Nomia (Q3530)
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Nomia is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Nomia |
Nomia is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Yara Flinn took a trip to the Aeolian Islands this summer, where the deep blues and greens of the Tyrrhenian Sea spoke to her. “The water in Sicily inspired my color palette because it was a deep, clear emerald. You see many of those shades, like the greens and blues, shimmering in this collection,” said the designer. With those colors, she was also thinking about a wardrobe that could take her customer from day to night to fit into every part of their lifestyle.The brand’s pendant-cord belts have been a best-selling accessory at her storefront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and this season, Flinn began incorporating this detailing into her pieces as well. Shimmering white satin tank tops feature a hematite metallic pendant at the waist that can be styled in a multitude of ways, whether draping low off to the side or cinched at the front to add a focal point to the outfit. “I love adding a jewelry aspect to my pieces so that the wearer doesn’t have to worry about that detail,” said Flinn.As usual, the designer also noted her athletic background as a former basketball player and incorporated some sportier pieces, like a nylon pleated tennis skirt that gives you the comfort of sportswear while maintaining the look of more traditional options.
13 September 2024
Yara Flinn’s Williamsburg store will be celebrating its second anniversary this May. Her studio is right below her store, and like every good business owner, she actively listens to feedback from her customers. She also gets inspiration on new styling tips from them: “I’ve never really had this direct feedback before,” she said. “This kind of information is invaluable.” Some ideas she’s picked up from her customers also played into the creation of the collection, including toile prints, pre-distressed washed cotton that is meant to look wrinkled (so there’s no steaming needed), and cutout blazers that give the illusion of a cinched waist.Elsewhere, Flinn incorporated some personal additions to her pieces, including a funnel neck detailing on her jackets, which she finds useful for someone like her who doesn’t like to wear a scarf in the cold. Tank tops came with a pre-twisted shoulder detailing as an ode to her basketball days, when she used to twist her jerseys into her sports bra for a tighter fit.
16 February 2024
Yara Flinn is not one for grand inspirations. “I don’t like doing a themed collection,” she said. “Fabrics are always where I start.” Still, she couldn’t resist adding in a bit of Western flair, pared back to almost be invisible. A blue suit jacket, for instance, had a subtle cowboy-esque yoke, and form-fitting shirts and dresses came in textured gingham. Even fringe—the most yeehaw of embellishments—looked cosmopolitan when paired with considered tailoring. The bandana-like necklines of a few of the cotton shirts, however, were accidentally on theme. It only occurred to Flinn afterwards how aligned that detail was.The shirting was particularly strong this season. Working with what she described as a “sun-faded color scheme,” with shades of celery green, pale pink, and light brown, Flinn made many variations of wearable tunics and cropped button-downs. Fabrics are always crucial for Nomia: This season there was a floral brocade set (though Flinn wouldn’t style them together; too jejune), recycled polyester suiting, tightly woven cotton that almost has a techy feel, and seersucker.Flinn adds a sporty insouciance to the pieces she designs. If she’s making a pale pink striped cotton shirt, for example, she’ll crop it and add a drawstring through the center. The long-sleeve, clingy jersey tops had hoods and toggles, making them feel both work appropriate and sporty. Don’t let the bermuda shorts fool you; this was a grown-up collection.
12 September 2023
Nomia’s collections are never too fussy. Yara Flinn has a streamlined approach to making garments, and knows when to add in a design quirk to make something feel special. Her sporty fall collection, with touches of motocross and the early noughties, looked particularly strong. Calling all grown-up tomboys.The lookbook opens with a strapless pinstripe dress layered over coordinating pants (a trendy way to style yourself, according to the fall runways and Katie Holmes). The corporate fabric was best used as the base for an athletic quarter-zip pullover with a drawstring waistband, which was nicely paired with a tangerine ruched skirt. A tomato red satin anorak that resembled a miniskirt and top exuded a nice tension between casual outdoorsiness and city sophistication. “I wanted to make a mini dress that I would actually wear,” Flinn said. “How could I do it in a sporty way and still feel kind of androgynous.” The pleated skirts, button-down shirt, and collared knit that Flinn calls her “goalie shirt” continued the prep-school soccer practice vibe. In her elevated fabrications, though, it never felt juvenile.
