Kimberley Newport-Mimran has worked in the fashion industry since she was a teenager, but it wasn’t until she found herself juggling her personal and professional roles that she discovered the concept for her own collection.
All at once, she says, she knew what busy women need: no-fuss, versatile clothes that travel well and look good all day long.
“I’m a working mother and I’ve found you need fabrics that really work for your lifestyle — your clothes don’t need to be sitting at the dry cleaner,” the designer said during a phone interview from Toronto, where she lives with her husband and 8-year-old daughter.
“It’s the whole idea of going from day to dinner and you just change your shoes and put lipstick on and still look great,” she said.
She commutes between Canada and her New York showroom and travels frequently to stores. She’ll be in Denver on Wednesday to show her spring line at Neiman Marcus.
“It’s really important to get out and connect with the customer,” she said. “Retail has been hit hard with the economy.”
Newport-Mimran views store visits as a way to show women how to update their wardrobes and mix new pieces with what they already own. “Modern dressing is more about separates and less about ‘outfits,’ ” she said of pieces in the line, which are typically priced at $125 to $595.
That’s why she’s big on offering pieces like white shirts, slim skirts and cardigan sweaters. Those items have earned a following among such celebrities as Kate Hudson and Natalie Portman as well as working women in Canada and the U.S.
The designer recommends experimenting with new styles and shapes, like the sleeveless anorak in her spring line. “You have to try clothes on,” Newport-Mimran said. “Sometimes you have a perception of what looks good on you that is no longer true. We try to show our collection so it looks modern on the runway, but it is still classic enough that it can be worn in a lot of different ways.”
Newport-Mimran builds function into her designs, so a woman has items to go to season after season.
“I want clothes that you can travel in and look good on the other side, or a skirt that you can wear in the car for an hour and it still looks perfect.” She is a stickler for fabrics, wear-testing materials before they end up in her line. “I love our denim, which is 9 percent Lycra. It’s a dressed-up version of denim, is slimming and feels great.”
In knits, “I love pima cotton and merino. Cashmere pills too much,” she said.
Fabric weights are also an issue. “It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, we work in temperature-controlled environments, so you have to layer.”
The designer’s husband, Joseph Mimran, started the Club Monaco chain of contemporary women’s and men’s clothing stores, and Kimberley worked on the design side. Club Monaco was later sold to Ralph Lauren and Newport-Mimran’s next step was to open Pink Tartan. The name comes partly from her Scottish heritage and partly from the fact that her daughter, Jacqueline, represents “ruffles and everything about being a girl and being feminine.”
In contrast, she says, “I’m more about the classics.”
When she looks for inspiration, it’s often to vintage Vogue magazines and such style icons as Audrey Hepburn. She leaves such trends as goth and bohemian to other designers.
To wit: one of her wardrobe perennials is a white shirt. She has dozens of them, most in crisp cotton.
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
Mix and match
Adding a few key pieces to your wardrobe each season can update it without reinventing your style.
Here are some of Pink Tartan designer Kimberley Newport-Mimran’s picks for spring:
A cardigan jacket. “Sweaters are a nice alternative to the blazer. They look feminine and polished and are easy to wear.”
A silk wrap dress, as the fabric feels nice on your skin.
A sleeveless anorak. “I like to wear it over a dress; it’s a little more dressed-up version of cargo.”
A novelty skirt with scallop treatment.
