Nia Thomas Is A Black Owned Sustainable Fashion Brand That Merges Culture, Art, Luxe Ethical Eclecticism & The Beauty of Gender Fluidity

When we tell you that there are Black owned sustainable fashion brands that can compete can compete and thrive in the intersectional market place of sustainable style. Nia Thomas merges culture, art, luxe ethical eclecticism and the beauty of gender fluidity for a sustainable collection of pieces are truly beautiful and unique .

Check out this interview:

When and why did you start Nia Thomas?

I began my journey of Nia Thomas New York a few months after I graduated FIT in 2017 with my BFA in Fashion Design. I started working in the corporate fashion industry and felt a lull in my heart that I was supposed to be creating something of higher purpose in a way only my mind could fathom. After dreaming of Morocco for months I hopped on a plane and went there in 2018. Upon my arrival I immediately knew I couldn’t capture the vibrant beauty of the country in words, photos or videos but I could attempt to in clothes. Thus my NYFW collection came to life when I showed for the first time in Fall 2018.

How do you define sustainable? How do specifically is your brand "sustainable"?

My personal definition of sustainability is as simple as reduce, reuse, recycle.

Reducing the amount of non-renewable energy used to make clothes and accessories and using my fabric scraps to make scrunchies or tiny bags that I put my jewelry in when I ship orders.

Reusing objects and/or materials that may otherwise end up in landfills. I will literally take buttons, zippers, elastic, etc out of garments that are damaged and up-cycle them on brand new pieces I make.

Recycling fabric and raw materials is always such a special and beautiful task. It still amazes me how taking a oversized silk top, cutting/sewing it into a square and dyeing it with plant based components can make it look so unrecognizably fresh and bring new life/meaning to the piece. I respond to that and I know my customers do as well.

Where do you source your fabric and jewelry?

I source my fabric/yarn/jewelry materials from amazing resources including FabScrap, local New York secondhand shops, and artisans in Morocco. FabScrap is an incredible organization that sells fabric scraps, cuttings, headers, mock-ups, samples, overstock bolts, production remnants and any other unwanted excess fabric. During my trips to Morocco I was fortunate enough to meet local artisans in each region I visited that would hand weave fabrics and hand bead jewelry that I took apart and reused the materials.

Why is gender fluidity and working with models of color so important for your brand (especially a sustainable brand)? / Your imagery and creative direction is beautiful and so different from what you usually see in the "sustainable fashion" space - what sparked this?

Thank you for your kind words on my imagery and creative direction! Growing up I didn’t see anyone who even slightly resembled me in brand marketing, especially not sustainable brands. In the recent years before it was “cool” to be sustainable, the marketing and imagery by sustainable brands seemed to be a very one sided boring narrative. I believe that consumers were smarter than that and we’re hungry for a brand where they could relate to the models skin colors, body size, androgyny and everything in between because it tells a translucent story where no one is excluded. Everyone needs to be invited to the table to discuss the environmental epidemic taking place among us and what steps we can take to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle. I suppose what sparked this sense of unapologetic blackness in my work is that’s I didn’t know how to do it any other way that felt like me.

Does being a Black womxn/ WOC (or specifically your cultural heritage) directly impact/influence your brand? If so how?

Cultural heritage is the building blocks of my foundation and I will always carry that with me and weave it into my work. The strong, brilliant and creative women of color around me that I have been fortunate enough to be raised and mentored by have always installed in me that everything we do is for the Culture. The limited visibility we are given by mainstream media cannot contain our vigor and black excellence. As I evolve into the women I want to become my brand is evolving with me. Even though I prefer to showcase marginalized groups within my work, I know and am humbled but the fact that people from across the world connect with the ethos of my brand.

What is your greatest inspiration?

My greatest inspiration is to aid women all over the world, specifically in fair trade deals. Taking Nia Thomas New York international with the assistance of some phenomenal women weaving, knitting, beading my art will allow them to be independent business owners. I want to see them send their children to school, leave their abusive relationships, inspire their community with the power of sustainable crafts and most importantly empower themselves to know we as women can accomplish anything we put our minds to with the help of each other.