17 February 2023
Yara Flinn opened her first store for her label, Nomia, in mid-May. The Williamsburg boutique has already given her insights on how to best serve her customers. “You don’t want to design for retail and have it be something so utilitarian and commercially driven, but you also want things that people are missing from their wardrobe,” she says. But watching her customers come in and style the clothes and share their thoughts about them—for instance, asking if a top has a matching jacket or skirt—has helped her “build out the meat of the collection.”Flinn doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel every season—the clothes for spring 2023 are as offbeat-yet-sophisticated as those she’s presented for years. There are the occasion pieces, like a bright magenta clingy maxi with cutouts outlined in contrasting colors, a crochet-and-fringe one shoulder dress, and a pleated green-gray ankle-length skirt. The everyday pieces still have a special element, like irregular smocking on a white midi or a brown gingham pullover. Flipping through the lookbook feels akin to looking through a real, living, breathing Brooklynite’s closet.
16 September 2022
Looking at the seemingly endless stream of runway shows and presentations, it’s possible to lose sight of the fact that all this hubbub and fantasy and money is centered around an act as quotidian as getting dressed. Eveningwear aside, much of the clothing marching down New York’s catwalks was made in the hope that someone will stumble out of bed, bleary-eyed, and decide they want to be this person for the day. Yara Flinn doesn’t lose sight of this.For over a decade, Flinn has designed wearable clothing with subtle, differentiating details that don’t always come across in photos. You can’t tell in a picture just how velvety her vegan leather dress feels, nor how fluffy a cobalt fleece is. You can tell that the models look at ease, like someone you’d see walking around Cobble Hill and make a mental note of their outfit. There is a lived-in quality to the collection. “My greatest moments of pride are when we have customers who bought something at a sample sale six years ago and are still wearing it,” she says. “I appreciate novelty, but I want things to age well.”As a result, the bulk of Flinn’s designs exist between statement dressing and basics. Many of the simpler silhouettes are elevated by their fabrics. This makes sense, as Flinn says she starts her design process with textile development. Two pairs of wide-wale corduroys come in vaguely ’70s colors like a sea-foam green and a dusty pink. The collection ends with a reversible black shearling and vegan leather overcoat with a hood. Doesn’t get more functional than two coats in one, but the texture makes it interesting.
16 February 2022
Yara Flinn’s clothes look great in photos, but the real draw of a Nomia piece is that it’s rarely what it seems. In her spring 2022 lookbook, the slippery-looking fabric of a deep turquoise bomber appears to be performance nylon; you imagine it being cold and noisy IRL. In fact, it’s actually a coated linen, with a surprisingly soft drape and none of the harsh crispiness of a synthetic fiber. The classic-looking camel blazer in look 3 has a warmer energy up-close thanks to its basketweave texture, while the same jacket in muted sage has the opposite vibe: It’s super sleek and tech-y.All to say, Nomia isn’t a collection you can easily appreciate on a screen. Beyond the Zoom fatigue we’re all suffering, Flinn witnessed the game-changing benefits of real-life fashion experiences this year when she opened a long-term pop-up in Greenpoint. She watched how customers reacted to her fabrics and unexpected tweaks in real time, and how the touch and feel of a garment was often what motivated a purchase. Just as importantly, Flinn realized the pieces she loved designing the most were also the ones that resonated most with her customers. So instead of thinking about past best-sellers or how to properly merchandise this collection, she let her own intuition guide spring 2022. The results have all the Nomia trademarks—sporty basics, minimal slips, muted tones—with bursts of joyful experimentation, like a graphic bandana print and searing pops of color in knits and tie-dye dresses. The most surprising look combined a marigold turtleneck and wide-leg trousers in that glossy linen, this time in a shade of rosy pink. With their elastic waistband, clean silhouette, and peculiar fabric, they had the makings of an unlikely new basic; Flinn might just need to cut them in a few more colors.
22 September 2021
It’s been almost 15 months since Yara Flinn showed a new Nomia collection, but she’s never felt more confident about this one. Much of it comes down to the pop-up shop she opened with a friend in Greenpoint back in November; in addition to Nomia collections, they’re selling jewelry, clothes, accessories, and homewares by a variety of independent designers. After a decade in business, it’s been Flinn’s first real chance to hear directly from her customers and see how they react to her work IRL, and their immediate feedback informed fall 2021.The best takeaway? Even on the bleakest winter afternoons, Flinn was happy to hear that her Greenpoint clienteledidn’twant more loungewear or “designer sweatpants.” Instead, they were drawn to the pieces Flinn does best: familiar staples like trench coats, button-downs, and slip dresses, but with a strange or tech-y twist. Her banker-striped shirts are trimmed with D-rings, for instance, and women and men alike were drawn to fall 2020’s chore coat in neon jacquard. It’s a good example of the Nomia sweet spot: a statement piece that you can throw on and go just about anywhere.Flinn’s instinct this season was to get more experimental, knowing her customers are excited to “reemerge” this fall. The opening look appears to be a sparkly head-to-toe Lurex knit, but is in fact a stretchy, micro-pleated ditsy floral—an uncharacteristically feminine motif for Flinn, but rendered to look more like TV static. She also designed an oddly-functional lace pant to layer under simpler slips and jersey skirts, and an otherwise-prim cotton shirtdress with asymmetrical panels of smocking across the bust. Yes, there’s a hoodie, but you definitely wouldn’t classify it as loungewear. In a drapey, carrot-colored Japanese twill, it’s more like a super-relaxed evening top.
