Talking with Palmer Owen
From Fashion to Fatherhood: A Deep Dive into Creativity with Palmer Owen
Hi everyone. The final interview of the year goes to my good friend Palmer, whom I met in the fashion industry. We are fortunate to have worked on a lot of fun projects together at both Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger. Once again, I think we initially bonded over our love of vintage objects. Some of my favorite pieces still hanging in my home once belonged to him. He’s always had an amazing eye and has always created the most beautiful presentations I’ve ever seen. So, after much delay, my talk with Palmer Owen.
Tell us more about yourself and your creative background.
My name is Palmer Owen, and I am currently the director of Men’s Knits at Vineyard Vines. I have been in the industry for 16 years now. I am a husband and father of Thompson, who will turn three at the end of December. I met my wife in the industry as well, actually, working with you!
When did your passion for design/art start?
Well, I think clothing has always been a part of my identity, considering I was insistent on dressing myself in kindergarten. I’d like to think some of my interests were inherited. I recall my grandmother on my father's side mentioning that her brother was a "window dresser" for a department store in the 50s. My great-grandmother was in the wardrobe department for the Ice Capades during the 50s as well. My grandfather on my dad’s side was a major clotheshorse. He never owned a pair of jeans; he always had many hats, suits, rings, and fur coats. He was quite a character.
My mother would take me clothes shopping with her because of my eye for color. I was also pretty brutally honest if I didn’t like something—still am! My mother was the one who said I should pursue fashion design. I actually wanted to be in graphic design or come up with commercials as a kid. "To come up with the next Nike swoosh," I recall saying to my parents. I was always into art; I did yearbook covers and t-shirt graphics for sports teams I was on growing up, from a young age into high school.
I would like to thank my high school college counselor, Mrs. Ferguson. When I was in 9th grade, I went to her office and said I liked art and clothes and wanted to go to college—what schools could I look into? She was the one who introduced me to F.I.T. and mentioned their menswear program, the only one in the country at the time.
Once I got hurt in sports and couldn’t play anymore, my real passion for clothing took shape. I made custom t-shirts for kids at school and expanded into getting blanks with my graphics on a handful of cut-and-sew pieces (picked out of a wholesale catalog) that I would sell at a country club where my brother worked. During this time, I took clothing design, art, and computer-aided design classes from my tenth-grade year until I graduated and got into the menswear design program at F.I.T.
Where do you look to be inspired? Is it the same as before you became a parent?
You know, I’d say it’s about the same. My foundation is from vintage, not only clothing but also American antiques and early sports artifacts. Art, of course, and checking out the latest men's shows. I really get inspired when I walk into a shop like Drake’s and touch/ feel products, seeing how the visual merchandising is done, etc. However, I will admit I get inspired by putting my son’s outfits together. I like to push it when he lets me. It’s fun!
Who inspired you as a child?
I’d have to say hearing stories about my grandfathers as a kid. My grandfather on my father’s side was always put together, and everything he put on was considered. My grandfather on my mother’s side was very particular about his shirts getting cleaned at the dry cleaners, always had a suit on and would buy my grandmother new hats once a month or so. Growing up, I also had exposure to a vast dichotomy of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a result, by high school, there was this mix of preppy and street styles that had a major influence on me.
What was your first job?
My first job was in Ohio for Abercombie, working on Hollister Fashion knits for mens. My first job as a kid was working with the community landscaping company at 14. I recall that summer was full of mowing lawns, painting brick walls, and mulching. My last day was when I broke a weed whacker. From then on, I stuck to lifeguarding and swim coaching in the summers.
What route led you to where you are today?
I would like to say a work ethic my mother and father instilled in me got me to where I am today. Also, being involved in sports. I learned a lot of foundational skills with sports, especially discipline and drive. I can attribute long hours, early mornings and really having a passion for what I do.
It was my dad who told me his grandmother told him, “Pick something you want to do in life that you find easy, that doesn’t feel like work, and then stick to it.” I took that advice to heart over the course of my career. I always felt and feel lucky to be a designer and to make my living through creativity. It’s a gift.
Describe the process you go through to turn your ideas into reality.
The process for me must begin by being inspired. When folks say, “Well, I just am out of ideas,” I think it is because they haven’t exhausted thinking more obtusely. For instance, I can be inspired to create a stripe by looking at a surfboard, a rug, or architecture. I work best when I work with concepts, and any of those objects I mentioned above could and should tie back to a concept. A color palette, style and even down to the button and drawcord can all be driven from a given concept. These concepts can be conjured up by travels, books read, or themes that best tie back to a specific design sensibility.
Early in my career, someone said to me, “The concept should say it all visually without saying a word.” That really stuck with me and the beauty of storytelling. I love getting out to the shops, and seeing product is huge for me. It rejuvenates me at times.
Of course checking out shows and online research is key; however, I always remind myself, and I can’t take credit for this quote, but “We can’t know where we are going unless we know where we have been.” In other words, historical menswear knowledge is the foundation of all menswear designs I create, and vintage menswear is a big part of that. It’s like, hey, before you cut that garment a certain way or add that detail that might be one too many, where did that design originate from? How can you be inspired there first? How can the past be reinterpreted and moved on without simply looking like a period piece?
Once all the research is taken into account, I look for the best image to evoke my idea for a specific design while doing a lot of R&D on fabric. The fabric has to be the basis of a great design. Once we decide on color and SKUs, we get into the sample-making process and fine-tune the details in fittings before we go to bulk production.
What’s the project you’re most proud of, and what drives you most?
