design: KitKit Dodge
Portland loves its locally grown fashion. Most all of our fêted designers are either native or started their lines in our unique creative-class incubator. So what happens, then, when you throw a transplant into the mix? Willow O’Brien is a Portland native, but made her bones (and KitKit Dodge, her line of repurposed knitwear) in San Francisco for the past several years. Now she’s moved back to, as she put it, “take a bite out of Portland.”
Despite growing up here, O’Brien spent the past several years in the City by the Bay. She had taken some sewing classes, but it took a little bit of peer pressure to get her behind a sewing machine. Inspiration struck when Ms. O’Brien was running her vintage store Verunica. Lots of clothing came through that was interesting or worthy but slightly imperfect; just enough to make it unsellable. With goading from her business partner, O’Brien took these pieces and combined them with deadstock fabrics to make her line KitKit Dodge. She has a particular soft spot for cashmere, silk and denim, staples in her line.
these are detachable/ed arm-warmers under this cape! design: KitKit Dodge
The overall vibe of the line is classical inspiration with modern touches. There are a-line and pencil skirts with small plackets or distinctive pleating, printed blouses with the occasional ruffle, and the odd slinky jersey dress (this season’s version is in a bamboo jersey). Tension, too between the easy buck and the continued evolution. Two of the most striking pieces from this season’s collection are a wool cape and silk fleece wrap coat, but O’Brien explained that throughout her time as a designer one of her best sellers has been a basic cashmere panty.
In one of the most important respects, O’Brien is of a piece with the established Portland designers: part of the cachet of KitKit Dodge is that it is entirely domestically produced. “People tend not to think about where their clothes come from, and that’s a problem for me, ” she said, and so she does the design work and makes the first pieces, then collaborates with a pattern maker and small factory. Both are still in San Francisco, however, and she is hoping to make the full transition to Portland and source local production.
As for the provenance of the name, “That’s easy. It’s my porn name,” she said, referring to the game of combining the name of your first pet and the street you grew up on to discover your alter ego. KitKit Dodge can be found at Odessa (410 SW 13th), the full line is stocked at Seaplane (827 NW 23rd), and on the web at kitkitdodge.com
–Will Levin
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