28 April 2021
Yara Flinn designs clothes she wants to wear, plain and simple. On paper (or on a screen, in this case), that mightsoundsimple, or it could call up images of “timeless essentials” and mundane basics. The Nomia uniform is neither. Flinn and the women she dresses want clothes that are easy, comfortable, and practical, sure, but with a downtown attitude. For fall, that included an oversized banker-striped shirt with a funnel neck and D-ring cuffs; a chore jacket in a wavy jacquard and matching skirt; a layering turtleneck in glossy velvet; and a slinky tank dress in a marbled paper print. They’re the eye-catching yet wearable items that are often so hard to find, particularly in department stores; usually there’s no middle ground between true, uninspired basics and capital-F fashion, which might explain why Flinn has stayed in business for over a decade and continues to grow.As far as what’s new, color was the big story for fall, from bright corals and reds to periwinkle and mint green. For the latter two shades, Flinn joked that she’s always been drawn to “hospital scrub colors,” and recently learned why doctors and nurses wear that particular shade of icy blue: because it’s believed to be calming. (Vogue Runway’s interview with acolor therapistlast year confirmed the theory.) Consider it another good reason to add Flinn’s ribbed periwinkle sweater and marble-printed dress to your closet. Don’t miss the half-and-half vegan leather boots in chocolate and powder blue, either.
7 February 2020
Yara Flinn is a designer who cares deeply about the environment and fashion’s impact on it, so she didn’t take the decision to create her first pre-fall collection lightly. Yes, it’s putting more product out in the world, but unlike bigger brands that see pre-fall as an opportunity to rework their greatest hits and produce basic commercial pieces, Flinn kept the collection extremely small. She ignored seasonal trends and retail headlines, instead zeroing in on the highly personal feedback she’s received from small specialty stores, like Kick Pleat in Austin.In the middle of summer, these shops are selling clothes that are light and effortless but still pack a punch, like Flinn’s signature racer-back slip dresses and bright layering pieces. Regarding the latter, she introduced a new knitting technique on a kaleidoscopic lime turtleneck; her more familiar ribbed version came in a fresh shade of mint. In lieu of designing a half dozen dresses—long-sleeve, short-sleeve, sleeveless, turtleneck, et al.—to please retailer demand, she’s proposing you buy the slip and simply add or subtract a knit or blazer as the temperatures change.That will sound pretty good to women with overstuffed closets and a desire to streamline their lives. As a working mother and Brooklynite, Flinn’s instincts typically mirror those of her customers. She’s compelled to buy pieces she can wear a few different ways and year-round, not just to make her life easier but to get as much wear out of her clothes as possible. A technical-satin anorak was designed with that in mind. Styled with matching, full-leg trousers, it felt luxe and shimmery enough to for a cocktail party but would just as easily elevate a pair of jeans.
17 December 2019
Nomia’s Yara Flinn started making faux-leather shoes a few years ago, before words likeveganandsustainablehad become synonymous with forward-thinking luxury. She was ahead of the curve, and faux-leather shoes—at leaststylishfaux-leather shoes—are still difficult to find. It’s shocking how infrequently leather is mentioned in the sustainability conversation, in fact; if you have been paying attention, you’ve no doubt seen the statistic that livestock agriculture is one of the top contributors to climate change. That’s meat, dairy, cheese, and—duh!—leather. Earlier this year, Stella McCartney said the fashion industry’sbiggest impact is its use of leather, and “people really don’t want to talk about [it].” Especially the luxury brands that do most of their business in accessories.Anyway: Until the industry reconsiders its leather use, conscious shoppers can at least buy Nomia’s excellent vegan shoes. They’re mostly low, walkable heels and strappy sandals, often with a sculptural metal heel, and this season Flinn whipped them up in such bright pastels as mint green, canary yellow, and glittery turquoise. Spending so much time on the shoes—both here and in Portugal, where they’re made—subconsciously influenced Flinn’s clothing designs, too. The cheerful palette trickled up into sheer layering pieces, square-neck slip dresses, and sporty bikinis, which Flinn styled like “real clothes” under dresses and turtlenecks. She liked how all of the different colors looked on the rack, and found that the various pieces worked together. It helped that everything was quite simple and streamlined; in many ways, Flinn is getting back to her minimalist roots, this time with a freer, easier attitude.
