Before landing in San Francisco in 2003, fashion designer Camelia Skikos, now 39, spent her formative years under Communist rule in Romania, where, she confirms, “uniformity was the norm and individuality was harshly punished.” Skikos’ ingrained discipline manifests as uncommon personal grit, a perfectionist streak that just won’t quit, and a highly intuitive mastery of textiles, colors, and shapes. Her blunt bangs are charmingly severe. The de rigueur color clashes of her clothing, which speak more to expressionism than any neon fad, are rebellious in nature. While Skikos was the head of custom design at Levi’s from 2004 to 2006, she styled such celebrities as Blondie in bespoke denim, giving her a high level of industry cred. The status comes in handy when teaching novice designers at Academy of Art University, a gig she’s been doing for more than a decade. In 2010, Skikos launched her eponymous label with a collection of harnessed and nipped-waist cocktail dresses. Since then, she’s shown at LA Fashion Week, and her sharp threads are hawked locally at Loft 1513 and Wonderland. This fall, Skikos plans to give the trend-adverse something to talk about—a collection emblazoned with SF’s grid lines in a riot of street art–inspired colors.