Microclimates
This winter, San Francisco's underground fashion designers heat up.

By Marisa Meltzer

THROUGH THE TWIN monoliths of the Gap and Levi's, San Francisco has always had a huge influence on the way the world dresses. But what are the city's independent designers doing while corporate chains churn out the basics? This winter's new crop of indie designers is diverse, but their work is united by a distaste for the world of high fashion as well as an awareness of the city's many microclimates. Iconoclasm may keep San Francisco designers in the regional fashion ghetto, but it also infuses their clothes with a sense of freedom. Who needs Vogue? Walk into any boutique these days, from ones in Pacific Heights to Hayes Valley to the Mission District, and you'll find racks featuring local designers. Here are a few breakouts whose work will make great holiday gifts this season.

Kit Kit Dodge

"I want to design innocent clothes that are provocative," says designer Willow O'Brien of Kit Kit Dodge. This shouldn't be surprising coming from a woman whose porn-star name inspired the name of her line. (Quick lesson: your porn-star name is your first pet's name plus your grandmother's last name). O'Brien was once sent to the principal's office in elementary school for wearing her mom's go-go boots, and she cites the controversial artist Balthus as her latest source of inspiration. But don't think she's a perv. Her line of dresses, sweaters, tops, and undies, while undeniably alluring, have been steadily gaining a mainstream following for their flattering cuts and use of luxe fabrics.

O'Brien is also co-owner of Hayes Valley boutique Ver Unica (437B Hayes, S.F. 415-431-0688). She started out designing sweaters pieced together from recycled cashmere. "I didn't want to look edgy. I wanted to make clothes that felt really good on. And everybody feels amazing in cashmere," O'Brien explains. Her signature puff-sleeve, keyhole-front Delphine shirt flew off the racks of Bay Area shops and was snapped up by stylish locals like Hope Sandoval and the Donnas. She soon began to expand the line beyond cashmere to include a few other favorites: denim tops, party dresses in vintage fabrics, and silk slip dresses.

Always content to ignore fashion industry norms, she is designing bikinis for the holidays. "I went to Hawaii last summer on my honeymoon, and I became completely obsessed with all the swimwear. When I came home, I tried to make San Francisco's version of the bikini," she says. Her cashmere bra top, boy shorts, and panties were born. Referencing the carefully seamed lingerie of the 1940s, but recast in two-tone brown and pink, they are the perfect hangout clothes.

Although her line has gotten raves in magazines like Lucky, Paper, and Flux, O'Brien feels like she's carved her own niche in San Francisco. Owning her shop gives her an outlet most designers would envy. "I'm really lucky to have a clothing store be my own vehicle for selling my clothes," she says. "I get to do everything on my own terms and with a lot of community support."

She-bible

Best friends, roommates, and former Catholic school girls Deirdre O'Boyle and Stacy Rodgers began their T-shirt line She-bible as a way to use up the collection of clippings and doodles they amassed over the years. "We are both the kind of people who get really attached to certain graphics," says O'Boyle, who works for the nonprofit Sweatshop Watch. "And now we can take something like the flower pattern off an old muumuu and turn it into something of our own." Every part of their design process is completely collaborative: one of them will come up with an idea and then invariably the other will interrupt with a new idea. "I'll think of balloons, and then Stacy will want to add clouds," O'Boyle says. "I like the pieces best that are truly half of me and half of her," says Rodgers, who works for Cosmic Debris.

The San Francisco natives love the "mellow, noncompetitive" vibe of the city, where their whimsical shirts are sold at Ver Unica and Circa (510 Valencia, S.F. 415-552-4822). Their tees have also sold well in Los Angeles, where they were recently invited to participate in a fashion show. "Tons of press showed up. It was so stressful! People in L.A. are so prepared," O'Boyle says with a sigh. "But it was so much easier to get models," Rodgers adds. In San Francisco we have to advertise for them on Craigslist."