20 September 2019
There’s a lot to unpack in the athleisure boom, but the simple takeaway for most women is that it’s easy, comfortable, and flattering. Dark leggings, sneakers, a pullover—it’s a three-step outfit that, to some, looks more pulled together than the “regular” clothes they’d throw together on a hectic morning. They shouldn’t give up on fashion full stop, though, especially when there are little labels like Yara Flinn’s Nomia making sleek, vaguely sporty pieces that are just as comfy—but much more considered—than actual workout gear.Nomia’s Resort collection seems particularly suited to those busy women, partly because Flinn’s own life has gotten extraordinarily busier: She gave birth to her first baby last year. It’s understandably shifted the way she thinks about clothing and style; she’s awake at 5 a.m. and zigzags Manhattan and Brooklyn on the subway, so she can’t exactly abide a rigid trouser or complicated dress. Resort was essentially her ideal new-mom wardrobe: lots of separates (because it’s difficult to nurse in a dress!) in bold, juicy colors and roomy but not oversized silhouettes.Most of those pieces came in the luxe, techy materials Flinn has been using for several years. The new-mom bonus is that they resist wrinkles and are typically machine-washable. A cool Japanese poly blend felt particularly compelling on a hooded anorak and a white ruched blouse, which had the look of a classic shirt but won’t crease. She reported that her wavy-ribbed midiskirts were already a hit with buyers, including the version in blush lamé. In one look the skirt was styled with a striped turtleneck that had a dense, weighty feel to it; worn with the matching cropped trousers, it would make for a surprisingly elegant sweatsuit. Some girls might wear it with sneakers, but Flinn made a strong case for her cut-out white mules. They’re made of buttery vegan leather (you’d never know it wasn’t the real thing) and come with shiny conical heels. Would that look still be considered athleisure? Or is it ath-luxury? Maybe it’s neither. The term has come to suggest a sacrifice in the fashion part of the equation, but Flinn proved that comfort and style can in fact coexist.
13 June 2019
It’s an understatement to say that the conversation around sustainable fashion—or just “conscious fashion,” if you can’t abide the former term—has exploded in recent years. In 2030, will we regard these pre-2020 days as a major turning point? Or will we we be so far ahead that the changes and innovations we’re seeing now will feel totally negligible? (That would be a good thing, for the record.) We can’t predict the future, but we do have a feeling vegan leather is about to have a breakthrough, similar to the way faux fur suddenly became the norm a couple of years ago.Faux fur is everywhere, but the number of designers using faux leather is shockingly low: There’s Stella McCartney, of course; Rooney Mara’s new label, Hiraeth, which also mixes silk, wool, and cashmere; and Yara Flinn’s 10-year-old Nomia (among others). Nomia has never really been linked to animal rights, nor has Flinn marketed the fact that her brand is leather-free, but let’s just say her intuition was right-on when she decided to invest in high-quality vegan materials instead of the real stuff. Fall 2019’s olive faux-leather motorcycle jacket was buttery-soft, and her signature Lucite-heeled boots are among the most fashion-forward vegan leather shoes we’ve seen. They come in glossy satin, too, which also appeared on this season's newest accessories: a flat belt bag and a bucket bag with hand-knotted “bungee cord” details.Those sporty, outdoorsy touches are a Nomia signature; there was a drawstring to cinch the waist of a lightly padded coat, as well as on the opening of a cut-out blouse. Flinn’s m.o. is to whip up those rugged pieces in unexpected colors and fabrics: The coat was a light ginger, for instance, and a pair of “carpenter pants” with contrast stitching were done in a glossy black satin, not canvas. Other successful experiments in color and material were the lime-green rigid jeans and ultra-wide-leg pants in ultra-wide-wale beige corduroy.
