We were lucky to catch up with Lindsey Mallon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsey, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

There’s two things that inspired Nadjarina- labor and sustainability standards + the lack of apparel designed by women.

Both motives in my vision were reactive to what I observed over the span of my career.

I moved to NYC right after college, as many did. The economy was recovering from the 2008 financial crisis. Design jobs were far and few. I didn’t have the option to intern until a paid position opened, so I looked at the bigger picture. I knew that I wanted to launch a brand of my own eventually, so I took the opportunity to understand each aspect of running a fashion business. What I saw was appalling- inhumane labor and manufacturing practices, brands ripping off other brands, toxic behavior amongst peers. It was an industry built to empower, was built on the backs of slave labor and destruction.

That is what inspired Nadjarina. Building a brand that would begin to challenge these systems and begin to forge a more optimistic future for our industry, and empower the people behind a brand, was important to me.

Then there is the aesthetic, which focuses on the dialogue of the modern renaissance woman- the woman doing it all. 80% of consumers are female. 85% of apparel design graduates are women, but only 14% of major fashion brands are designed by women. Men dictate most of the fashion industry, which caters to women. It is men defining the wardrobe they deem fit for a woman- defining what sexy feels and looks like, how a woman should dress in the workplace, and so forth. Nadjarina was launched as a response to this dilemma. Nadjarina is luxury for women, by women. We recognize the need for a wardrobe that empowers and inspires, while still maintaining an effortless sensibility, as only we (as woman) can understand. How can a man speak to what I need to feel good between the workplace, date night, and my role as a mother? As best as he might try, he really can’t. The history of fashion being defined through the male gaze is very deep-rooted though. Even on a subconscious level, we as women still have immediate perceptions of what sexy looks like, because of that long history of men defining it for us.
Identifying that, we can start rewriting that context, though, and begin to write our own dialogue. You see that in Nadjarina’s aesthetic.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a single mother and entrepreneur, with over a decade in the fashion/luxury space and a recent launch into the blockchain space with another brand I co-founded during the pandemic. My focus on my career is on impact-driven brand creation and bettering the human experience.

Nadjarina focuses on the female experience, and empowering the modern renaissance woman- the self-empowered, ambitious go-getter. It’s an open dialogue around the nuances of modern femininity. Women today are multi-faceted and we demand a wardrobe that can be that and more. When that translates to a wardrobe, it’s workwear that’s unapologetically feminine; high-waist, relaxed-fit trousers that give an effortless, but feminine and flattering silhouette; soft silks contrasted by strong leather pieces and provocative sheers. It’s discarding the male-gaze and redefining how we want to look and feel, from the board room to date night, and weekend brunch with family.

Creating a wardrobe to empower so many talented, ambitious, inspiring woman; hearing woman express their joy in feeling like they’ve found wardrobe pieces that really embody their entire selves, their highest selves, and really inspires and empowers them- I have no words to describe what an honor that is.

Putting our female experience into context, and sharing stories around that experience is a powerful thing, especially because the female experience is something that is often overlooked. I love having that conversation with women, and hearing about their experiences. And collectively raising awareness towards our experience, so that other women have the more awareness and toolkit to navigate their own journey with. My era, we were in a time when we had to really wear a lot of our masculine attributes to climb the corporate ladder. I think now, we’re starting to shift into a space of more balance0 embracing our feminine attributes of intuition, nurturing, and creativity. We’re in this era of cultural awakening. Inspiring and empowering women to reclaim their space, and do so in an unapologetically feminine way- that’s the real work.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

For me, it was about finding a studio or factory that focused on fair trade labor. I have worked with factories all over the world, and (as mentioned) was very disappointed in our industries lack of humanity. The studio I work with pays livable wages and treats their staff like family. There is air conditioning, lunch breaks, team holiday celebrations- things that all feel like bare minimums, but are rarely found in production facilities in apparel, especially in fast fashion.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think entrepreneurship is a journey of unlearning and relearning, especially right now.

One example that really stands out for me, though, was (very much on brand for me) unlearning my masculine- or rather the correct time and place to apply my masculine. Especially in fashion and in NYC, there was a time when I thought that I had to be more rigid as a leader. I entered the workforce as a strong feminine, and felt that I wasn’t being taken seriously. As a consequence, I kind of lacerated into a mindset that I had to be “more like the men”. I quickly realized, though, that I was mirroring broken systems and I was loosing myself in the process.

A lot of (especially older) leaders built their career on being the loudest person in the room, and not necessarily on merit. Bosses that cut down their employees and earn their respect through fear. These leadership mindsets don’t nurture healthy workplaces and employees equally obsessed with your vision. It was more of an ego-driven boys club mindset.

A lot of women can relate to that I think,- overcompensating in our masculine to get ahead in our careers. I know many women who failed in their romantic relationships, because of that imbalance.

So learning to embrace my feminine attributes- creativity, intuition, nurturing, was the “relearning” journey. I believe all of those attributes make for amazing, resilient, team building leaders. It’s about balance, which is an ongoing journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: nadjarina.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadjarina/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseymallon/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindsey__mallon