Nymfete is a national contemporary womenswear line that up until recently was partially located in California, while founder and New Orleanian commuted between two cities. While the creative and business headquarters has always been in New Orleans, the company made a major shift and is in the process of moving all product development operations to New Orleans.
Through local industry connections, Nymfete founder realized how much he could do in New Orleans.
With its current team–comprised of a few pattern makers, seamstresses and fabric printers– is set up in the shared workspace Beta downtown, Nymfete has already collaborated with several local high-profile organizations and is looking to expand the team in preparation for their spring line.
The move is expected to create a number of both creative and technical jobs for the New Orleans area. “Actual fashion design is a lot more technical than many realize,” explained brand representative Andrea Pillaro. “The technical designers we will employ will take a designers sketch and figure out the dimensions of each garment to make the sketch translate to real life. They will also grade the patterns for the other sizes we offer.”
Pillaro said it’s also likely that as the brand grows, Nymfete will also have someone solely devoted to maintaining the site and social media. The company will also be hiring photographers, models, graphic artists, stylists, hair and makeup artists and other New Orleans creative professionals when needed.
Dr. Jenna Kuttruff, the chair of LSU’s Textiles, Apparel and Merchandising department is excited about the news: “I think Nymfete is making a wise choice because New Orleans (and even Baton Rouge and the rest of Louisiana) is growing as fashion design center, and many of our graduates want to stay in the area.”