25 February 2019
Yara Flinn was “quite pregnant” when she was designing Spring 2019—as in, she gave birth in the middle of Fashion Week!—and she said it influenced her process, but not in the way you might think. Instead of the looser, more body-conscious stuff you might expect a woman to gravitate toward in her final trimester, Flinn’s collection was quite structured and polished. “Maybe I was just tired of wearing the same thing every day,” she said. “I was so excited to design post-maternity clothes.”Nomia is often linked to the ’90s for its clean, minimalist silhouettes and sporty fabrics, but Flinn was thinking about the ’70s this time. On a business trip to Portugal, where her vegan shoes are made, she was also inspired by the city’s architecture and “salt-stained” pink and yellow paint. Those muted shades will feel pretty familiar to Nomia girls, but the bolder, “intense” shade of pink she used on a slip dress will definitely be a surprise. Her first jean, a straight-leg style, was overdyed in Pepto pink, too, and came with a matching raw-edged denim jacket. Both pieces will also be available in mustard and bottle green. (Flinn added that the jeans retail for under $300, putting them at a competitive sweet spot alongside designer denim brands.)Also new this season: the burgundy faux snakeskin, which tends to have a ’70s rock ’n’ roll vibe but looked surprisingly elegant on Flinn’s ultra-sleek trenchcoat. “Since it’s polyurethane, it’s basically a raincoat,” she added. Given the collection will deliver in February, despite its Spring label, it might just be the perfect late-winter layer.
12 September 2018
Yara Flinn shot her new Nomia collection on a craggy beach in Long Island, but you’d swear it was Puglia. In languid slipdresses, loose-cut linen suits, and sleek jumpsuits, the model looks utterly relaxed, as if the hustle of Manhattan weren’t merely a train ride away. Chilled-out clothes are Flinn’s specialty, and they typically come in unusual, techy fabrications: The orange windbreaker here was cut from a weightless, crinkly Japanese fabric, and the paper-thin metallic jacket came in a strangely wearable foil. The color shifted from gold to silver depending on the light; Flinn called it “platinum.” Fans of her label (which now has more than 10 years behind it) might not realize that all of those materials are vegan: Her new shoe line is made of faux leather, but she also doesn’t use silk or wool in her clothes. For women who care about eco-friendly and animal-free fashion, the collection should be that much more intriguing.The day she photographed this collection, Flinn said the weather was temperamental (typical for New York in the spring). Early in the day, it was almost too sunny to shoot—and by the end, they were ushered off the beach by a massive storm. The darkened sky in several photographs makes it a little hard to figure out what season you’re looking at, which actually helps Flinn’s message for Resort: These are clothes you’re supposed to wear year-round in any climate. New Yorkers will pick up the gold jacket and pants for New Year’s Eve, but savvy girls will keep wearing them well into next summer—the pants with a T-shirt, or the jacket over a sundress, for instance. The linen suit had a substantial hand to it, too, so you wouldn’t think twice about wearing it in the winter. You’d be remiss not to style it with Flinn’s blush satin boots: You can’t really see them here, but they have clear, conical Lucite heels and fit like a glove.
18 June 2018
Yara Flinn’s Nomia is a testament to the slow-and-steady approach. She’s been in business for 10 years, but remains happily under the radar and, more importantly, inspired. She says the secret is to keep challenging herself. Fall 2018’s new ideas weren’t entirely radical, but the palette was lighter, earthier, and she used a few girlier fabrics, like a luminous pewter velvet and a preppy gingham. She also introduced her first-ever shoe: a stretch vegan-leather boot with a curvy Lucite heel.For Nomia die-hards, this will look pretty familiar. Flinn specializes in easy, comfortable pieces that register as basics to the Lower East Side girl; think oversize duster coats, sleek jumpsuits, and faux patent leather button-downs. The pieces that are bound to attract new customers—maybe even a few who live above 14th Street!—were the elegant cowl-neck jumpsuit, a bias-cut velvet dress, and the “cable-knit” sweaters. Knitwear has been a growing category for Nomia, but she usually works in techy body-skimming silhouettes and funky pastels. Fall’s oversize, sculptural sweaters came in olive or dusty clay and had the look of chunky wool without the itch factor.
