BY EMMA GEARY - MAY 28, 2024

On a golden May evening, we gathered at Glass House for our second LAB Talk of the year, this time, with a special trunk show in tow. While our LAB Talks usually take place in the morning, this was a special happy-hour-style conversation, with a guest who traveled a bit further than usual to join us. We were thrilled to welcome Clare Vivier and her team from Los Angeles to join us for this panel, where she shared the story of how she went from growing up in St. Paul to creating the iconic Clare V. brand we can’t get enough of.

Doors opened and attendees poured in, connecting with old friends and new, grabbing French 75s and checking out the latest Clare V. styles before we settled in for the conversation. The evening was moderated by the fabulously stylish Madeline Nachbar, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s Trend and Style Editor.

Photos courtesy of Maylah Williams & Glass House

The Roots of Clare Vivier

Madeline started by asking the question on our minds: How did the Clare V. brand first begin? Clare shared how “It started with a need - I needed a laptop bag I could use for my commute to work, and I thought that if it was something I needed, someone else probably would, too. It went from there, and I created a tote to hold the laptop bag, and so on.”

Since its inception in 2008, Clare V. products are known for capturing an artful mix of laid-back Californian style with a touch of French chic. When asked how she balances these two inspirations, Clare explained how the inspiration, “... comes from an authentic place of living in Los Angeles. LA is an anomaly in the fashion world because we have space, light, and fresh air, which lends itself to more freedom of expression. The structure and classic feel of the bags come from French couture, and the California touch is the brand’s playfulness.”

Clare is the youngest of six children (and many of her siblings and family members were seated front-row at the talk!) and shared how her upbringing in St. Paul influenced where she is today.

“My parents enrolled us in The Open School in St. Paul, which was conducive to creative kids, and I loved being there for the first 8 years of my schooling. I then went to City High and loved the shift to something larger and more urban. Once I graduated, I wanted to go somewhere new, especially since I was the youngest of six. I wanted to do something on my own, so I went to California for college.”

While Clare currently lives in Los Angeles, she brings her signature Clare V. style back to the Twin Cities each November for a holiday trunk show and sees her family often.

“Not every place has such a strong sense of hometown pride, and I feel lucky to have that being from Minnesota.”

On Collaborations

Besides playful colors, well-structured designs, and thoughtfully mixed materials, one of the hallmarks of Clare Viver’s work is her collaborative spirit. The brand has partnered with a healthy mix of nonprofits, celebrities, and other brands, ranging from Mother Denim to Adam Scott to Every Mother Counts.

Madeline asked Clare about her collaboration style, and how she brings each unique partnership to life.

“We say yes to all kinds of partnerships,” Clare said, “For example, we worked with Mike D of the Beastie Boys and loved being creative and part of the design process. I remember some of our meetings together taking place in a recording studio.”

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Clare shared how the Airport Dad wallet came to life in collaboration with Jimmy Kimmel. “He was using one of those cheap passport holders you can find on Amazon, and his wife texted me begging to make him something a bit nicer. He made a drawing of what he wanted and the final product is pretty close to it.”

“Other collaborators are open to letting us take creative control, like the nonprofits we support, who are focused more on bringing awareness to their work.”

Activism isn’t new for Clare, growing up with activist parents, who, in her book, she calls “good trouble,” advocating for others across St. Paul and beyond. Through longstanding partnerships with Every Mother Counts, Everytown for Gun Safety, and many others, including an upcoming collaboration with artists at Oakland’s Creative Growth.

“In these partnerships, we use phrases in French so it’s not so on-the-nose, saying it more playfully to still push the cause forward. For example, in our partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety, we used the phrase ‘ÇA SUFFIT!’ (pronounced sah-sue-fee) meaning ‘that’s enough!’”

On Growing Clare V.

As the brand grows exponentially, Madeline wondered if there have been any “pinch me” moments along the way.

Clare paused to think and shared, “There are always fun celebrity moments, like when we collaborated with Melissa McCarthy, who I love, or the time when Paul Rudd recognized me because of how much his wife loved my bags, but one that feels biggest is having 14 stores across the country is a big deal for me.”

14 stores across the country is a big deal no matter how you slice it, but it’s especially exciting considering that Clare started the brand by selling bags to her friends and posting photos on her blog, selling “direct-to-consumer” before that was seen as a viable business option.

“Right, because Brick and mortar isn’t dead,” chimed in Madeline, “you’ve done a great job over the years of diversifying the brand with online sales, wholesale accounts, and brick-and-mortar stores.

“Yes,” Clare agreed, “I think it’s important to have your hands in everything. Wholesale provides different opportunities than direct-to-consumer online than does retail. I also think that a physical Clare V. store is part of the neighborhood and becomes its own community hub. We are growing quickly, but pausing store expansion in 2024 to ensure every store has the community feel and tells the brand’s story in the way that feels most like us.”

This led to a bit of a cheer-off on where the next Clare V. store should be…and different neighborhoods in the audience made their voices heard. Minneapolis? St. Paul? Edina? Maybe one day, we’ll know the answer. ;)

For now, you can catch Clare’s newest retail concept in the Hamptons, where they’re doing a pop-up shop with space to bring in a rotating lineup of their favorite brands throughout the summer.

Audience Q&A

One of the reasons I love LAB Talks, year after year, is all of the thoughtful audience members who join us at these panels. The Q&A of different, thoughtful questions was one of my favorite parts of the talk. From balancing business and motherhood to combating burnout, we covered it all.

Clare V. Trunk Show

When boxes upon boxes arrived at the LAB office last week, we knew it was going to be a blast.

On Friday morning, the fabulous Clare V. team showed up to put the finishing touches on the beautiful trunk show they arranged in our studio, and we were off to the races. It was a weekend of shopping and connecting with fellow color-loving, creative Minnesotans. It was so fun to see what items were on everyone’s wish list, and what Twin Citians are stocking up on for the summer.

Special thank you to our stylish friends at Galleria Edina for sponsoring our LAB Talk and to Haute House Studio for providing us with such grand, colorful, fragrant floral arrangements that we admired all weekend long.