We get it: you probably feel like fashion brands have pretty much bandied the word ‘ethical’ around to the point of tedium as part of yet another marketing ploy to sell us stuff we don’t need. In some cases, maybe so. But there are real deal designers who have made it a personal mission to prove that being stylish and conscious aren’t diametrically opposed. Which is exactly how we found ourselves curled up on a sofa at the apartment-meets-studio of New York-based fashion designer, Nicole Heim.
Along with friend and business partner Chelsea Healey, Nicole designs some of the coolest, contemporary pieces out there right now with her label Cienne NY (Solange is a fan, need we say more) and does so by collaborating with rural artisans in a bid to offer pieces you won’t be able to find anywhere else, but also, to maintain traditional techniques and create jobs in those communities too.
Since setting up shop, Cienne NY has become something of an industry best kept secret and that’s how Nicole likes it. Don’t expect to see the brand in every department store and on the backs of every and any celebrity. The pair has made a point to offer an intimate shopping and discovery experience, remaining direct-to-customer. Read on for how she’s managed to build a cult following in less than two years (clue: it’s not all about who you know), the best advice she’s every received and why style with substance is the future.
Cienne NY was a name Chelsea and I created for a project back in design school in New York. The word later resurfaced, nearly a decade later, when I was in Ethiopia and learned that Cienne means traditional coffee cup in the Ethiopian language of Amharic. I also loved that it sounded French, and like a girl’s name. There was this very human element of the handmade process that led me to create Cienne, so I loved the idea of personifying Cienne as a woman. We incorporated New York in the brand name because the city is important for a few reasons. It’s where our roots lie and it’s also a huge inspiration for us as a brand – the general spirit of the city, the creative culture, the diversity, ambition, and grittiness. Lastly, it’s where we manufacture our entire collection. We’re proud to support local manufacturing, and I hope that our customers and community can feel the incredible quality that New York manufacturing delivers. I think being a New York based brand means you have an appreciation for hard work, dedication, and resilience. It’s not an easy place to live, and it’s an even tougher place to start and run a business.
I started Cienne with a mission that very much centered around human connection – from a personal standpoint, that really drives me. From the artisans that make our fabrics, to the family-run factory we work with here in New York, to our amazing community of customers – collaboration is what ties it all together. The more we can connect, learn from one another, and work together, the greater the results can be. In a more literal sense, we may connect directly to customers through the tool of technology, but a lot of magic happens offline, too. Seasonal events, branded pop-ups, trunk shows – any chance to connect directly with our customers offline, or to connect them to one another, is something that is really important to us.
I grew up in South California and that definitely influenced my design sensibility. I grew up traveling the coasts and mountains of the western US, so nature, travel, and the environment have always been huge inspirations for me. Design wise, I would say the casual aesthetic and vintage style of Southern Californian is noticeable as well. I always knew I wanted to move to New York, and I pretty much did as soon as I could. I think I was initially attracted to New York because it was the epicentre of fashion in the US, but once I arrived here, the city totally captivated me. For the first time ever, I actually felt like I fit in somewhere. I would walk the streets and be really energized by it all – this place can totally captivate you. The music, architecture, food, design, people – the world is at your fingertips here.
Before starting Cienne NY my primary role was always apparel design, but so many other aspects of the business interested me. I was really fascinated by the idea of a brand more so than a product, so regardless of the sector or aesthetic, I’ve naturally always gravitated towards companies with very strong brand identities. I was always creatively exploring areas outside of fashion design, like graphic design, branding, and storytelling. I think the first few years of my career were really about observing and listening; soaking up anything and everything that I could. Then I started to combine my experience with my creative exploration, and slowly I began to find my own aesthetic and voice within my work. It took a long time, and is still very much evolving. I don’t think it ever stops evolving, really. The creative process is a lifelong one. I would say my career progression happened fairly organically. I really believe in putting in the work and earning your experiences, so I had my head down working for years before I started to see any movement. Then slowly I took on more product categories, then an assistant, then overseas travel to factories and design summits, a small team, etc. I was always in search of more responsibility as the end-to-end process really inspired me, and I would get stir crazy if all I did was sit around and design all day. I loved the idea of designing something from nothing – but I also loved taking that design, introducing it to the customer, and learning from that process.