10 February 2018
You heard it here first: Fringe is going to be big this season. At least here in downtown New York. On Tuesday, Rachel Comey opened her show with an ivory-tiered fringe skirt, and last night, Nomia’s Yara Flinn used the flapper-era embellishment on a maxi dress and tunic. Both Flinn and Comey have the “cool girl” market tapped and a sixth sense for what their stylish customers will want next. It was easy to envision Nomia’s girls actually wearing the fringed top on a night out, too, because the presentation took place at one of their favorite bars: Max Fish on Orchard Street.The unlikely setting was further proof thatdive-y, unfancy venuesare the new normal for New York Fashion Week. While some designers go grunge as a gimmick, Max Fish made sense for Flinn; she’s been going there for 15 years, for starters, and most of her friends at the show probably live down the street, too. It was also refreshing to see the clothes in their natural habitat; these were the girls who buy and wear Nomia, and this is what they do on the weekends. It also lent context to the simpler looks, like the long, lean dresses; snap-button jackets; and taffeta “sweatpants” inspired by basketball shorts.The presentation turned party also celebrated a big milestone for Flinn: 10 years in business—and she’s not bored yet. She reinterpreted a few bestsellers from seasons past for the occasion, like those basketball shorts from 2014 and the fringe details from even further back. But Flinn is still happy to experiment, too: Brand new this season was a glossy pale yellow taffeta caftan and some seriously good knits, from a bouncy, 18-gauge pullover to a fine pointelle knit in minty green, which already looked like a vintage treasure.
7 September 2017
Yara Flinn’s Nomia collections tend to reflect how downtown girls want to dress right now: a little ‘90s, a little arty, and with a few strange colors thrown in. Her fresh, minimal Resort lineup featured her signature shade, periwinkle, mixed with marigold, burgundy, key lime, and other unlikely hues. But the bigger story was texture: Flinn pointed out a glossy, permanently-crinkled acetate, and said it was “the fabric I’ve been looking for my whole life.” On an asymmetrical blouse, maxi dress, and slit trousers, it had the sheen of heavy satin, but felt a little stronger and more durable—and you’d never have to steam it. That’s a pragmatic plus for her customers, who likely take the subway or ride a bicycle to work and don’t have time for precious fabrics.Function and practicality underscore much of Flinn’s work, both in a literal sense—work jackets, waterproof trenches—and in less obvious ways, like that shiny acetate and the manner in which most of her pieces can be layered on top of one another. Her twisted-sleeve dresses and tanks have the versatility of not-basic basics, and her brand-new, featherweight mesh turtlenecks and T-shirts were a novel solution to unpredictable weather: Wear one under a chunky knit in the winter, or to add some coverage to a slip dress at the beach.
20 June 2017
Fall ’17 might be the season that non-model casts really take off. We’ve already seen a few great examples this week—Rag & Bone, J.Crew, and Mara Hoffman come to mind—and the current political climate has given the concept a new charge. For her Nomia show today, Yara Flinn enlisted friends and inspirational women she scouted on Instagram to model the clothes, and Lizzi Bougatsos was on hand to provide the bone-rattling soundtrack.Since Flinn’s clothes are typically minimal and a bit ’90s-inflected, a cool woman wearing them can be a lot more interesting than a well-known model. The striking girl in the lookbook is a dancer, for instance, and Flinn’s friend Patty Lu lent her own edgy look to a deep-V slip dress and velvet coat in the show.As for the rest of the collection, Flinn built upon her signatures—duster coats, un-precious dresses, and sporty touches—while expanding her fabrications. A dark brocade was a romantic, ladylike departure for Nomia, and worked better on a boxy slip dress than on the cropped pants. Flinn also introduced chocolate brown and jade green velvet, seen on an ankle-length coat and asymmetrical evening top, respectively. Those pieces were cool yet pretty—a balance the designer would do well to explore in future seasons. Her plainer, more androgynous looks didn’t resonate nearly as much—see the roomy black pantsuit and padded coat—but they also didn’t stand a chance against the surrealist set, light show, and blaring music. The atmosphere was great, but those subtler pieces were best seen up-close and personal.
15 February 2017
Sports have been a popular motif for a few seasons now, but Yara Flinn might be the only designer to base an entire collection on rock climbing. Or, more specifically,indoorrock climbing. Giant fake rocks studded the gallery space at herNomiaSpring ’17 presentation today, and she updated some of her signature pieces—halter-neck dresses, silk dusters, and ribbed-knit sweaters—with climbing knots, cargo pockets, and cinched suspension cords. The results weren’t dramatically different from her usual fare, since her aesthetic centers around a sort of utilitarian, grunge-inflected minimalism. It would have been nice to see a few more points of departure; the most compelling (and literal) riffs on the theme were a tank top and body-con dress knitted entirely from suspension cords. Flinn styled the dress over a bra top and shorts, but it would look just as cool over your go-to black slip.Nomia isn’t necessarily known for its eveningwear, but there were some strong options for the dress-averse here, particularly the navy X-front jumpsuit and a pair of flared trousers with silver snaps up the sides. Those pieces had serious day-to-night potential; wear the trousers with a blazer at the office, then swap it out for a silk tank after-hours. That being said, the most casual item in the bunch—a pair of cargo pants in a slippery, performance-level fabric—would take you from a lazy Saturday afternoon to an actual rock-climbing center without needing to change.
