From Brooklyn with love

A French fashion designer thanks New York for influencing her work

By Tori Rosin
Published: June 3rd, 2009 | 9:40am

Being a fashion designer was never in Caroline Flach’s childhood plans. In fact, she began to sew out of necessity “I used to sew when I was a teen because I couldn't find clothes that I liked,” she said. She was looking for simple designs made of interesting and quality fabrics. “I made a zillion variations of a long fluid straight spaghetti strap dress and some cigarette pants,” Flach said.

A few years and countless stitches later, Flach is at the helm of Kcoline, a two year old dress label available on Etsy. With Kcoline garnering mentions in the fashion blogosphere, Allure, and Glamour, she still has the same philosophies about fashion that she did in her youth. “I didn’t have any icons or favorite fashion designers; I still don’t,” Flach said. “I love what I do for what it is: a creative experience. Of course it’s better if you like it!”

Flach, a French native, moved to New York City in 2002. “Kcoline is the result of a long incubation period of five years of working not-so-glamorous jobs in the city,” she said. “It took me a while to define my goals and also to get the proper street training,” Flach said.

Now based in Brooklyn, Flach said the city itself kept her on track toward launching Kcoline. “The people of NYC taught me that it is okay to dare!” she said. “It’s amazing how many styles are going on here, people wear their story on themselves and aren't ashamed of any style flaws or eccentricity. I now believe that it should be fun to dress up everyday, it’s like a role play and you can take it as far as you want to.”

That influence can be seen in her well-constructed dresses, made with what Flach calls “natural and noble” materials like silk, cashmere, wool, and linen. “I love playing with styles, improvising outfits by coordinating my clothes with my mood. I do drastic style changes sometimes and people get confused a little bit; it amuses me,” Flach says.

Celebrities have taken notice of the line. “Courtney Love bought a sequined dress from me and I love the idea of her having fun in Kcoline,” Flach said. Now that an Oscar nominee has bought a dress from Flach, she’d like to see Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet follow in Love’s footsteps.

When Flach looks into the future, she sees a lot of possibilities for Kcoline. “I would like to be able to keep on running small productions, handmade and unique while growing,” Flach said. “However I still work towards being part of the high-fashion world and being featured in magazines and editorials. I wouldn't mind Kcoline to be distributed at Barneys, for instance...”

View more of Flach’s work online at kcoline.etsy.com