Leftover odds and ends of colorful fabric scraps piled into small heaps on a shelf wait to be transformed into something pretty. More clippings are tucked into wooden crates hidden under a table resting upon two sawhorses in Nikki Warren’s living room. The Tulsa fashion designer uses those reserves of patterned cloth to add extra details to the line she’s tailored to her own style.
“I don’t like to throw them away,” said the 41-year-old fashion designer, eyes fixed on the seam ripper she’s using to dismantle a project. “I can always find other uses for the scraps.”
For example, she likes to use contrasting colors or prints to create pockets on skirts or dresses for a special detail.
“It’s one of my signatures — among other things,” she said smiling.
Fashion is one of Warren’s longtime hobbies, ever since she was a child. But if you asked a younger Warren what she wanted to be when she was older, the response wouldn’t be a designer. There was a brief moment when she could always be found thumbing through teen fashion magazines, but it was an interest she abandoned and then revisited a few times before she pinned down the idea of turning the craft into a career.
In September, Warren will celebrate 10 years working as a full-time fashion designer, debuting her spring/summer line under a new name during Runway Tulsa.
Mesmerized by fashion
Growing up in Tulsa, Warren’s mom, Marva Walker, was a self-made designer who hosted fashion shows in their home and sold women’s lingerie directly to her customers. The hum of the sewing machine and sharp sound of scissors cutting through cloth were the soundtrack to Warren’s youth.
“I’d like to say I grew up seeing my mom at the sewing machine wanting to be a designer like her, you know, but that wasn’t me,” she said. “Sure, I was around that — the sewing process — but it wasn’t until later when I got interested in it.”
She became mesmerized by televised fashion shows on VH1 and in magazines, including Teen Vogue and Seventeen. She consumed all the fashion she could get her teen-age hands on. When inspiration hit from the runways or magazines, a young Warren would hurry to the closet to design new pieces with help from her mom.
The guidance from Walker included showing Warren how to sew basic projects, but Warren struggled with seeing it through. Eager to see the finished look, she remembers always asking her mom if she could skip the technical steps.
“I would always start and stop projects,” she said. “My mom would tell me, ‘You need to have patience and stick with it or it’s not gonna happen.’ ”
Eventually, Warren’s interest in fashion waned until she was in college.
Back in the design seat
Warren’s sewing skills resurfaced as she was studying to become a broadcast journalist at Langston University. A few of her sorority sisters signed up to make tops for an upcoming event, and they showed her plans using fabric glue. Knowing how to sew, Warren turned her nose up at using fabric glue and volunteered to help complete the tops.
“I told them, ‘I can sew that — with a sewing machine,’ ” she said. She borrowed a sewing machine and completed the tops in no time. She also borrowed patterns to practice with, and that’s when she fell back in love with fashion.
“I remember it was like riding a bike. I could just do it,” Warren added.
Her friends started asking her to make them dresses or skirts for special occasions. She told her mom about the requests from her friends, and her mom bought Warren her first sewing machine and a serger.
Warren designed dresses and skirts for herself and many of her friends, receiving plenty of compliments along the way. When she moved to Washington, D.C., to work at a broadcast company, she continued making clothes and developing her own sense of style.
“I would see cute clothes, but everything was expensive. I would look at it and think, ‘I can make this myself,’ ” she said.
She worked behind the camera so even though the dress code was relaxed, she would wear her pieces to work. Co-workers would admire her clothes and started asking about commissioned pieces. That was when she realized her hobby could create extra income.
Start of a new chapter
Though her fashion career started later, after broadcast journalism lost its glow and shimmer, she’s proud of the commitment she made to tear into design full time.
After returning to Tulsa, Warren opened M.O.C.H.A. Butterfly in the Brady Arts District with her high school friend Kim Grayson. The name stood for “manifesting our creative hidden abilities,” Warren explained. The store focused on Tulsa-made items and displayed Warren’s styled tops, dresses and skirts under the same name as the boutique. It was the only clothing and accessories retail in the district before the downtown boom hit.
There were so many projects happening around that time, including construction, which Warren said proved a challenge.
“When the recession hit, as a small designer, it can affect you the most,” she said. “It was a shift and gave me a chance to figure things out.”
The shop closed in 2014, and Warren moved her fashion business home. She’s thankful to her husband and soon-to-be freshman son who allowed her to convert their living room into her work space. It serves as her office, cutting-and-assembly floor and the place where she can meet clients for consultations. As the pieces of the business reassembled, she’s been able to take a step back and focus on building her brand and on her clients.
She participated in last year’s Runway Tulsa and was invited to return this year for the Sept. 30 Runway Tulsa Finale. Last year, her women’s line donned the runway under the M.O.C.H.A. Butterfly brand, but this summer, Warren closed that chapter of her life and changed the name to one that held a new meaning.
“Walker Warren. It’s a name I didn’t get to use. If we had a daughter, I wanted to name her Walker — my maiden name. So it will be Walker Warren Clothing Co.,” she said. “I thought it was a strong name for a woman and it’s unique.”
Defining style
When she reflects on her journey to becoming a designer and returning to Runway Tulsa this fall, she says it’s been a memorable experience.
Since closing the shop, she’s been able to focus on re-branding her line and defining her style. The pieces that boast the Walker Warren name fit women of every style and shape.
“I love bold patterns and bright colors,” said the Tulsa fashion designer, standing at her makeshift worktable in her living room. “I like to play with contrast and try to make the pockets match by pulling some of the colors together to make it fun.”
Further down the road, Warren said she hopes to find a commercial or shared workspace.
“I would love to be around other people,” she said. “Working at home can be a challenge.”
Aside from her work as a designer, she’s also the mother of a high school freshman and wife to a husband who works as a development facilitator and a public speaker.
Walker Warren on the runway
In September, she’ll debut next season’s Walker Warren spring/summer line. Those seasons are her favorite to design because it’s when dresses and skirts return to every woman’s wardrobe. No more pants or long-sleeve blouses — or jeans. She can’t stand seeing people wear jeans when it’s hot outside.
Warren models every piece after her own tastes, and she tests each prototype herself before she decides to replicate the design to sell online or locally.
“I have curves and flaws,” she said. “I wear it out, and if it doesn’t work for me, I won’t sell it.”
Warren started selling her rompers, skirts and other designs at SoBo Co. on 11th Street.
While she enjoys the couture looks modeled on the runways at high-end shows, she prefers to design looks for everyday use.
“I appreciate ready-to-wear fashion,” she said.
“When I find a piece I like, I want to wear it immediately — I will find somewhere to wear that.”
That everyday appeal has paved the way for invitations to fashion shows in New York and Los Angeles this year.
“This is something I really enjoy,” she said. “I am still learning the business. I’m a creative person more than a business person, but it’s just weaved into this.”Read more at:plus size formal wear | short formal dresses
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