The line's trademark mix of text and nostalgia has a feeling of Holly Hobbie meets J.D. Salinger, which distinguishes itself from the ubiquitous street- and graffiti-inspired T-shirt designs. Their current collection, whose tops declare "Mind your P's and Q's" and "Loose Lips Sink Ships," is inspired by Valley of the Dolls (O'Boyle was the book's author, Jacqueline Susann, for Halloween), their grandmothers, sailors, and flirting. The new "phone numbers" shirt is a recent departure, as it's the first time the two have designed a top to go with the graphics (they usually screen on tops by American Apparel). The shirt is both sexy and hilarious, with a low V neck and decorated with pickup lines the ladies have heard ("I love you for reals" and "I like sad songs" are two classics). Don't be surprised if one day you'll be able to own She-bible stationary. "Our line is really a graphics line," Rodgers says. "We'd like to put our images anywhere, from tote bags to skirts."

Faunae

Designer Dani Tobler began making her line of leather scarves as a way to solve the practical problem of looking chic in cold weather. "I wear scarves literally year-round, and I thought leather might really keep out the wind," Tobler says. Faunae, her line of accessories, was born. The decidedly unvegan designs use leather, fur, and feathers in unexpected ways. "If you buy a pair of leather pants, you have no idea where it came from. I try to be really in touch with the whole process – I would tan the leather myself if I could!" Instead, Tobler handpicks each material she works with and welcomes irregularities like holes and discoloration. Some of her avant-garde accessories include epaulettes made of auburn feathers to be worn on the shoulder of a denim jacket, floor-length sky blue lambskin scarves with recycled fur detail, and raw-edged deerskin belts. Her monogrammed leather scarf, sold at Ver Unica, has become a popular gift – it's unisex and can be worn as a scarf, belt, or tie.

For a line with prominent old-world influences, Faunae doesn't tread in nostalgia. Her inspirations run the gamut from military uniforms to Amelia Earhart to the movie In the Mood for Love to athletic wear. Tobler, who fell in love with offbeat shops while traveling as a model in her twenties, grows animated when describing her latest find. "I went into this shop in Paris that only sold ribbons, feathers, and silk flowers. I went kind of crazy." She's trying to decide what to make out of some blue and white feathers she bought there.

Tobler says she'd love to dress Kate Moss or "anyone from the band Blonde Redhead." She may get her chance soon. Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field recently picked up a feather epaulette from a New York boutique. And then there's her encounter with one of America's favorite rock bands. "Aerosmith's stylist left me a message about making some pieces for the band," she explains. "I called her back right away but never heard from them again. It's too bad, because I could really see the scarves on Steven Tyler and draped around his microphone!"

Buka

Few designers can credit their surroundings as an influence quite like Viki Ruchkan. Born in Russia, she has lived in New York, Wisconsin, Santa Cruz, and now San Francisco. Her spare but colorful clothes refer to both her father's behind-the-scenes photographs of the St. Petersburg Ballet and the sunny California aesthetic. Her five-year-old line, Buka, began with a few skirts sold to a Haight Street shop and has recently been getting favorable write-ups in Lucky and W. Her clothes are for everyday wear but with impeccable details: boyish wool pants with pink pinstripes, wool shirts mixed with silk, and denim skirts with pleats. "My love of the beach is always reflected in my spring clothes," the avid surfer says, "but fall is all about work and parties." Her favorite piece from her current collection is the Mikel top, a wool knit sleeveless shirt with a sheer, silk print collar. In true Buka fashion, it's as easily worn with jeans as with a pencil skirt.

Even though each collection is designed for a specific season, Ruchkan's clothes are both seasonless and durable enough to stand the test of time. Her design process begins with selecting the fabric and experimenting with patterns. But other people help, too. In fact, almost all of Ruchkan's friends and family have a Buka piece named for them. "I love it when friends come by and try on works in progress," she says. "I'll think of them while making it, and, when the piece is finally made, give it to them as a gift as thanks for the inspiration."

