Nepali designer Alina Shrestha builds career with iconic US brands

Alina Shrestha, a 24-year-old Nepali designer, is carving out a successful career in New York's competitive fashion industry, contributing to iconic American brands like Ralph Lauren. She designs handbags, small leather goods, and belts, managing tasks from trend analysis and sketching to technical specifications and refining details with design teams.

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Growing up in Nepal, if we tell our parents, ‘I don’t want to do science or management, I want to go for arts,’ they would be dismissive. It took a lot of time convincing them that I wanted to do fashion.

Shrestha's journey began in Kathmandu, where she faced significant parental and societal skepticism about fashion as a viable career. Inspired by Harajuku street fashion at age 13, she was drawn to its rebellious spirit of self-expression, a stark contrast to the reserved nature often taught in Nepal and Japan. This passion fueled her determination to pursue fashion despite the lack of encouragement.

Initially dreaming of studying in Japan, Shrestha's parents' concerns about her moving so far led her to consider the United States, where she had family. After a gap year in Nepal, where she completed a fashion course and worked as a Studio Assistant, she received crucial encouragement from designer Hana Ling Rai. Rai pushed Shrestha to take her aspirations seriously, helping her overcome the pervasive doubt that fashion was not a realistic profession in Nepal.

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People would express themselves through different styles. In Countries like Japan and Nepal, we are often taught to be reserved, not to stand out. It made me love that people were trying to stand out, even though society tells us not to. It felt very rebellious, and I liked that side of it.

Despite an initial rejection from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Shrestha's persistence led her to roles at various brands, including American Eagle, J Crew, Champion, Juicy Couture, Victoria's Secret, and Skims, before landing her current position at Ralph Lauren. Her success highlights a growing global recognition of talent from diverse backgrounds in the creative industries.

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She really pushed me to take it seriously. I needed that push because a lot of elderly people, my parents or other people, would be like, ‘I don’t know if fashion would be a career.’ Realistically, in Nepal, it is really hard to make a living out of fashion, and people don’t really understand what a designer does.