Picture this: it’s autumn in New York City and the leaves are the color of yellow taxis. You’re in a warm living room, decorated impeccably in shades of pale blue and tan. Smooth jazz plays and candles blaze atop coffee table books about design, fashion and travel. Family photos line the walls. It smells of fresh flowers. Someone takes your coat, and someone else hands you a glass of champagne.
You’re not at your close friend’s apartment or even your childhood home, though you may as well be. You’re at Fallon & Ava, a turtleneck pop-up at High Line Nine, where everyone is family.
Sisters and co-founders Fallon and Ava King met me at the shop, designed by their mother, on the Friday of their opening celebration. “It was important to us to invite our customers in how we invite guests into our home,” said Fallon as she showed me to my seat and settled into the couch next to me. “Our mom has always done that,” she said, looking in admiration at their mother, who listened from behind the checkout counter.
The girls hired those they trust most to helm their operation - mom as CEO, dad as CFO, and aunt as COO. “Even our cousin brought everything up in a U-Haul from Pittsburgh to New York,” said Ava leaning toward me, clutching her coffee cup. “As he was leaving, he told us he was driving a dream.”
Before Fallon & Ava was a reality, the sisters were driven by their own ambitions. Each came to New York City of their own accord and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, graduating four years apart. Fallon, the eldest, is now a senior designer at Sachin & Babi and an embroidery designer for Carolina Herrera. Ava, an accomplished ballet dancer, transitioned to event planning and PR.
At first glance, you might hardly see the resemblance between the two - Fallon has long, dark features and wide eyes, and Ava blonde hair and a dancer’s build. However, if the way they finish each other’s sentences is any indication, their visions are perfectly aligned. “I think we both found ourselves on our own when we got to New York,” said Fallon of their separate paths. “Our differences and our similarities now really help make the brand what it is.”
“We always knew we were made to do something together, but we weren't quite sure what,” Ava continued, glancing at a picture on the coffee table next to me — two smiling little girls in turtlenecks, framed in the King’s signature pale blue, clinging to each other like two halves of a whole. “Then, we came up with the idea over quarantine. As you can see, turtlenecks have always been our signature.”
After a lifetime of turtleneck trial and error, the co-founders knew the challenges they’d be up against: folding, strangling, slipping necklines, creasing, untucking, bunching at the hips and claustrophobia. To guarantee they could be intimately involved in the design process, the girls sent their initial pattern to a small, woman-owned factory in Brooklyn. “We were the first people to come into the factory for a meeting as the world was opening back up again,” noted Ava. After rigorous experimentation, they sent their mock-up to Tuscany for large scale production.
The result? A wearable work of art for every woman, available in two styles - The Classic and The Bow. Each garment is made with ECOVERO VISCOSE, a sustainable fiber derived from wood chips to resemble silk. “It has a luxurious hand feel, but also excellent resiliency,” said Fallon, tugging at her sister’s sleeve. “It will never lose its shape no matter how many times you wash it.”
“It automatically tapers at the waist,” she continued, “giving you an hourglass figure and a bodysuit feel.” The neck is double folded and the sleeves are cut at “bracelet length,” ensuring they fall perfectly on the body. “The minute I put on a turtleneck, I feel confident. You can wear it to the office, you can wear it in business meetings or you can wear it on a date. Like Ava, actually…”
“I wore it on a lot of first dates,” said Ava, as the consummate professionals transformed into giggling sisters in front of my eyes. “I have a boyfriend, and I wore it on a first date with him. It’s classy, it's modest, but it also shows off your curves. Not many pieces can do that.”
“It’s classy, it’s modest, but it also shows off your curves. Not many pieces can do that.”
The King sisters believe that love begets confidence. “We were surrounded by strong women our entire lives, said Fallon, “and we just want the brand to inspire and empower other women, too.”
In pursuit of that mission, Fallon & Ava began a formal partnership with The Dwelling Place, a ministry founded by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. Since opening in 1977, the organization has provided housing, sustenance and support to thousands of women through their shelter, healthy eating programs, case managers, mental health providers, money managers and other services.
“These are the silent homeless,” said Ava of the residents. “They’re all young girls, victims of domestic violence, or in their situation through no fault of their own. They’re our age, from twenty to thirty — capable, smart, intelligent women that need help to get back on their feet. We want to meet these women. We want to be a part of this with them, helping in any way that we can.” Fallon & Ava donates one turtleneck to The Dwelling Place for every one sold, and helps with marketing, promotion and visibility.
In addition to present assistance, the sisters are helping cast a vision for the future. “It’s a really special place,” Fallon said, “because of the way they make it feel like home. The women feel like sisters. They only house fifteen women at a time, because it’s all they have space for. We really hope to help them grow.”
“Starting a brand can be stressful,” she continued, “but this has helped us keep everything in perspective.”
“Yes,” Ava finished. “This brand isn’t for us. It’s for these women, and the women that we love.”
My family stopped into the pop-up shop later that day. As my mother sipped champagne and searched for a turtleneck of her own, a framed picture caught my eye that I hadn’t noticed before: Fallon and Ava’s grandmother — a striking woman with Fallon’s dark features and Ava’s cheekbones. The daughter of immigrants.
“It started with their grandparents, who came over at eighteen and nineteen and started their own businesses and worked hard,” Mrs. King had said earlier. “Their children had a better life than they did. And, because my parents worked hard, I had a better life. And now, they have a better life. That is the reason why you are the way you are.”
Fallon & Ava, I realized then, was the culmination of many generations worth of dreams. It’s more than a turtleneck – it’s a mission, a secret weapon, an aspiration, a piece of art, a family. It’s a little piece of home.
Fallon & Ava has been extended at High Line Nine through November 19th in Gallery 9.