Welcome to the Nomads Journal! I'm so delighted to finally be introducing the new Nomads. It's fitting that our first journal entry should come on such a momentous occasion. Behind the scenes, we've been hard at work on our new look, which encapsulates where the brand is heading, and I think you'll love it.
Nomads started as my senior capstone collection in design school, and I worked with a graphic design student from my school to help me with branding. At the time, what we came up with was perfect then. But I felt it was time to evolve, so it matched the brand we are becoming.
Through my experience as a designer and plus-size model, I've seen how exclusionary the fashion industry can be. During my time in design school, I noticed the lack of inclusive design taught within the industry and its institutions. Most fashion design schools do not teach or encourage students to design or pattern for plus-size bodies, even though the average American woman is between a size 16 and 18. As a model, I've worked for major brands such as Target, Soma, Kohl's, Stitch Fix, and more, as well as internationally in Australia. During the early stages of my modeling career, I noticed the direct correlation between the lack of inclusive design education and how it led to lackluster plus-size offerings and, in some cases, no offerings. So I created a swimwear brand that was everything I didn't see on the market — luxe, size-inclusive, and timeless. What started as my capstone collection in design school quickly became a breakout brand in the size-inclusive swim space. Since our launch in 2020, we have become synonymous with size-inclusivity. It is at the center of everything we do.
Now that we have solidified our standing as a truly inclusive brand, I'm excited to immerse us into our newest brand pillar, sustainability. Starting in 2023, we are actively working to become fully sustainable, with the eventual goal of becoming circular. Of course, we have dabbled with sustainability in past collections and with our packaging. Still, we have made tremendous strides internally to be fully sustainable, beginning with the launch of our resort collection in February. For starters, we have pulled out of our international production and will now produce all of our collections at a woman-owned factory in Los Angeles, California. Talented sewers will make our suits in small batches, and we will be documenting all throughout the process, so you can see the suits being sewn in real-time. Having the ability to go to the factory is not a luxury I've had yet, since most of our production has happened internationally. I cannot wait to take you all along with me so you can see the behind-the-scenes of the production process and the luxury craftsmanship and care that goes into each suit.
The other prong of sustainability that I'm excited to share more about is our new fabrications. Until a few months ago, I wasn't aware biodegradable fabrics were a thing. After learning this, I searched far and wide and eventually found two incredible mills in Brazil that produce swim fabric from the first biodegradable yarn. If your pieces made from this fabric ended up in the landfill (I say if because I want these to be pieces you keep forever!), they will break down in three to five years! The other incredible thing about this fabric is that it's by far the softest swim fabric I've ever felt, and I can't wait for you all to experience it.
We'll continue using compostable packaging and send orders to our new compostable kraft mailers. We also have integrated compostable shipping labels, inserts, and garment bags. We are incredibly committed to our sustainability initiatives and are working to ramp that up in other ways that I can hopefully share soon.
All of this to say, I hope you love our new look, but even more so, I hope you are as excited as I am for this new direction we're headed. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting us up to this point. We have truly just begun and have many exciting launches this year. I can't wait to take you all along for the ride every step of the way.
Xx
-Taylor, Founder, Designer, CEO