Nomia: The New Garde is Now

NOMIA, FALL 2009

In 2007, Yara Flinn, now the founder and designer of indie fashion line Nomia, was an Oberlin graduate with a penchant for design.  That summer, fresh from working the Prada Art Foundation and at a little bit of a loss for what her future might hold, Flinn made a couple of easy summer dresses for her friends. One was working for Barneys at the time, and wore a Flinn dress to a meeting with buyers. Suddenly, she had an order with Barneys.  

 “Its one of those things where you go, OK, fate’s telling me to pursue something,” says Flinn in her sunny Williamsburg studio. Flinn’s Nomia, which will be featured in Gen Art’s “The New Garde” show tomorrow, has since been sold in Steven Alan, Oak and In God We Trust. According to Flinn, the line she did for Barneys is “very different from what I do now.” The current clothes combine a tough, rocker chick vibe, with distinctly feminine tailoring and geometric paneling. Nomia, says Flinn, is for a cultured, “self-empowered” girl, who goes to art and music shows, sweats, and doesn’t really lie around. Asked what visually inspires her, Flinn ticks off a diverse array of influences from medieval armor to figure skating. “Its not gonna have little tutus and stuff,” says Flinn, laughing. “Its sporty and feminine.”