ROZAE NICHOLS
Founder & Designer
Rozae Nichols is a veteran clothing designer, advocate of animal rights and environmental protection organizations, both which are intrinsically related. She is a passionate vegan expressed by her regenerative organic, urban garden and animal rights activism.
For more than three decades, Rozae has designed women's apparel with an intimate, hands-on approach; from concept, to crafting each individual sample garment, to final production.
Born and raised in Southern California, Rozae made her own clothing from a very young age. Self-taught in pattern making & sewing, she embodied the ‘DIY’ ethos, deconstructing vintage & surplus into new and relevant pieces.
She studied (and decades later taught) Industrial Design at the Art Center of Pasadena CA., and was soon designing packaging and graphic design for textile applications for a denim company where she eventually became head designer. Her early designs combined her love of utilitarian workwear with folkloric garments & textiles, the combination which became her prominent design aesthetic.
She began to incorporate this aesthetic with her idealism of socially conscious fair-trade labor, as she discovered & challenged the exploitative conditions of garment labor. This would inspire her evolving purpose-driven career path.
In the mid 1980’s, Rozae moved to Paris to design and help launch the label and shop in the Marais - Autour Du Monde for the beloved surplus pioneer and friend, Serge Bensimon. There she further developed her methods of deconstructed, repurposed garments. The resulting new collections were immediately embraced by fashion editors and designer shops throughout Europe and Japan. Fashion stylists & magazine pages featured the collection's utilitarian surplus styles- delightfully juxtaposed with exquisite garments from designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel.
Returning to the states, Rozae’s work evolved towards a more fluid, refined direction. As her vision expanded, she began to explore a more feminine, dress maker’s approach, emphasizing intricately hand-crafted details & innovative textiles with new bias circular seam and pattern cutting techniques.
Committed to working exclusively with local factories in Los Angeles, in 1992, Rozae launched her eponymous label. Here she championed and sought to elevate the skilled & talented people behind the scenes. It was through her close, creative working relationship within her own atelier and with local factories that she dedicated much of her time working side by side with sewers and hand stitchers as they honed their craft. Rozae’s process and relationship with the community became the very essence of her designs.
Her label, Rozae Nichols, immediately became known for the intricate details of a craft which she spent a lifetime honing. Reaching international acclaim, her collections could be found at premiere retailers such as Harvey Nichols & Browns of London, L’Eclaireur & La Bon Marche-Paris, Barneys New York, Louisa Via Roma-Italy, United Arrows Japan and more. Her designs attracted celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Helena Christensen, Beyoncé, Natalie Portman as well as musicians & artists such as Frances Stark, Morleigh Steinberg, Alexandra Grant and countless other such independent, empowered women.
In 2010, Rozae launched the brand Clover Canyon which she creatively directed and nurtured into what would fast become a coveted vibrant collection known for its vivid prints and for her commitment to her passionate vegan ethics including the brand’s animal friendly shoes. An international success with many of her previous retailers, Clover Canyon captured the hearts of a loyal clientele among whom were Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Moss, Olivia Wilde, Beyonce, Sholange Knowles and Oprah Winfrey.
But it is her latest iteration in design that Rozae’s passions have so succinctly culminated to express her greatest of passions- advocating for animal rights and the inextricably related environmental impact resulting from wildlife trafficking and the global factory farm system. Highlighting her concerns over these issues, her voice can be heard through her activism and her expression within the Flora Animalia Instagram and website and the brand’s 3% donation of revenues to its nonprofit allies.
Flora Animalia is a small and focused collection of utilitarian offerings. Once again, locally produced (In House) using only clean crop Belgian Linens & GOTS certified organic cottons, the styles are modern essentials, un-fashion, service oriented and of a simple elegance. Her design ethos and brand vision for this passion project encapsulates all that she knows & loves. With continued support from amazing women such as Frances McDormand, Ellen DeGeneres, Laurie Anderson, Rosetta Getty, and many artists, makers, chefs and gardeners have embraced Rozae’s vision, her new sustainable collection is created with gratitude and a deep sense of purpose.
ALETA CARACO
Creative Operations Manager
Aleta was born and raised in Taos New Mexico, rural in every sense. She spent her childhood years there where she, her, sister and their two loving parents lived in a community where living in a teepee, dirt roads and no running water was the norm. Their food was planted and grown on their land and animals ran free.
Her career in fashion began in New Mexico at the age of 17. Several years later after leaving New Mexico, aligned with a sense of design and culture, inherent from her youth, Aleta relocated to Stockholm Sweden where she continued her career in both fashion and interior design.
Aleta moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and began working with Italian artisanal brand, Henry Beguelin. This experience allowed her passion for design and art to cultivate further and extend into all areas of her life, where her roots of truly living off the land not only formed her sense of style, her compassion for animals, healthy living and her kind and professional work ethic; her overall way of life.
Aleta’s organic and authentic way of life aligned closely with that of Rozae Nichols, so much so that as of 2018 Aleta joined Flora Animalia in Creative Operations.
Harry Lopez
Studio Assistant
Harry is our beloved studio assistant who meets every challenge with smart solutions and generous energy- between our cutting & sewing lab to shipping to greeting and charming clients in our shop. He has worked as a counselor with middle school kids at "Beyond The Bell” after school program. And his beautiful hand writing was commissioned by an NFL player for a signature graphic. Harry's love of animals is the reason that he became vegan and relates to our mission as a voice for animals. With Harry’s adopted furry pal, Maru, his irresistible poodle, schnauzer, shitzu mixed puppy- these two are an absolute beloved duo here at Flora Animalia and beyond. He enjoys reading philosophically rooted literature, possesses an in-depth knowledge & appreciation of wide & varied musical genres, art & architecture, and is a great conversationalist in subjects ranging from film, authors, the American psyche, trauma and sports. An LA native from South Central, Harry’s kind & loving spirit guides his creative passions which are embraced and nurtured by Rozae throughout the daily work routine of design and production.
STUDIO SEWING TEAM
Our sewing-cutting team consist of some of the most rare & finest sewers in Los Angeles. Ramon Ajin, Alexandro Badajos & Pablo Clementino are talented craftsmen whose years of expertise in crafting quality clothing brings technical & artisanal skills which are elemental to our garment’s quality, beauty & soul. Their heart and passion is a daily inspiration to our design process.
