It all started with a homemade black linen dress reminiscent of Grace Kelly.  Now S. Hopper is growing into a hugely successful business from the ambition, the tough grind, and the 60s inspired creations of owner and FBI member Susan Hopper.  The go-getter attitude evident of Ms. Hopper and her love of cotton printed fabrics also helped to launch her colorful, cool, and comfortable lines of skirts and dresses that radiate femininity.

Susan just so happened to fall into the business of fashion.  Her beginnings include a major in Finance in school, and fiddling with fabrics as a hobby.  As everyone would love to do, she molded that hobby into a career by initially creating purses.  Then, with a little inspiration from admired designer Betsy Johnson among others, it escalated to skirts and dresses, then to pants, then to her first jacket that is aptly dubbed Jackie for its Jacqueline Onassis appeal.  The jacket is a piece in her current collection.
 
Ten years from now, Susan would like to concentrate her efforts solely on designing and leave the production to someone else.  She would also like to design her own fabric with the girly yet humorous prints familiar to her lines and with of course amazing colors that fit the season.
 
As for the immediate future, Ms. Hopper would like to organize her business so that, for example, she knows exactly what is in her inventory as opposed to simply having somewhat of an idea of the inventory.  To help her realize this task, Susan will rely on the great resource that is the FBI.  The FBI has already given her the connection she needed to print up some photos of her designs to send out to magazines.  She says, “You can call Carrie or Frances and say ‘I need this’ and if they don’t know [where to find it] they know somebody that does.”  Also, the designer would like to consider the possibility of going international, namely London, where her styles would fit extremely well.  The addition of tops to compliment her collections is also in the works.

  “I don’t really make a lot of conscious decisions which is not always a good thing but if I did I probably wouldn’t be in this business either doing what I do.  I would be a sales rep or something.”  This statement supports the advice she would give to aspiring designers: “Go for it, don’t wait, make sure you are debt free going into the business, and above all be sure this is what you really want to do because the addictiveness of the business will consume you.”  Ms. Hopper goes on and suggests, “Design something in your spare time and take it to a flea market to sell it or invite people to your house to see it; just get it out there.”

The clothing of S. Hopper will undoubtedly make its mark in the fashion community of Los Angeles, just as it has done on the east coast where she already has an established niche.

Article Written By Donna Sandez
Interview Conducted By Thanuja Hasseem
Research By Stephanie Petitt

First Published 7/27/2004