After 20 Years in Boerum Hill, a Popular Brooklyn Boutique Relocates
By Lily Lopate
Shaded lilac, emerald, sapphire, turquoise, iridescent silver, and marigold yellow are just a few raw silk shantung colors available at Kimera Boutique in Brooklyn. Shantung is a silk fabric with a subtly irregular texture and vibrant pigment. Due to its lightweight quality, it can be draped elegantly across a variety of female forms. It can be cut into straighter, geometric lines for a more streamlined look. It is also the staple textile Yvonne Chu, the owner of Kimera, has used to create high-end wedding gowns, day dresses, jackets, and Cheongsams (a close-fitting dress that originated in 1920s Shanghai).
Chu has been in business for over 20 years and lately, she’s even busier than normal. With all the weddings and graduation ceremonies postponed in 2020, this summer feels like double event season. “People have already postponed for so long and have been dreaming about their dresses, so we’re actually working double-time to finish everything for these months,” said Chu.
The rush to deliver by wedding day has meant more work for her seamstresses and fashion interns. Before dropping off a project with a seamstress, Chu finalizes the paper pattern, selects fabric needed to make the dress and cuts the bolts. “If a custom dress follows one of our usual designs, I can just look at my patterns and add an inch here or there.”
The boutique opened on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill in 1999, and grew a steady, local clientele of inter-generational grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. After Chu’s landlord sold the building she was forced to move, but she is confident that her customers will follow her to her new location in at 400 3rd Avenue in Gowanus, where she traded in her Moroccan-inspired interior for an airer industrial space.
“I’ve seen a lot of kids in the neighborhood grow up through the dresses they wear. I’ve done a daughter’s bat mitzvah dress or prom dress, a graduation dress and then eventually her wedding dress, sometimes even a second wedding dress.” Chu works predominantly with brides who are 30 to 50 years old. And for the majority of brides 40 and up, it’s their second marriage. “The benefit there, is that the women really know themselves by now. They want to honor their authentic selves so it’s all about designing a dress that will fit their needs.”
Not every bride knows what she wants. She could try on as many as 8 to 10 sample dresses. “I recently had a bride come in who wanted a light blue dress that resembled something she saw online. She came in with her daughters and she tried on a bunch of dresses. She ended up selecting a saffron yellow color with light blue accents. She also shifted from a very thin form-fitting shape to a ballgown style with a sexy slit in the front.”
Chu encourages her customers to let color be their guide. “I observe my customers in the store as they become attracted to a kelly green or cerulean blue, I watch as the color enchants them. Sometimes a certain color does nothing for them.” This is similar to Chu’s own intuitive designing process. “When I was starting out, I sketched at home. I had no idea what my final illustration would look like but I would just put on some music or TV and follow my color pencils.”
The store, like Chu’s designs, is saturated with bright accents. “The store is culturally blended by design and the variety of colors reflects fashion from every corner of the world. It’s inspired by the diversity of people I met when I moved to New York.”
Even the name Kimera is a play on words from various cultures. “The word chimera comes from Greek mythology and describes a female creature with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. It’s a combination of different elements.” Chu changed the spelling to start with a K because she liked the elegant Japanese look. The more common definition of the word is an illusion — a characteristic reminiscent of the iridescent quality of raw silk.
For Chu, combining textiles is a way to express her Asian heritage while tapping into other cultures. “I found myself drawing from African-American fashion shows or Indian weddings.” Although many of the fabrics are originally from overseas, they are sourced locally in New York’s garment district. Chu’s been working with the same supplier, Butterfly Fabrics, for almost two decades. The company imports the shantung from India. “So much of the garment district has shrunk in recent years, I’m grateful that he is still there.” Chu describes the setting as “a world of fabrics” but in the past it was even more lively with rolls of velvet carted down the street. The Port Authority bus terminal has become the neighborhood staple, but up until the mid-20th century, the garment district was New York’s biggest industry and supported one of the world’s largest fashion industries. Its close proximity to the theater district also meant that many costume designers used the fabrics for Broadway shows.
