For Aussie friends Fleur and Tania who have worked in various roles in the fashion industry together, a shared label that embodied their values and allowed them to showcase their talents was the next obvious step.
Having both witnessed the devastating environmental impact caused by the fashion industry throughout their careers, they were inspired to take action of some sort, put their skills together and create clothing in a better way with a small footprint.
Nya is their way of making a difference, with their mission being to create beautiful printed clothing in a socially conscious and environmentally friendly way.
Launching in 2018, they committed to keeping their production in Australia, and have as little effect on the planet as possible throughout their supply chain.
“The prints are all sketched up by hand in our Victorian studio in Torquay, inspired by a love of vintage patterns and colour, before being refined and put into repeat on the computer,” Tania explains.
“The art files are then hand delivered to our Melbourne-based screen printer, where we watch our patterns come to life on the printing table.
“The initial garment patterns are also created in Torquay, where we cut, sew and test our prototypes for shape, fit and comfort before passing them on to our expert pattern maker in Melbourne who refines and perfects the patterns.”
Once they’ve got the garment sample sorted, they send it off to Melbourne, where a small team of craftspeople take care of the cutting and sewing of their collections. The brand’s production is accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia – a formal accreditation that ensures the brand’s supply chain passes all regulatory fair work practices relating to Occupational Health and Safety and social responsibility.
For their fabrics, Nya opts for a natural unbleached woven base cloth of 55% hemp and 45% GOTS-certified organic cotton.
“We researched long and hard to find a base suitable for printing on, that had a good trans seasonal weight, nice hand feel, was breathable, durable and as eco friendly as possible,” Fleur says.
“It was important for us to choose just the one base due to cost of shipping, handling, testing and freight…which all adds up!”
The Nya designers works closely with their pattern maker to ensure they utilise the fabric to its best efficiency creating a lay that minimises waste.
As a result of this they also create fabric bags used for packaging their dresses and tops which is made from the offcuts, preventing fabric scraps being sent to landfill.
This also makes a nice practical reusable gift with purchase! #bonus
When they were planning Nya, Fleur and Tania say they initially imagined that their customers would be women in their thirties and forties who were environmentally and socially aware, with a love of colour and bold unique design. But they have been surprised to find customers of all ages overjoyed by their dresses.
“As consumers become more aware and value clothing made with care, we hope to grow Nya to become a well know Australian brand,” Tania says.
“We strongly believe in doing what we can, when we can, in any little way to help create a better future for us all.”
Find out more about Nya and shop the ethical attire here.