As a designer, I’m an advocate that design must lead the way for change to be made. As a consumer, I’m not going to sacrifice aesthetics for ethics, particularly in fashion, but I truly believe in the values behind brands. I felt it was really hard to find a solution that had both.
Entrepreneurship runs in my family, but creative pursuits do not, and it’s really the intersection of creativity and business that fascinates me. It wasn’t until starting Cienne that I fully realized that, and none of that would have come-to-be without years of working for someone else. I feel so fortunate to have had the career experiences I’ve had prior to having my own business. I was able to learn first hand from very smart women (and men) leading large teams and making difficult decisions. It was really inspiring. I was also exposed to complex global sourcing and manufacturing strategies, company infrastructures, the importance of the customer, financial architectures, the value of collaboration and teams. That’s real-world business that can only be learned through experience, and looking back it has been one of the biggest assets in starting my own business. It also gave me time to develop my own emotional intelligence and grow personally. So much of the everyday is about people – learning to collaborate, nurture, inspire, grow – I truly believe that the entire foundation of anything starts with people, and most importantly with knowing yourself.
My mission with Cienne all started because I believed ethics and aesthetics could co-exist, and in a way that I wasn’t seeing in the market. As a designer, I’m an advocate that design must lead the way for change to be made. As a consumer, I’m not going to sacrifice aesthetics for ethics, particularly in fashion, but I truly believe in the values behind brands. I felt it was really hard to find a solution that had both. I also didn’t want to be told to buy something because it was ‘made better’ or more ethically. Fashion is a wonderful experience, and I wanted to keep it that way – I wanted people to initially buy a piece because they loved it and it made them feel good, not because of how it was made. I believed the ethics piece should be built into our supply chain – it’s a tool we use to run the company and it’s our responsibility as a brand, not the customer’s. In time we hope that we are able to educate our community in how we operate, but the product must and will always come first.
I founded the company, and knew that I wanted a design partner, as the innovation and challenges product-wise needed a talented and experienced designer. I was humble enough to know that I could never do it alone, especially as I needed to be able to focus on the business side, too. Chelsea and I have been friends for over a decade, and aesthetic is something we instinctually share. There was no one else in the world I would have trusted more, and trust is extremely important to me. The opportunities of working with a partner are that you have someone to collaborate with and bounce ideas off of, and to just generally share the workload as starting a business takes an insane amount of work. Chelsea and I also share the same work ethic and believe in putting in 100% – you need someone who is willing to go that extra distance, especially when there is little payoff at the start. Of course, working with a partner comes with great challenges, too. It’s like a marriage. It takes constant communication, and at times really tough conversations. I also have to call myself out if I’m in ‘business mode’ and need to be in ‘friendship mode’ – I really had to learn to carve time out for our friendship or it’ll get lost in the constant attention the business needs.
I handle the business side with a small team, and Chelsea and I work together on the creative side. Creatively, our process flows really smoothly – it’s something I’m incredibly grateful for and will never take for granted. I tend to look at creative direction across the brand, and each season I’ll create a concept for the collection. I usually start by writing, and then filter in art, culture, textiles, and just about anything that’s inspiring me at the time – it’s all fairly high-level and conceptual. Then Chelsea takes that direction, and totally fills in with her unique touch. She brings in more tactile fashion references that are inspiring her; vintage pieces from her mom’s closet, a very strong colour-and-print point a view, her personal mantra of not taking fashion too seriously. Then we work together from there on out – we look to antique textiles a lot as we design a lot of our fabrics. Chelsea may lead overall shape, and then I’ll tackle the lines or proportion of a silhouette. Then we go into patternmaking and fittings, which is a long process and brings in the partnership of our very talented factory. By the time we land on the final collection, it’s had so many people add value along the way – from the artisans to our factory to our stylist – the magic truly happens in all of the collaboration. It becomes something so much greater than ‘something we designed’, yet it takes both of our fairly distinct point-of-views to keep it feeling cohesive.
