Cienne cofounders Nicole Heim and Chelsea Healy like to say they design clothes that are “both interesting and necessary.” There’s a lot of interesting fashion out there right now, but you certainly can’t say it’s all necessary. Ditto the inverse; many of the “essentials” on the market just don’t feel special. Heim and Healy are aiming to fill the gap and are tapping into fashion’s new, more thoughtful mind-set: that clothes should be personal and unique, but also wearable, comfortable, and relatively timeless. Right now, it’s more about finding what you love and embracing it.
Conscious is another way to describe it. The Cienne woman is conscious of her style and what works for her, but she’s also conscious of the brands she invests in and what they stand for. Cienne is among a new wave of upstarts prioritizing small-batch production; natural and low-impact fabrics; artisanal crafts; and purposeful design. Heim and Healy source natural materials from Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America, and manufacture their clothes locally in the Garment District, with an eye towards sculptural silhouettes and zero extraneous details. The designers met as students at the Fashion Institute of Technology and later worked together at Victoria’s Secret, a company that has received low scores in sustainability reports (though VS has recently begun to phase out wood-based fabrics like rayon and viscose). After witnessing the sheer scale of the company, and plenty of excess and waste, Heim and Healy set out to do the polar opposite with Cienne. Their collections champion the hand-worker while quietly asserting that no, you don’t need 12 jumpsuits—you need one or two really great ones. The sustainable fashion conversation isn’t just about fabrics and production models; it’s also about a new approach to consumption in general.
That said, Heim and Healy are hoping women buy Cienne because they love the bold prints, rich colors, and nuanced silhouettes—not just the mission. The Fall 2018 collection will be tempting for women of many tastes, whether or not they know the difference between cupro and Tencel. Inspired by the Katinsky House in São Paulo, Brazil, the collection has a push-pull between natural textures and sleek lines, mirroring the home’s lush landscape and midcentury interiors. Shades of hunter green, saffron, and deep eggplant feel appropriately current, and the stripy woodgrain print (or is it zebra?) touches on the arty-minimalist vibe happening on the runways. The strength of the collection is in less-expected details: the white piping on a pair of leather trousers, the slits at the hem of a mannish coat, the rib cage cut-out on a silky dress. The biggest challenge for Heim and Healy moving forward will be to establish signature, unmistakably “Cienne” pieces. Those curvy leather pants could be a contender; Heim and Healy should consider cutting them in a few different colors and fabrications, including vegan leather. There aren’t many designers doing both real and faux right now, especially in Cienne’s market, so it could be a sweet spot.
