Profile: Susie Crippen

I met Susie through my close friend Ali – after hearing about her (and her similar interests) from many of my friends, I asked her if we could arrange a lunch. Apart from fashion, we had so much in common – from healers to facialists, to a love of Nashville’s Imogene + Willie. Needless to say, we hit it off instantly and I wanted to get to know her better.

Susie first made her mark in the fashion industry as a wardrobe stylist, translating that experience into her roles as Co-Founder and Creative Director of J Brand. Her latest venture, CRIPPEN, is the embodiment of her design sensibility and style – classic pieces as beautiful as they are easy to wear.

Susie splits her time between homes in Los Angeles and Ojai, California. Her Hancock Park abode is a prairie house built in 1913 and remodeled in the 80’s. And apart from the landscaping, she has left it completely untouched. Featuring a combination of exposed wood and glass, the home is filled with warmth, light, and natural beauty. I hope you enjoy this look inside. XXJKE

Health

R+T: Do you have any health tricks?

I take very good care of myself physically and spiritually. I do a lot of energy work to release old “stuff”…because I believe it can run you down to hold on to things.

R+T: What do you do to stay healthy and balanced?

I do the regular things: drink loads of water, sleep 8 hours a night. I take 20-30 minute “creative naps” almost everyday, go to the Korean spa and steam and soak.

I laugh a lot and I sing all the time.

R+T: Do you workout, what do you swear by?

I, straight up, pump iron and have done so twice a week for the last 10 years. Last month added hot yoga to my life…which I love. It is a great balance of strength and flexibility. I started running again a few months ago…not fast, not long but it is the best way for me to clear my mind.

R+T: What do you do to relax?

I go to nature to relax. I ride my horse…or just hang out with him and I take my dogs for hikes. I read a lot and sometimes I just sit and stare at the sky.

Decor

R+T: What is your design philosophy for your home?

The furniture does not distract from the art, the art doesn’t distract from the furniture and nothing distracts from the people in it.

R+T: What are your favorite pieces in your house?

Percival Lafer couch and my bed with my 2 dogs in it with me.

R+T: What are your favorite home stores?

Galerie Half, Apparatus, any antique store anywhere in the world.

R+T: What is your favorite room in the house?

My entire first floor is one big room; living room, dining room, sun room & kitchen…so that room.

Fashion

R+T: How would you describe your style?

I dress for the woman I am and keep it simple with classic foundation with a little bit of a twist.

R+T: Who are your favorite designers?

Dries Van Noten, Paul Smith, Martin Margiela.

R+T: What is your uniform?

Jeans, good high heel boot, button down shirt.

R+T: What is your newest purchase?

Margiela peep toe mules in gray.

Art

R+T: Who are your favorite artists?

Nancy Grossman, Mark Grotjahn, Zarina, Cathy Opie, Wes Lang, Ai Wei Wei, Mira Schendel, Mary Kelly.

R+T: What is your favorite piece of art you own?

I just got a Nancy Grossman Truth Diary that I love so much it hurts.

Shopping & Blogs

R+T: What is your favorite city for shopping?

Jaipur, India

R+T: What are your favorite sites for shopping?

Imogene + Willie & Farfetch.

R+T: Are you an impulse buyer, or do you wait to commit?

I buy the same things year after year…I have made a few impulse buys, so I am grateful for returns!

Apparel

R+T: How and when did you enter into the world of design?

I think it was a little bit of fate, and a lot of taking the bull by the horns.

J Brand was the first thing I ever did “design” wise and I taught myself how to do it with the gracious help of pattern makers and laundry experts. Those few people in the first year of the business let me ask a million questions and I trusted my instincts and was very vocal about them.

R+T: Can you share a bit about your role as founding partner of J Brand?

I cold write a book about it, it was so fun and trying and ultimately phenomenal. When we started J Brand I was a wardrobe stylist and I had 2 things going for me:

1) I was out in stores everyday and I saw firsthand what was selling and what wasn’t. And I dressed women for a living so I knew what their frustrations were, what they wanted and what they couldn’t find. Truth be told their frustrations were very similar to mine. So I just made a jean I wanted to wear that fit the way I wanted it to fit.

2) I understood, at that particular time, how important it was to get your product on celebrities and I knew how to do it. I also knew that who we put it on was crucial to the future of the brand.

My former partner had the production and sales experience so our different backgrounds were the catalyst for the success of the company. I had a very clear vision for the brand from the moment we started working on the first sample and I stayed very true to that until the day I left.

I also came from outside the industry so I didn’t know the “rules” and just did what I wanted to. No one knew who I was and wasn’t paying any attention and as a result nobody gave us their opinions. I didn’t want to be like all the other brands out there. I wanted to be unique. I wanted J Brand to have our own point of view. I wanted to make jeans for women that would make them feel beautiful…not beautiful for a man, but beautiful for themselves. Everything I did was grounded in that commitment to honor the women who were our customers. It was a battle sometimes, but, when I meet woman today and they find out who I am, they thank me. Nothing…nothing is more satisfying than that because somehow they understood what I wanted to communicate.

R+T: How did that experience influence the work you do today?

I am a Creative Director and I rely very heavily on the people around me to bring my vision to life. Whether it was at J Brand or currently at CRIPPEN.

CRIPPEN is such a different experience from J Brand. I think the most influential aspect I bring with me is if it doesn’t work, let it go and move on to the next thing. Keep moving. Keep growing. Never, ever give up.

R+T: Tell us how Crippen came to be…

Quite simply, I wasn’t finished. My experience at J Brand was so short, only 6 years from that very first sample to the sale of the company. From the inception of that company that was the plan and I never thought I would ever leave J Brand. My vision was to expand what we had created into a lifestyle brand based on the founding principles and aesthetic of that company. Clearly, that was not my path. So, after an 15 month break, I set about to re-create that vision with some needed distance from the past and a fresh view of the future and got back to work.

I relish all of the newness of CRIPPEN and what it has taught me, but, most importantly the new people it has brought into my life and the people who have come back to work with me again.

My father once told me, “Companies are people, plain and simple.” I have never found anything to be more true. No company thrives because of one individual, every person matters, even the most mundane tasks in a working company matter to the success of that business. Every leader in any organization should always remember that and act accordingly.

R+T: Crippen is all about classic pieces as stunning as they are easy to wear… Is there a secret to finding that balance?

YES! We are on a mission to make beautiful clothes with integrity and longevity.

Photos: Michael Wells