Pretty hard to say. I really enjoyed setting up set rooms over my career. A lot of folks dread it, but I always liked the visual merchandising side/styling. It brings the product to life. What am I most proud of? It’s one of those things that you become proud of the next thing you do, really.
What drives me is a percentage of everlasting desire for creativity that lights me up like a child almost every day. The other percent is still that little voice inside me that is, as the saying goes, “ an artist’s work is never done “ a sense of striving for what’s next and what’s a personal best, because nothing is given, it is earned.
What’s something you did before becoming a parent that would be challenging to do now?
Every activity outside of working hours has to be scheduled or planned with my wife. We have to make sure we have coverage to watch our son or pick him up, so yeah, it’s a pretty scheduled lifestyle and less spontaneous than I used to be.
What is a typical day?
A typical day for me starts early. I get on the road to Connecticut by 6 am. I hit the gym for an hour or so and then head to work. From there, it is really managing the team I work with on daily design deliverables, probably two seasons at once in different design stages, putting out fires with my colleagues to ensure the product is the best it can be and delivered on time. I get home most nights by 7, in time to see my family for the end of dinner and bedtime.
What is Thompson obsessed with at the moment?
Man, it's hard to say, ha! He is really into Spider-Man and Woody from Toy Story at the moment, but he does like to color, so there is some promise there!
What are some of the things you enjoy doing together? Are they the same things you did as a child?
We like going to the playground. Watching his development there is pretty cool to me. I love to watch kid movies with my son. I’d say as a kid, my Dad didn’t have the time to come out and play with us as kids, but we did watch T.V. together so I also enjoy that with my son. Controversial, for sure, haha, but I dig it.
I have to give my Dad some credit; he replaced what he lacked in stereotypical “dad knowledge” by leading by example of how a loving father and husband should be. He taught me how a man should live his life with honesty and take pride in his work. I always listened to my dad. He had some good dadisms growing up that I will be using for sure with my son, such as; “ Pay yourself first,” “Those who fly with the owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the day,” and “Don’t sweat the small stuff, let it roll off your back.”
Describe a time you both really made each other laugh.
I put on a mix from Spotify, and Feelin' Blue by Creedence Clearwater Revival came on. Surprisingly, my son started bouncing and dancing to the beat. I started laughing and joining in the dance moves, and we laughed together. It was a cool moment.
What’s something you learned from your child?
I'm learning more patience, and my son has been wonderful in helping me do so.
What’s the last great book you read? Are you reading anything at the moment?
Ideas from Mossimo Osti was a great book I read. His process and the way he thought was inspiring. Another book I finally got around to reading is Amatora, How Japan Saved American Style by W. David Marx.
What’s your son’s favorite book?
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
What is one place you would love to show your son?
I would love to take my son to Antwerp. I visited in college and loved the architecture, culture, and just how different it was from any place I’d been at the time.
What’s one of your favorite people, places, or things that is no longer around?
I wish my Aunt Judy was still around. She was like a second mother to my brother and me. We were very close. I know she would have enjoyed hanging with my son. Places I wish were still around - Melet Mercantile in Soho. I loved going there for shopping/inspiration. Also, Ralph Lauren Rugby. I think that brand was one of the greats that led the way for a lot of other brands out today. It holds a special place in my heart because it is basically where I was exposed to the world of Ralph, interning in concept and helping open up the Georgetown store location in the early 2000s.
What’s something you hope is different for your kid from when you were their age?
I want to be able to teach my son skills, but if I don’t know how to do something, we will learn together. I didn’t have a dad who was super handy or had the time to sit me down and teach me things as much as I longed for as I got older.
A question worth asking:
What will be your legacy?
A quote worth repeating:
“Do it with passion or nothing at all” - Rosa Nouchette Carey.
I'm not sure where or when I heard that, but it stuck with me, and I try to remember it when it comes to my work and my family.
A piece of advice worth passing on:
Know when something has run its course and create your own destiny.
Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.
I go into rabbit holes a lot with music. I like learning about old and new music and don’t discriminate too much. I'll hear things out more or less and decide if I want to dig deeper. I have always loved blues music and learning more about artists in that genre, even if it seems obvious.
I enjoyed HBO’s documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything " and the album “The Soul of Little Richard” released this year. To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of Little Richard, but the documentary was awesome because I learned more about his story and how his music was the foundation of much of the music we all love. It wouldn’t exist without his influence.
Down the blues rabbit hole, once my brother was in a vintage shop and picked up a decently rare record for me by The Super Super Blues Band with Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Bo Diddley. I didn’t realize they had that record until he found it, so I also enjoyed digging deeper into their stories.
Is there something you can’t live without?
I’d say a few key pieces for me. Number one is a RRL brown belt I picked up 15 years ago. I wear it almost every day. Next is a family heirloom signet ring from 1890 that was my grandfather’s uncle’s ring. I had my son’s initials inscribed on it and plan to pass it down to him eventually.
Share any five links:
Articles of Interest - I thought Avery Trufelman’s podcast was well done and provided a thorough, unbiased analysis of Prep.
Rare Book Cellar - It's worth seeing what could inspire or look good on the shelf!
Ghiaia Cashmere - I’m into what they are doing and dig the styling point of view.
127 Yard Sale - Fun times! I went to this while living in Ohio but haven’t been back since. I basically furnished my apartment back then with what I found.
1st Dibs - You know the deal. This is rabbit hole central.
Thanks, Palmer, Kellie, and Thompson, for your time, and especially Madoka for creating the great photos that just pleased your eyeballs. See you all next time!
Thomas