Our in-house Beach designer talks coastal living and Captain America...

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How has your idea of "home" changed this year?
How has it remained the same?

Hah, I was still getting used to “home” (moving back to the east coast from California)! It hadn’t even been a full year before Covid started, so it’s been very weird figuring out how to adjust. Home for me has always been my hideaway/place to reset from the world. With that in mind, I think the idea of home -- now being my entire world, not getting out INTO the world -- has left me a little stir crazy. But from my years of living on the west coast and working for FP, I got used to using my home as a workspace, so it’s been nice to work from home again.

3 things that you love most about home:

Currently… the sauna (to keep warm and pretend I’m somewhere tropical -- haha); my decorations (my photos and a small art collection that consists mostly of Kris Chau’s work, trinkets and shells I’ve collected over the years -- all of which remind me of special times or places in my life); my dog, Captain America.

What's your go-to outfit when you're home? Why?

Probably any of our Beach sets! I’m all about comfort! During the summer I probably grabbed the Malibu Surf Set (stripe) the most. It’s just so easy and put-together at the same time. It was also perfect for any temperature -- the shorts kept me cool, and the long sleeve top kept me warm inside with the air con.

You design for our Beach line — how does “the shore” play into your designing?

I’ve always lived close to the beach, whether on this coast, California or Hawaii — it definitely helps to maintain that relaxed vibe. I’ve definitely missed travel this past year. I feel like our Beach customer loves to travel, and keeps that chill, easygoing vibe from the airport to the beach to out on the town. It was always great to get that inspo. So this past year I switched it up a bit. It’s about how comfortable that person feels at home, but put together enough for a Zoom meeting, or quick run out the door to pick up something.

Can you share with us the story about how the Beach collection came to be?

Well, Kris Chau was the originator of FP Beach. I think she wanted to create full knitwear looks that were reasonably priced and focused solely on fabrication and the silhouette. No trims or fancy wash, so that it really highlighted creativity and the innovation to play with new shapes. “Circles and squares” was always the joke about how she designed but, really, she just knew how to create an effortless, fashionable Beachy look. Our customer has a connection with nature and the ocean, which is obvious by our fabrication choices. I was lucky enough to work with her for about 3 years and learn her Beach Jedi ways. We had that ocean connection. 😊

Go-to styling tip:

Everything looks better with a tan.

3 things that you - and your closet – can't live without:

Wow, 3 is hard to narrow lol… The first 2 are a lock.
Slippers (flip flops).
A white tee.
Shredded jeans or probably something ridiculous/absurd like sequins, or something neon or tie dye.