9 September 2016
Not so long ago, Yara Flinn’sNomiacollections were defined by utilitarian details and a certain ’90s-era skater-girl vibe. Now that she’s had the opportunity to expand and refine her label—she just graduated from the CFDA Fashion Incubator program and sells to upscale retailers like Barneys New York—she’s softening things up a bit. “I never thought I’d use pink in a collection,” she said, pointing out a rosy tank dress with D-ring straps. It didn’t look girly or sweet in the least—in fact, the color almost functioned as a neutral among rich shades of emerald green, deep orange, and periwinkle.Color was the big story for Resort, but Flinn also has a knack for unusual fabrics. A shiny ivory parka came in a viscose material with metal fibers, so it had a bit of structure and caught the light. Outerwear in general is always strong for Flinn; elongated blazers and vests are her signatures, and a flowing forest-green satin trench was hands down the best piece in the collection. And while knits are a new category for Nomia, the stretchy ribbed technical sweaters were standouts. Most had short sleeves, marled stripes, and deep V-necks, so they felt quite preppy. It wasn’t a surprise to hear that Flinn’s been playing a lot of tennis lately; those knits were actually sporty enough to make it through a long match on the East River Park courts.
14 June 2016
Yara Flinn’s minimal, ’90s-inflected Nomia collections have been finding success at upscale retailers like Barneys New York and Totokaelo, so it makes sense that her goal for Fall ’16 was to add “more polish” to her clothes. Longtime fans will still find plenty of the elongated vests, split-back blazers, and jumpsuits they love, but Flinn updated them with luxe new textures and colors this season. The biggest departure for her was an eye-catching blue lamé, which she used on a sleek racer-back dress. “I liked the idea of mixing this really feminine fabric with a sporty silhouette,” she explained.This season also marked Flinn’s first foray into knitwear. Viscose-nylon–blend ribbed sweaters with cutout shoulders fit nicely into her spare, arty oeuvre, but they also lent a bit of richness and warmth to her signature tech fabrics. The blush and olive ones will surely stand out from all the chunky, oversize turtlenecks on the shop floor around August.
24 March 2016
Nurses’ scrubs may not, at first thought, set most women’s hearts aflutter. But inspirations such as that underscore Yara Flinn’s knack for marrying utilitarianism with lean, youthful elegance. Spring found the Nomia designer riffing on workwear of different sorts, from those aforementioned scrubs (nodded to in a sporty V neck) to fabrications in denim ticking, which Flinn stumbled on in researching uniforms at the Met’s Costume Institute Reference Library. That ticking came to life beautifully as a kimono with raw denim trim.Consistency is a key element of Flinn’s lineups from season to season; hallmarks like her patch pockets and D-ring details tie an evolving body of work neatly together. Chances are that her customers can make space in their wardrobes for another of her classic slit-back dusters, as well as a newer style for Nomia, the terrific, slinky one-sleeved dress.
23 October 2015
Yara Flinn knows well that where brands are concerned, consistency is key. And so while subtle changes are traceable in her clothes from season to season, the vernacular stays the same: minimalist but with a goodly dose of the '90s by way of X-Girl. Resort fit the bill, but Flinn upped the ante when it came to artful utility: a standout slim jacket in bark-textured silk bore a long slit down the back, closed with a garden-variety carabiner. Elsewhere, big patch pockets added interest (and functionality) to boxy dresses and tops. Also new this season: denim. Indeed, washed chambray came as a happy addition to the designer's lineup of satins and twills; culottes with D-ring belts were winning, and easy to see on an array of women. On the whole, Nomia's brand of toughened-up minimalism does afford it some universality. Case in point: One might typically envision downtown-cool girls as Flinn's primary clientele, but Kylie Jenner recently Instagrammed herself at the dentist, wearing a long white vest from the line.
