intention, originality and detail are of utmost concern and importance. And the big picture? It's big. It's non-aspirated-h huge ("yuge," as Mr. Trump would say).
The question is, will the new blood stay in Portland?
A BROKEN SPOKE
Spying A Broken Spoke's John Blasioli in Albina Press is a cinch: He cuts a dapper figure in an immaculately tailored crisp white shirt and jeans. They're "basics," but this ain't the GAP; with Blasioli you get denim in a narrow, mod fit and an extraordinary button-down with detailed cuffs. The look personifies Blasioli's MO of menswear that "strikes the balance of dressy and casual," for guys "sick of wearing jeans and a silkscreened T-shirt."
After he was drafted to create touring costumes for the Decemberists, Blasioli felt confident enough to start selling pieces at East Burnside's Denwave. Soon, a full menswear line was conceived, following in the footsteps of his local colleague, Adam Arnold. But Blasioli blazes a trail of his own. Whereas Arnold may be conceptual and futuristic, Blasioli spins finely tailored pieces into casual wear. A broad tab on a jacket or cuffed shorts faintly echoing knickers transform basics from boring to charming.
Blasioli's will expand his West Coast distribution by the end of '07, with the help of his new industrial sewing machine ("I'm so excited!"). What can we expect? "New kinds of denim, and taking details to the next level: different kinds of pleating and pockets."
Sadly, there is a time limit on A Broken Spoke's PDX lifespan. Blasioli will live here for at least two more years (while his girlfriend finishes law school). "I might go away and then come back," he says. "But," he points out, "I don't know if [A Broken Spoke] would have happened if I didn't live here."
CHURCH & STATE
It's ironic that Rachel Turk and Nathaniel Crissman chose the name church & state for their line of mod-meets-ladylike threads. This is a couple: They live together, work together and finish one another's sentences. It's cute, in a (slightly) nauseating way.
Both Portland natives, Turk and Crissman met in the sixth grade. They didn't hook up until college, but their shared past makes the duo the picture of creative symbiosis. "We have similar tastes. We'll both point out the same new architecture, the same page in the magazine," explains Turk. "But church & state is a mixture of our styles." The fashion equivalent of a baby, if you will.
The baby looks like this: a deliberate, clean mixing of what the two call "modern-pretty." This means playing with shapes and surface, the "fingerprint" of church & state: Understated gathers, pintucks or covered buttons are juxtaposed with a modern profile.
The world has noticed: church & state has popped up in such fashion bibles as W and Nylon, and were finalists in last year's Gen Art Styles International Design Competition. Rather than inflate the ego, the attention unearthed a realization—the fashion world outside Portland isn't so daunting. Inspired, the designers began formalizing business plans; church & state's "sew your own" couldn't keep pace with the ideas tumbling out of its creators' brains.
Thus, expansion is on the church & state agenda. We're talking nationwide distribution, larger collections and the possibility of factory production. And like Blasioli, church & state are adhering to the traditional fashion calendar (the spring '08 line will be ready to show this fall). While Turk and Crissman both admit a magnetic pull to move to New York, Crissman reassured us: "We really like living here and we think we could do it here."
NAU
Explaining the philosophy of Nau is tantamount to translating New Age gobbledygook for the real world. Here is a company dedicated to enacting "change through design," that believe they came together organically under the umbrellas of Nike and Patagonia through a series of synchronistic meetings. And lo, Nau was born, an educated startup with a lofty mission: an outdoor-apparel company about sustainability, performance and beauty.
To realize the dream, Nau founder Eric Reynolds and CEO Chris Van Dyke turned to designers Mark Galbraith and Peter Kallen. Both were intrigued by the creative dare. Explains Kallen, "It's a rare opportunity—a blank canvas to play with, but that has to live within the confines of a challenging business model." Fabrics needed to be sustainable, so the clothing could be recyclable.
Galbraith and Kallen delivered. "I thought about how garments interact [at] the beach, the mountains, riding a bike or ice-climbing. [It needed] range and movement. At the same time, it had to be intentional. Every seam is considered—where [it's] placed and constructed, why the seam exists." We want to look stylin' while rocking a climbing harness—and Nau's khakis have pockets and seams allowing just that.
So, how does it look? IHot. For starters, Nau's logo is where it belongs: on the tag and nowhere else. The fabrics—recycled polyester and polylactic-acid fibers made from corn—are actually soft. And the design...oh, the design. It's tailored sportswear. A woman's jacket incorporates adjustable tabs on either side, that, layers or not, achieve shape. A shirt-jacket combo ("Shacket") avoids seams where skin is easily irritated. It's a great experiment: to be a small chain (initially, there will be four stores; Portland's, designed by Skylab, will open at the end of March in Bridgeport Village) yet produce garments that look and feel custom.
Will Nau stay in town? So far, yes. "Portland is off the radar, and so are we. You have to seek [in Portland]," says Kallen. "The same is true for Nau. A customer can come to us and find what it is that [they] need. But when you scratch the surface, you'll find something unique."
WWeek 2015