Born in New Orleans, NOLA Couture celebrates our city's individuality through custom designs featuring iconic Crescent City motifs. The NOLA Couture brand emerged in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to lift peoples' spirits and help rebuild the local economy. Our company was founded during a difficult time in New Orleans' history, but it soon became a way for patrons to show their NOLA pride.

Cecile Hardy, the NOLA Couture founder, first came up with the idea in early 2006. After Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the place she called home, Hardy felt determined to use her fashion skills to make a difference in New Orleans. She believed New Orleanians would love a unique way to show their hometown pride—and she was right. After receiving nothing but positive responses from friends and family (along with extensive lists of design suggestions), Hardy got to work creating a line that would highlight all the things locals and visitors alike love about this amazing city.

NOLA Couture launched with a men’s tie line featuring twelve designs. These first designs included some of our most popular prints today: NOLAgators, Shrimp Cocktail, and Fleur de Lis, to name a few. We’ve since looked to our enthusiastic patrons for additional design ideas and continued to grow our line, which expanded to include custom-designed and locally manufactured belts as well as children’s items, pet accessories, and homeware. In January of 2016, NOLA Couture acquired a local factory, NOLA Sewn, where we currently manufacture the majority of our accessories. Last spring, after the addition of NOLA Sewn, we began offering women’s ready-to-wear, and we now aim to produce a new spring/summer and fall/winter line each year.

We are currently working to bring some new and exciting women’s styles to NOLA Couture, so be on the lookout this summer! At NOLA Couture, we’re proud to help patrons support our unique and beautiful city with equally unique and beautiful designs.