Ruchkan, whose line is carried at Mimi Barr Boutique and Art Gallery (3153 16th St., S.F. 415-864-6129) and Residents Apparel Gallery (541 Octavia, S.F. 415-621-7718), loves the intermingling of clothes and the holidays. "I keep a few things in my closet that I only wear to holiday parties," she says. "I have this red-and-white loose knit mohair sweater with a big V in the front and back. It's kind of a cross between a classic Christmas sweater and a cheerleading uniform."

Mittenmaker

"I made shirts for my mom and grandma. My grandma proudly wore hers line dancing. My mom wore hers to the gym. People kept thinking she was wearing her shirt inside out, but she defended me," says Alisa Anderson of Mittenmaker, a line of recycled T-shirts. Anderson, who moved to San Francisco after graduating from Smith College in 2000, has made it her mission to dress loved ones. She once assembled an outfit from scraps for friend Madigan Shive of Bonfire Madigan. She's even doing her part to make S.F.'s underground music scene a little cuter, too, by constructing hirts for Tussle and Condor. Her favorite project to date was designing outfits for Erase Errata's European tour. "It was so great to combine my interests in music, fashion, and photography," says Anderson, who also plays cello in the neo-folk band Vetiver. "I made erratic, asymmetrical clothes to go with their music."

Anderson began her one-of-a-kind line by customized thrift-store T-shirts to get a better fit. "Recycling stuff is everything to me. I like taking something someone doesn't want and trying to make it cool." She has recently been playing around with expanding the line beyond T-shirts. Her new sweatshirts are turned inside out and have added details like cap sleeves and neck ties. They're also cut long to accommodate the ever-plunging waistbands of low-rise jeans. Anderson loves that her new vinyl wallets and credit-card holders, sold at Otsu (3253 16th St., S.F. 415-255-7900), are "not dependent on fit." Finding recycled vinyl is difficult, but the always resourceful designer has been using old tennis racket covers.

She points out that Mittenmaker wasn't started as a way of breaking into the world of fashion – which Anderson finds simultaneously funny and horrifying – but rather to make people realize they have a choice in what they wear and how they present themselves to the world. "I would like for people to be more conscious about where their money is going when they buy clothing. Is it going to a wealthy corporation or is it supporting a local artist?" Anderson says, adding, "I don't necessarily want to make people buy my clothes, but for them to look at my clothing and be inspired to make something themselves."

Allma

Sometimes it's all in a name. After designing under a few different monikers, Paula Malesardi found a name that summed up her design philosophy. "Allma is a combination of the word all and the Latin word alma, which means kind or gracious," explains the 29-year-old, who was trained in printmaking and painting at the School of Visual Art in New York City. Her line's focus on handmade clothes and images reflects its convergent sensibilty. "I enjoy seeing the entire design process from its inception to completion. I like that wholeness." Her holistic approach to design means that no detail is overlooked: cotton T-shirts are always just long enough, wrap dresses show the perfect flash of cleavage, and bags are sized to hold a magazine for the morning commute.

She cites Zen-like influences. "I love plants first and foremost. Some of my first screen prints on textiles were reeds and weeds. They were made by making film positives from the plants themselves, rather than from drawings or photographs." Recent prints have included seagulls, daffodils, roses, birds on a wire, and dahlias. Her current collection, which is available at American Rag (1305 Van Ness, S.F. 415-441-0537), Joe Pye (351 Divisadero, S.F. 415-355-1051), Ver Unica, Rolo (1235 Howard, S.F. 415-989-7656), and Mimi Barr, is inspired by Japanese garments translated into unexpected materials, seen in her kimono-style sweatshirt with plum blossoms. Also in the collection are stunning, hand-screened bird print pantyhose. Paired with a favorite dress and a gardenia in her hair, they're what Malesardi will be wearing to Christmas parties.

Even though she misses the crispness of her native New York during the holidays, she counts herself lucky to be designing in San Francisco. With boutiques and customers receptive to local designers, she's thankful for the resources the city has to offer. "I have the space to be autonomous and don't feel compelled to pay attention to what's fashionable," she says. Her comment sums up the attitude of most Bay Area designers.

Marisa Meltzer, a longtime San Francisco fashionista, lives and writes in New York.