Nordstrom called on the help of leading women’s designers for its new collaboration with Piece & Co., a nonprofit dedicated to providing sustainable employment opportunities to female artisans worldwide.
On Tuesday, the retailer launched a capsule collection with Alice + Olivia, Current/Elliott, DVF, Joie, Rebecca Minkoff, Theory, The Honest Company and Tory Burch. Each brand worked closely with Piece & Co. to incorporate handmade materials and fabrics from women artisans from Zambia, India and Vietnam. Through Nordstrom’s partnership with the nonprofit, the brands were able to create more than 5,000 jobs.
“Pretty amazing things happen when women from around the world come together,” said Piece & Co founder Kathleen Wright. “I’m excited for the possibilities that this collaboration with Nordstrom and these fantastic brands brings.”
Highlights in the line include DVF’s iconic wrap dress made with hand-printed indigo batik, an A-line dress by Alice + Olivia made with a loom woven fabric sourced in India, Tory Burch’s crackled printed canvas separates made with hand-painted fabrics from Zambia, and breezy tunics and city shorts by Theory made with block prints from India created using a hand-carved wooden stamp.
In keeping with the collection’s ethnic prints, both Current/Elliott and Joie incorporated ikat from India on summer staples, like prep school shirts, shorts and a jumper. On the accessories end, The Honest Company uses hand-woven strip chambray designs and silk-screen printed fabrics from Maheshwar and Jodipur, India for a range of nursing scarves. Rebecca Minkoff accented her cognac leather ‘Mini Mac’ crossbody bag with backstrap loom fabric from Vietnam.
Tricia Smith, Nordstrom executive vice president and general merchandise manger of women’s apparel, said brands really embraced the idea that clothing they designed was making a difference in women’s lives across the world. She said, “It’s been inspiring to see how all of the brands have enjoyed creating their items with these beautiful fabrics and how they’ve now been incorporated into their spring collections.”
The capsule collection is available online at Norstrom.com and in select Nordstrom doors in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