19 June 2015
There's nothing like a well-deployed reference to really get the pulse racing, aesthetically speaking, and Nomia designer Yara Flinn knows a thing or two about that. Past seasons have found her turning out homages to X-Girl's brand of cool in a way that's exponentially smarter than some of her '90s-obsessed peers—and more sophisticated with each new collection, too. To wit: Resort saw the line picked up by Barneys, and Fall found Flinn making even more want-it-now tweaks to her grown-up skater girl wardrobe. A satin parka? Why not. "I like to challenge myself," said Flinn, and incongruous combinations proved some of her most compelling fodder; crepe biker pants or a sheeny maxi skirt with a D-ring belt were a deft balance of utilitarian and polish. The designer harnessed the inherently chic qualities of the mock neck, and with them elevated simple muscle tees and a boxy top in sky blue satin. One of the true standouts here was a grouping of pieces shot through with grommets of different shapes and sizes. That particular embellishment is enjoying a lot of attention this season, but we'd venture that the girls who sport Flinn's take on it will enjoy plenty more of it themselves.
26 March 2015
"I've kind of developed this theory that all designers are obsessed with their late-teenage years. You're always emotionally connected to that time when you're really developing your identity and everything feels so real," said Yara Flinn at a preview of her new Nomia collection. For Flinn, that formative era was the late '90s. After cycling through something of a sporty, hip-hop phase, followed by a fixation with X-Girl-inspired grunge, this season found the designer channeling the decade's raver culture—in her own restrained way, of course. The modern club-kid vibe came through with such pieces as overall maxi dresses, mandarin-collar tunics, and baggy pink painter's pants. What set Flinn's lineup apart were unexpected details, such as the utilitarian carabiner clips found on tailored linen vests and the random slash on one side of a crinkled T-shirt dress. "I think it's so sexy to show a tiny, weird piece of thigh for no reason," she explained. To accompany the collection, Flinn created a cool narrative film (involving a fictional party planner and frosted lipstick), appropriately shot at Max Fish, the recently reopened dive bar that is nothing short of a Lower East Side institution. "I've been going there for what seems like a million years, so the setting felt authentic and awesome," Flinn said. One thing's for sure: It doesn't get more '90s redux than Max Fish.
15 October 2014
Every cool girl who lived in New York during the nineties remembers X-Girl. The fashion line cofounded by Kim Gordon quickly earned a cult following for its shrunken tees, miniskirts, skater pants, and celebrity supporters such as Sofia Coppola and Chloë Sevigny. As a streetwise Manhattan native, X-Girl left a lasting impression on Nomia's Yara Flinn, and she cited the brand as a reference point for her new Fall collection. At a showroom preview, the designer also reminisced over days spent leafing through Delia's catalogs and thrifting at Canal Jeans. Flinn channeled her nostalgia in a modern way. She paired Lurex-flecked mock turtleneck dresses with clean parka coats that looked pretty in pastel-colored taffeta, for example, and teamed cropped sweaters with crepe maxi skirts boasting killer high slits. This season, Flinn was a bit more playful in terms of introducing color and experimenting with specialty fabrications. She latched on to still-happening fringe, which accented several pieces including a boxy T-shirt dress and split-seam tunics. Other highlights included a bomber jacket that came in plush, Astrakhan-effect velvet, and patch-pocket jumpsuits that gave off a utilitarian vibe. Compared with recent outings, there was less emphasis on streetwear and more emphasis on sophistication, which felt like a definite step forward for Nomia.
13 March 2014
Nineties minimalism, streetwear, and sports (basketball, particularly) have always been fixations for Nomia's Yara Flinn, and she's been synthesizing and refining those influences over the past five years. Fashion labels left and right have been trying to inject more urban appeal into their clothes, but "street" isn't just a fleeting trend for Flinn, so her latest lineup felt authentically of-the-moment. This season, the promising young designer successfully mixed sophisticated silhouettes with athletic accents. Sleek slipdresses and piqué pencil skirts were broken up with a sheer panel of Japanese mesh that was also used on a fluid kimono, while a heather gray T-shirt dress slit up both legs came lined in slippery silk.Flinn brought back several emerging signatures here, including polished basketball shorts (which she was doing for quite some time before others latched onto them), crisp cotton shirtdresses, and knife-pleated crepe midi skirts. Versatile utility belts, graphic cutouts, and occasional pops of metallics added interest to the predominantly neutral clothes. A technical trench and cropped, slim jeans were decorated with strips of reflective tape, and a sharp denim wrap skirt looked cool coated in silver. One of the most noteworthy things about the collection is its manageable price point. The aforementioned button-ups will go for around $250, while a beautiful, bias-cut crepe gown rings in under $600.
9 October 2013