NJL GALLERY IS A CLOTHING BRAND BASED IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. THE LABEL OFFERS TIMELESS AND MINIMALLY DESIGNED GARMENTS THAT ARE HAND CUT AND SEWN IN EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA, LOCATED IN THE LOS ANGELES DISTRICT.
'NJL' STANDS FOR THE FOUNDERS NAME, NICHOLAS JIWON LEE, A KOREAN-AMERICAN WHO BLENDS MODERN ELEGANCE WITH NOSTALGIC STREETWEAR TO CREATE A CURATED GALLERY OF READY-TO-WEAR APPAREL THAT FOCUSES ON SHAPE AND FIT.
HIS DESIGN ETHOS CONSISTS OF INCORPORATING MINIMAL LOGOS, ELEGANT SILHOUETTES, UNIQUE CUTS, PREMIUM FABRICS AND FUNCTIONAL TRIMS INTO GARMENTS, WHILE UPHOLDING STREETWEAR CHARACTERISTICS AND AESTHETICS INTO BRANDING.
NICK STARTED THE LABEL IN MAY OF 2023 AND HAS DEDICATED A LARGE PORTION OF HIS TIME TO FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS, AND TO LEARN HOW TO SOURCE MATERIALS AND HOW TO DEVELOP A GARMENT FROM SCRATCH.
SINCE BRAND INCEPTION, HE HAS PARTNERED WITH A MANUFACTURER LOCATED IN EAST LOS ANGELES, WHO HE WORKS VERY CLOSELY WITH ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
BEFORE PARTNERING WITH THEM THOUGH, HE ENSURED THAT THEY WERE A NEARBY FACTORY, HAVE AN EFFICIENT TEAM AND HAVE A CLEAN FACILITY WHERE WORKERS ARE PAID A FAIR WAGE. THIS CONTRIBUTES TO US BEING ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER TO DELIVER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM GARMENTS AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE POINTS ON THE MARKET.
HERE'S HOW THE PARTNERSHIP WORKS FOR THE GARMENT MAKING PROCESS:
NICK DESIGNS A STYLE AND SOURCES ALL MATERIALS, INCLUDING FABRICS AND TRIMS -> MANUFACTURER CREATES A PATTERN AND MAKES A SAMPLE -> THE SAMPLE IS WORN AND WASHED FOR TESTING -> PATTERN REVISIONS TAKE PLACE AS THE SAMPLE IS TESTED AND DEVELOPED; ADDITIONAL SAMPLES ARE MADE AND ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ARE SOURCED, IF NEEDED -> ALL FINAL MATERIALS ARE GATHERED AND ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE FINALIZED TO GO INTO PRODUCTION
ALL FABRICS ARE CAREFULLY PICKED BY NICK AND SO FAR HAVE ORIGINATED IN THE U.S., JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA. AS OF NOW, THE FABRICS CHOSEN ARE DEADSTOCK - THIS MEANS THAT THE QUANTITIES MADE FOR EACH STYLE ARE EXCLUSIVE AND LIMITED ONLY TO WHAT IS AVAILABLE CURRENTLY, SO EACH GARMENT MAY NEVER BE MADE WITH THE EXACT SAME FABRIC AGAIN.
FOR THE TIME BEING, NICK FOCUSES ON RELEASING PRODUCTS ON A STYLE-BY-STYLE BASIS AS OPPOSED TO RELEASING SEASONAL BASED COLLECTIONS. THIS HIGHLIGHTS THE BEAUTY OF TIMELESS DESIGNS, AND ALLOWS HIM TO PUT MORE TIME AND ENERGY TOWARDS EACH INDIVIDUAL DESIGN.