Chu herself has been asked to design several pieces for the stage. “I often make outfits for concert pianists or performers because they need something that is reasonably priced and will stand out on stage.” The silk shantung intensifies under stage lights. “I had a pianist who wanted a concert outfit for a performance at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.” Chu designed three different outfits that would work. It became the basis for her tailored pants and jackets line.
Other designs are modern adaptations of the past like an Edwardian bridal coat which features a form-fitted panel, buttons, and layers of ivory. Because of its intricate handiwork it is priced at over $1,000. However, white is not a typical color at this boutique. “I wanted to invert the standard model of the wedding dress and make it more accessible. Especially for brides that are older they don’t always want to wear white. And white doesn’t look good on all skin tones.” Chu’s preference for jewel-tones is also a departure from her upbringing in Houston, Texas. “As the child of two very modernist, minimalist architects who favored white simplicity, I kind of rebelled and went in the opposite extreme direction, drenching myself in color.”
Color can also lend a warm glow and conceal physical imperfections. “I work with a lot of mothers of the bride. The mothers don’t have much control over the wedding, but they can control what they wear. No matter what size they are, the mothers all seem to want to cover their arms.” For mothers of the brides, Chu’s perfected a structured short jacket. “If you’re wearing a fuchsia dress people see the color and are drawn to you,” said Chu. And because the dresses are all tailor-made, mothers can forget about weight gain or age insecurity.
Chu is sensitive to this psychological dimension after years working in the fashion industry. Before starting her own business, she designed clothes for private labels like Diane Gilman and retailers like JC Penny, Kohl’s, and Disney. At Disney she created princess looks for children’s ball gowns and costumes. She also designed a clothing line for Snoop Dog.
During these years, Chu traveled overseas to incorporate high fashion into the mass market. “I interpreted runway trends and asked myself, ‘How can I turn this trend into the 30-something woman living in Kansas?’” After Chu re-imagined a runway look for the everyday American woman , she found affordable, and forgiving fabrics that would look stylish. This commercial retail process is known as fast fashion. Today, Chu’s designs have shifted into “slow fashion” (meaning tailor-made, limited editions).
Sensitive to how people live now, Chu created kimonos during the pandemic. “I started making them during lockdown and even now, they’re popular. People can wear it at home, during work, wear it out, dress it up or down.” The kimonos are made from wash linens, upcycled cotton and silk shantung. Some have a traditional Japanese aesthetic with green and pink lotus flowers while others feature African Indigo cloth, blue ink abstract prints or summer scenic patterns.
To make the most of excess fabric, Chu’s also designed a line of home furnishings and pillows. “It’s a way to use scrap fabrics that are left over from a dress.” This innovative form of recycling is part of a greater sustainability effort at Kimera to minimize environmental waste, and allows Chu to keep her designs affordable (most priced in the $250–400 range).
Inside her studio there’s colored lace, Asian brocades, African wax prints, velvet patterned cotton, lingerie satin and silk shantung that Chu is saving for the right project. Like her in-store designs, the materials are sorted by color. “I got this turquoise lace from a lingerie dress. I’m holding on to it because the lace could be great for a skirt panel or a triangle neck-line.” As another way to make the most of materials, she’s also created purses to match the dresses.
Chu’s new Gowanus location opened August 14. The 15-foot-high ceilings and loft space immerse customers in the dress-making experience. Silk Shantung curtains also help divide the space. The store, fitting area and dress-studio are all on one level. “For the first time, my clients will be able to see my studio and get a behind the scenes look at the design process.” It’s a significant shift from before which housed the design studio upstairs.
“Next time a bride comes in for a fitting, she can watch me do a sketch, we can sift through paper patterns and then test out fabric. Maybe a sateen or Egyptian cotton, or a silk organza overlayed on top of the silk shantung, with a Suzani or pastel African mud cloth panel.” As Chu lists out the possibilities you can already see her fashioning the pieces in her mind.
