tailoring socially responsible supply chains

FORMER bridal alterations and fit specialist

For 13 years, I ran The Williamsburg Seamster, a high end tailoring and alterations studio. This business is now closed.

sewing INSTRUCTOR and labor rights ADVOCATE

I develop and implement curriculum for advancing the skills and capacity of garment workers and artisans, empowering them to reach personal and professional goals, while also equipping them with the knowledge required to demand fair treatment in and out of the workplace. 

consultant

I am not currently seeking consulting opportunities.

About ME

Hello! I'm Nayantara. I was the owner and head seamstress of The Williamsburg Seamster, a high-end alterations and custom sewing studio in Los Angeles specializing in custom bridal gowns and expert tailoring and alterations. I once sewed for a living, and now work to improve working conditions for others who also sew for a living. I currently work for LA’s Garment Worker Center in industry research and strategic partnerships.

I studied in a graduate program at NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where I researched social responsibility and human and labor rights in the global garment industry. I was also a Graduate Fellow at the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business, where I assisted with research and advocacy work in the garment sector in Bangladesh. 

I use my skills as a former seamstress in combination with the tools I've collected during my studies to tailor capacity and skill building programs for garment workers, targeting specific workers' rights and worker engagement issues in local supply chains. 

When I'm not working, I’m deepening my connection with nature and exploring the vast beauty of the Tongva land I live on in Los Angeles.

the williamsburg seamster

"Stitch by stitch and block by block"- The New York Times, February 2011

"The Fairy Godmother of Hipster Weddings"- Refinery29, February 2013

THE WILLIAMSBURG SEAMSTER IS CLOSED. I started The Williamsburg Seamster as a traveling tailor service in early 2008, providing general sewing services to my neighbors in and around Williamsburg, Brooklyn. in 2013, I shifted my services specifically to bridal alterations and tailoring, as this is where my expertise shined and services were most in demand. In the fall of 2016, I relocated to Los Angeles, where I completed alterations for hundreds of California brides from my bright studio in downtown LA. I closed this business in 2020 to focus on labor advocacy.

Skills and capacity building for empowerment

garment workers center, los angeles, california, 2017-present

Garment Worker Center (GWC), a 501(c)-3 worker's rights organization, organizes low-wage garment workers in Los Angeles, fighting for social and economic justice. In addition to GWC's work in addressing wage theft, unhealthy working conditions, and abusive treatment of workers by employers, it provides skills training and personal development through a program called 'Creativos''. Through this program, facilitated by the center's outreach coordinator Annie Shaw, and informed by the skills garment workers themselves have expressed the desire to learn, I have created and led a series of classes focused on teaching sewing and pattern making skills alongside the center's education on worker's rights and health & safety in the workplace. This includes basic hand sewing skills and terminology; threading, control, and garment making on sewing machines; reading, interpreting, and drafting patterns from scratch and from an existing garment. I have been supported in this by former GWC intern Jamie Gonzalez, and together we work to create a safe, encouraging space for members and garment workers to feel inspired, competent, and empowered. 

AWAMAKI LAB, ollantaytambo, peru, 2011

Working closely with the former director of Awamaki Lab, Annie Millican, I created a curriculum for the non-profit's skill-building workshop (capacitaciones), teaching a determined group of local artisan women to comfortably use industrial sewing machines, understand and interpret sewing and pattern-making terms, and all the skills they would need to ultimately complete production of each upcoming seasons' designs.  I spent a total of 8 weeks living in the beautiful Sacred Valley of Peru, teaching 4 to 5 classes a week, and taking a few intensive Spanish language classes during the first month to aid in my teaching. Working with Awamaki Lab to encourage these women in the development of these skills for their own self-esteem and success in life irrevocably changed mine, and realizing the impact of compassionate and applied training on even an individual scale, I returned to New York energized to advance my own skills in order to better improve the working conditions of others. 

CONSULTing

I am not currently seeking consulting opportunities.

Press and writing:

"The way to start a real fashion revolution: put Bangladesh’s invisible garment factories on a map."- Quartz , Jenni Avins, April 2015 

"How better data can make garment factories safer?"- The Daily Star, Sarah Labowitz and Nayantara Banerjee, October 2014

"The entrepreneurial spirt in Bangladesh."- NYU Center for Business and Human Rights, Commentary, Nayantara Banerjee, January 2015

Let's Connect

I'm available to chat, consult, and connect with other small businesses, sustainable fashion community members, garment workers rights advocates, and more. Please note, The Williamsburg Seamster is closed and I am no longer offering services in bridal tailoring & alterations.

Please complete the form below