Amber Kern is the founder of rosegold – a modern women’s clothing store in Nichols Hills Plaza offering responsibly made casual apparel, accessories from smaller, sustainable labels, and luxury designer consignment pieces. She launched the local boutique in May 2016 to utilize her interest in fashion and her professional experience in the aesthetic procedures.
Kern’s style-oriented mindset started as a child when she would wear her mother’s dresses and present impromptu fashion shows in her family home.
“My sister and I would do runway shows in our living room and sketch dress ideas and other fashion designs,” she said. “Growing up, I didn’t realize that fashion was a viable career, so I opted for a more practical degree in college and made fashion fit.”
She attended Oklahoma State University and received an undergraduate degree in advertising. Later, she would graduate from St. Edward’s University – a private Catholic university in Austin, Texas – with a master’s degree in the liberal arts with a focus in fashion. Prior to moving back to Oklahoma, Kern lived in Austin and Los Angeles, receiving training in multiple facets of fashion from retail, styling, even buying clothing for a boutique in California.
Kerns’ husband eventually took a new job that led them to relocate to Oklahoma City. Being a fashion-savvy entrepreneur, Kern saw a business opportunity in the Nichols Hills Plaza.
“Through education and opportunity, I found ways to apply what I’ve learned toward fashion,” she said. “I’ve used tidbits from everything I learned in the past to create what I envisioned would become rosegold.”
The name, rosegold, was meant to resemble a welcoming return to warm femininity without being so exclusive that if left others out, says Kern. Her clothing and accessories are appropriate for younger women in college as well as more mature women. Currently, the boutique is staging its semi-annual Seasonal Blowout Sale.
“We’re blowing out the rest of the winter clothing and starting our spring collection with a few new brands, some from various parts of the globe,” she said. “In fact, two exciting brands come from the U.K. and India, using amazing textiles to make pretty, unique pieces.”
The store also is working with deadstock fabric – unused textiles repurposed to minimize waste – in some of its in-store lines, as well as its Midtown location on 13th Street in Oklahoma City, that opened in October 2020. Recently, designer consignment has made a push in the fashion industry, something the boutique has been planning to do for some time.
“Designer consignment was something I had toyed with as an idea but was placed on the backburner until last year when people started going through their closets to clear things out,” she said. “On a larger scale, manufacturers and companies are understanding that consumers are savvy to their processes and want cleaner production. We know bad fashion creates more waste, so this repurposing push is something others and rosegold are getting behind.”
The Nichols Hills fashion boutique continues to grow, both in its brand and business scope.
“While we develop our in-house brand more, and depending on how this year plays out, we’ve thought about the idea of expanding locations. I’m always trying to be innovative and think ahead in terms of what rosegold can do for the future,” she said. “Especially after such a blah time last year, we need a reason to dress up in something other than sweats.”
