The End is Nau

Hi Ian –

I read on The Thought Kitchen about Nau closing down and at first glance I had to ask myself whether or not it was April 1st. Nope.

I’ve been really bummed and upset that you folks are closing up shop. It’s really a shame that in these turbulent times that an excellent company like Nau couldn’t survive past a year. No one else I feel is doing what you folks are doing. From the first time I heard and read about you folks in an issue of Outside — if I recall correctly — I was super excited at what I was seeing — functional outdoor clothing that gasp actually looked sexy, slick, good and that you could wear for a night on the town and no one would be the wiser. As a designer, it filled that void that I thought was missing between fashionable, modern cuts but being completely functional. To me, it’s a match made in heaven.

I put you folks up there along with Rapha, the high end cycling clothing mfg. based in London. I’m sure you’re familiar with them — given the overlap of some of the Portland cycling brethren that you both worked with — Ira Ryan, Dan Sharp, et al.

And now you’re going away. I’ve never felt so emotionally about a company whose values aligned with mine but it’s good to know that at least you were around for a while. I’m happy to have quite a few Nau pieces in the closet and yesterday I called everyone I knew who loved you folks and we all raided the Chicago store. My significant other (Jen Schuetz — I believe she’s also emailing you) and I bought what we could, happy to get our hands on more excellent pieces but not the situation with which we managed to get these items this time around. Bittersweet with with the bitter side being more prominent.

I feel that given another 6 months to a year you folks would really have found your groove and become a lasting company. I’m a fan of other outdoor companies, notably Patagonia but I rarely find anything at Patagonia that I actually buy — the clothes are a bit too drab and I’ve noticed that their sizing has grown a little (contrary to their claim to fit active people first — perhaps adopting some of The North Face populist appeal?).

Nau was my company of choice. If there ever was a company that I believed could change things, it was you folks.

With that, I hope perhaps someday Nau might return, perhaps in another form. I hope you don’t look at this as a failure — if you do, you failed spectacularly and successfully. But like any relationship that leaves a lasting impact, I’m glad you folks were around for as long as you were rather than not at all.

Godspeed and good luck in your future endeavours.

Thanks for everything,
Naz.

Ed: For further, read Treehugger’s wrap-up.