Hinako “Nina” Ishii - NINA NEW YORK

Photography by Nita Kiem

Meet Hinako "Nina" Ishii, known to her supporters as Nina New York, a 25-year-old multipotentialite who treats the entire city of New York as a living sketchbook. Born and raised in Tokyo, she is maneuvering the international fashion world as an entrepreneur and student, and we couldn't help but notice. Read along as she tells her story--her entrepreneurial spirit just might cut you to ribbons.

Early Years & FIT 🎀

Nina greeted the United States as an 18-year-old. Shortly after finishing high school, she took off to study fashion merchandising at Palomar College in San Diego. Having been introduced to sewing machines as a child, Nina always had an instinct for business and design. When discussing her first brushes with the fashion world, she immediately spoke of her older sister. She laughed, "When you have a sister, you imitate whatever your sister does." She often snuck into her sister's clothes, bags, accessories, and makeup. In truth, her passion for fashion was no secret to any of her family members. On holidays and birthdays, she would tell her mom, "I just need clothes!"

In the year following Palomar, Nina worked in Tokyo to save money before heading to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York. After finally joining FIT in January of 2020, COVID-19 hit. Despite harboring a sincere desire to be a part of the FIT family and telling herself, "It's my new journey; it's my start," within two months of transferring, Nina found herself in Japan once more. She returned to New York in the summer of 2021, resuming the journey she had always wanted. "I just love being here," she said happily. "When you're in New York City, the whole city is your canvas." Her sense of fulfillment is how she knows she made the right decision in persevering.

Nina's determination to succeed is clear to anyone. When applying for an internship at FIT, she was rejected over 50 times. Today, she interns at Carolina Herrera. She accredits this position to her friends and colleagues, expressing, "It's all about connections." Connections are now what she focuses on--getting to know people and having fun while doing so. She describes FIT as incredibly fun, where a village of budding artists like Nina can enjoy connections to brands like Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta, to name a few. As I visualized the silhouette of her fashion journey, all I could say was, "Oh my god." She dazzlingly replied, "Yes. It is so fun!" Talk about a custom-made artist.

Business Pursuits: She's in her Bag! 🎀

Nina Ishii is a self-described workaholic. "I think I got it from my mom," she reflected. Nina began her business to support her parents and afford her rent and tuition. At her lowest, she was visiting a food pantry every month. "I was that broke,” Nina said, always smiling. Between two internships, seven classes, multiple jobs, and food scarcity, Nina knew she needed a change. But, she had one contingency: she wanted to handle her hardships with creative solutions. That's kind of her style.

Two years prior to her tribulations, Nina had started crocheting. She had the opportunity to create one of her now widely loved bags during a brief spring break. Upon handmaking the bag and posting it to her Instagram, her friends encouraged her to sell it. Then, she posted it to TikTok, where it exploded. When asked about her rapid success, "It's still hard," she admitted, as she now owns a business with ten employees and constantly ensures each bag is better than the last. Above all, she says that she is beyond proud of herself for being on this journey. She gushed over how people have supported her business with kindness, smiling tearfully as she humbly reflected.

Since making her first bag, her most popular one to date, she has attended 15-20 fashion shows every season through her internship. She uses these shows to analyze the latest trends and pull inspiration from every collection she catches. In the last season, she saw bows and ribbons everywhere. Noting the forthcoming trend, she told herself, “You just need to do it." So, she adorns all of her bags with satin ribbons. She voiced, "Bows became my personality."

For Nina, there is no exact audience to appeal to. She says that her supporters are diverse and that not one specific style fits her bags. According to Nina, they don't have to pair with a highly feminine outfit but can be worn with streetwear or matched with a supporter's personalized style. In discussing her supporters, she says they uphold her lifeline, and she wishes for their dreams to come true, too. She declared, "This isn't just a bag for me. Every time I make a bag, I'm just wishing and hoping that someone who gets the bag's dreams come true. I was saved thanks to this bag."

Nina's Mom and Upcoming Agenda 🎀

To maintain her busy schedule, Nina has to stay organized. When she has a fully booked calendar, she says those are the times that she feels her life is good. Nina attributes her work-hard mentality to her mom, whom she has the utmost respect for. Watching her mom work as a pharmacist and enjoying every bit of it, Nina knew she also needed to turn her passion into her job. Rather than working to live, Nina wanted to live for her work. She exclaimed, "I miss my mom so much…and her cooking!" Between their busy schedules, they can only call each other once a week, but they regularly text. Her mom sends her devoted messages like, "You got this!" and "You can do it!" and always reminds Nina that she's there. "やるしかない," [Yarushikanai] her mom says, which translates to, "There is no choice but to do it." That's her motto. Nina's mom often says that even if you are in a rough situation, physically or mentally, yarushikanai. It may sound strict to some, but this keeps Nina going.

When thinking of her name, Nina New York, her mom said, “Just keep it simple." Nina now has over 300 people on a waitlist, so she has little time for marketing. She is in a constant creative cycle of making videos, TikToks, reels, and bags, and then shipping each individual product. "I think I need to hire someone," she chuckled.

Nina has always adored the vintage fashion scene and had the opportunity to showcase her bag as a pop-up in a vintage store her professor owns. She plans to present her bag through another vintage fashion opportunity, A Current Affair, a massive show in New York City on October 14th & 15th.

Regarding presenting her bag collection at New York Fashion Week, she says it was a magical experience and she couldn't believe her dreams were coming true. She had seen her peers pouring effort into their collections and couldn't have imagined doing her own. But, once her friends and organizers of the show caught wind of her TikTok, they messaged her saying they needed to find her, inviting her to join. She expressed her gratitude, saying she cried at the show. "(We) were crying because we worked so hard for this and I could see that people just put so much effort forth for that fashion show…it was just a beautiful moment to see everyone's effort and creations. I learned that sometimes you need to be honest and tell your story. Then, people might help you along the way."

As our conversation tied up, Nina had a few closing remarks. "I came here from Japan and want to make the most of it...I want to get the most out of it and my experience. I want to do whatever I can." When I asked what was next for her, she mulled over the question and said it was hard to answer. "What I'm doing right now is just surviving, every day...step by step. Focusing on today, every single day." Carrying that mentality, she thinks she'll find success in the end. So do we. Yarushikanai.

For more, read Ishii’s story on our Instagram @KIEMCOLLECTIVE.