I discovered Nina Morris on my recent trip to Harbour Island, when I walked into The Sugar Mill, a globally inspired boutique by India Hicks, which is also another one of my favourite places to shop on the island. If you’ve been following along on my Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been on a bit of an ikat kick for the last little while. So naturally, when I walked into The Sugar Mill this silk purple ikat dress immediately caught my eye, and I made a beeline for it. There was only one left, which happened to be in my size, so I tried it on. And I swear it was like this dress was made for me. As if the silk material, vibrant colours and ikat pattern weren’t enough, the structure, puff sleeves and waist belt did me in. I was in love!
After purchasing the dress I started to research the designer more, and discovered that Nina Morris is a designer who values artistry and quality over quantity, and slow fashion and sustainability over mindless consumerism. Nina believes in her consumers being educated and ‘buying smart’; buying clothes that will be able to be passed down generation and generation. She creates with this intention in mind, and considers her pieces to be ‘modern heirlooms’.
Nina’s journey has always been towards producing unique pieces using sustainable fabrics, with a focus on her talent of hand dyeing and printing. All of her clothes are delicately handmade in London, which enables Nina to control the quality and quantity while working closely with the fabric teams and seamstresses. The fabrics are hand dyed in her London studio in small batches, using low impact fibre reactive dyes, which are 95% more eco friendly than standard dying practices. Nina only produces in small batches, which enables her to minimize waste as much as possible. She has further committed to reducing waste by recently introducing the Rehab Lab, where you can book an appointment to have your cherished Nina Morris pieces remodelled, reimagined and reborn.
Where can you purchase?
Because Nina takes a slow fashion and sustainable approach to clothing design, and only produces in small batches to reduce waste, you either need to be lucky enough to find some of her designs in the smart shops that stock them (like The Sugar Mill on Harbour Island), or email her directly to see which pieces are currently available. I promise, taking that extra step to reach out to Nina and inquire about her designs will be more than worth it when you have one of her unique and stunning pieces in your wardrobe! You can email her directly through her website, or also reach out to her on Instagram. I’ve chatted with Nina on Instagram and she is very kind, helpful and responsive. I also recommend checking our her Instagram to see the many different ways you can wear her designs! I certainly can’t wait to wear my dress open, belted and over high waisted trousers, as per Nina’s wonderful suggestion.