We try not to look at runways or any other brands. Sure, we’re aware of what’s happening with trends or other designers, but I really value originality and we try to just stay true to who we are as a brand. Vintage is the biggest inspiration for us – both textiles and garments. We love the idea of breathing new life into an old idea. A French 19th century woven stripe textile can inspire an entire concept, or a 1970’s jumpsuit that has just the right leg shape can inspire a new shape that we want to focus on. It’s the little, nuanced things that may feel just the right amount of fresh, while still keeping things classic. The colour, print, and texture point of view is probably our favourite part, and what both Chelsea and I focused on in design school. It’s also a bit ironic as it’s a language that we share with the artisans – weaving a stripe, or block-printing a pattern…design takes on an entirely new meaning when it’s used as a way to communicate ideas.
I was really inspired to put ethics and aesthetics on the same page. Why couldn’t we have killer style and tell cool stories and have both go back to our values? The foundation was built around being conscious of both humanity and our environment. It’s why and how we operate…it’s not what we do. What we do is focus on design, aesthetic, and style. The why, how, and what must coexist – they’re equally important to me. In my opinion, fashion is also about being modern. It’s a creative expression that’s very influenced by what’s happening in the world, and I think we’re all thinking about ways to be more conscious with our lives. What if we packaged up all of our values and ethics and ideas into a modern garment, what would that feel like? It’s not to knock the fashion industry or other brands in any way, it was more about questioning and evolving, and creating something that felt relevant to today.
I definitely prefer to invest in quality pieces, and I cherish uniqueness. After seeing first hand what mass-producing looks like, I became really aware of the sheer amount in which we consume. I also simultaneously got tired of seeing all of the same stuff, which I think happens now with the rise of social media. I strive to only purchase pieces I truly love, and that will stay with me for a very long time. I also love vintage, for both the repurposing aspect and the reward of finding a really unique piece that no one else will have.
I don’t know that work/life balance exists when you run your own company – you’re never not working. It’s also why I love it though. However, I learned pretty quickly learned that the only way the company will be okay is if I’m okay.
I tend to be a bit of a workaholic and always have been. My biggest challenge is not working, so balance will be a lifelong lesson for me. I think the first year of building Cienne was all about pushing, but now I’m really trying to find my balance in it all. I don’t know that work/life balance exists when you run your own company – you’re never not working. It’s also why I love it though. However, I learned pretty quickly learned that the only way the company will be ok is if I’m ok. It takes extreme discipline to make sure I put myself first, but ultimately, I try and make sure I’m always exercising, sleeping, and generally taking care of myself. I tend to work in ‘sprints’ – I’ll work really hard for a period of time, and then try and take a bit of time totally off the grid, usually in nature and with family and friends. It may not be the healthiest method, and it rarely happens that I’m actually off the grid, but it works for my creative process and means that whatever I’m doing, I’m fully present for. I’m also learning to ask people for help, which isn’t easy, but can make or break the difference in finding time for yourself.
I’m an obnoxiously curious person, so I’m constantly reading or seeking out new information. I was a terrible student and teenager, so perhaps I’m making up for lost learning! I find the best way for me to keep myself inspired is through rest, nature, and travel. Stepping away for a fresh perspective is so important when you’re in the day-to-day of running a business, as it can be stressful, which zaps any sort of inspiration or creative process. I try and dedicate Saturdays to exploring, whether that’s listening to music and hanging out in my studio, or getting out and about in the city. At the end of the day, regardless of any actions that I take, I try and make sure that I’m personally evolving and growing rather than trying to keep up with the sheer pace of what’s happening around me.
We’re still really learning and adapting to what’s working and not working, so the future holds many unknowns. I’m very excited for 2016 – we’re introducing some new artisan partnerships that I’m really excited by, and the collections are getting stronger and stronger as we continue to build resources and creatively push forward. I’m also really working to expand our offline presence and touch our customers in meaningful ways.