Boho-chic almost always looks cool, but one too many tassels and it turns into a messy Vanessa Hudgens at Coachella.
That's something Kits designer Julia Hoover understands. Her scarf collection, Jackson Rowe, adds just the right hit of hippie.
“It’s that whole Boho-feeling without being over the top,” says Hoover, summing up her work. “It’s simple for everyone to wear but still get that kind of casual vibe.”
Hoover started her line in 2012, merging her two loves – yoga and fashion. She worked in both the fashion business as a brand rep, and in the yoga world at YYoga. Her connection to the yoga community was the in she needed to get her line carried in local studios, including Semperviva Yoga on Fourth Avenue and Yew Street. But Vancouver clothing boutiques have also taken notice, with Hills of Kerrisdale selling the line.
The idea behind her snugly scarves, she says, is that they can be thrown on after yoga, surfing or skiing.
Hoover, a west coast devotee who uses the outdoors as a backdrop for her brand campaigns, loves oversized scarves that can be effortlessly thrown on and wrapped around.
“The whole line is basically meant to be a one-size fits all kind of thing,” she says. “When I started it, I thought of it as comfort food for your closet. Your go-to, your favourite piece, something that just makes you feel warm and cozy.”
Hoover has aligned with Craftworks Society, a local non-profit that provides meaningful work for Vancouver adults with physical and mental health challenges. Hoover’s company pays Craftworks directly for each piece the crafters work on.
“They do all of our crafting (and) any feather details that we add to the scarves,” Hoover explains.
The fabric prints run from Boho favourites with Aztec and Navajo themes to menswear-inspired plaids, which are having a revival this fall. The line includes vests, capes, and blankets. She plans to expand next season, along with bringing in more shawls, fringed kimonos, and vests. Prices range from $45 to $75.
There are also mainstays, like the Olive scarf – a super soft, woven piece that Hoover calls a “year-round classic.”
Speaking of classic, it was an old-school love story that inspired her company name.
“When I was thinking of names, I’m a hopeless romantic, and I’m always about love stories and fairytales,” Hoover says.
One of the great love stories she knew of was that between her grandpa Jack, a jazz musician, and her grandma Rose – his muse. They had an “unbreakable” life-long bond.
So when she was trying to come up with a name for her new line, Hoover thought of her grandparents (who have passed away), the love between them and the comfort it brought her growing up.
She started saying their names together, and it flowed into Jackson Rowe. When it came to her, the name felt right – just like a Jackson Rowe scarf.
Check out the online store at JacksonRowe.ca.
