Fofolle, French for wacky girl is the brainchild of Kathy Malone, a highly creative and self-taught clothing designer. After moving to New York at the age of 18, Kathy studied millinery at the Fashion Institute of Technology, "which absolutely delighted my parents," she says with a grin. She learned to sew on a second-hand Elna built in the 1970's, when they were still manufactured in Switzerland. That sewing machine, says Kathy, still runs like a dream.
Following graduation, Kathy apprenticed with numerous New York milliners, including Lola Millinery. Because of her skill, she was enlisted to repair some elaborate head pieces needed for a production about Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo for the Jose Limon Dance Company, This led to more work with Jose Limon and other dance and theater companies.
When her son, Milo, was born in 1998, Kathy decided that the demands of the theater and dance world were incongruous with the needs of her new family, so she got a job in the wig making department at the Metropolitan Opera. In her "spare time" she began to design children's clothing. Her quilted skirts with their trippy, vibrant, floral linings and inside-out style were a particular success. Kathy even began to have some admirers among the 7-year-old set in Brooklyn. Apparently, their mommies liked the skirts too, because she began to get requests for adult sizes. And so began her line of women's clothing, fofolle.
In 2007, Kathy established the Brooklynindiemarket, a group of Brooklyn clothing, knit-wear, jewelry, bath and beauty, papergoods and home designers.
Today, Kathy's adult designs can be found at Eidolon in Park Slope and Better Than Jam in Bushwick.
Tadah!
-the skirt fairy-