KIMEM

Melding a European sensibility with an West Coast style, Kimberley Pariente and Emilie Boschung are the designers behind KIMEM, a nascent fashion label based in Los Angeles, California. The name is drawn from the first letters of the founders' names, and is also a play on the French term "qui m'aime" meaning "who loves me".
 
Fashion and business graduates, and of Swiss and French backgrounds respectively, Pariente and Boschung sought to enter a segment of the market that they felt under-served with simple but covetable and beautifully made clothing.
 
The spirit of the line is young but the style and the construction of the pieces place few age limits on the wearer. Made in Los Angeles and Asia, and pitched at a favorable price point, KIMEM clothes are designed to be worn, to form key pieces in any wardrobe. They are not thought of as basics, but rather as go-to items that will not be left languishing in the back of the closet but will be worn and loved on a daily basis. As such, they are designed to be fashionable but yet outside of short-lived, ephemeral trends.
 
The KIMEM launch collection offers styles in 100% crisp cotton poplin and a weighty 100% silk, fabrics chosen for their feel and functionality, but also for the luxurious, classic refinement they impart, providing fuss-free natural hold and hang without a surfeit of unnecessary detailing, never overwhelming the wearer. The aim is for the woman to feel at ease so that her own personality will always shine through.
 
For this first collection the designers looked to the history of the town in which they're based: Los Angeles. The evocative name conjured up all kinds of visions of cinematic glamour on the one hand, but also blue skies, palm trees and free-spirited easy living on the other, and this collection acts as a modern combination of the two, a touch of nostalgia without the retro aspect. A tight palette of seven solid colors, from white to crystal blue to fiery red, provides the perfect foil for styles and emotions that seem like a sartorial expression of LA life.
 
A play on shirts and shirtwaisters - with unobtrusive details like contrast collar tips, skinny self-belts and rounded hems - results in a clean, casually worn chic style. A softly draped silk coat, gently ruffled cropped tops, slim shorts, puffed mini-skirts and unexpected flashes of skin provide subtle sexiness. T-shirts and sweatshirts tick all the boxes of classic West Coast style. The t-shirts come printed with the legend "KIMEM me suive", bluntly translating as "who loves me follows me", but concealing a wealth of flirty French provocation that might be better read as "You like what you see?"
 
Moving in creative, active circles, the designers are planning to develop collaborations with various artists, influential personalities and friends for their next collections, injecting KIMEM with the vibe of the open and inclusive environment that spawned it.