A New York Minute ft. Gabriella Daher

written by Hannah Safter:

A New York Minute ft. Gabriella Daher

“I cannot stop wearing these flip flops” Brooklyn-based designer Gabriella Daher declared to me over email. That’s cool, we thought, especially since it just started getting cold out. So, we hopped on the A train and headed to her place in Clinton Hill to catch up and get a tour of her studio. She greeted us at her door in her beloved FIRECRACKER Tidals, her “indoor flip flops” as she called them.

Gabriella first started making clothes with upholstery fabrics. A friend in her native San Francisco had some extra fabrics that no one else wanted and Gabriella just couldn’t see them go to waste, so she made a dress. And then another dress, and a few skirts and blouses too. A few years later, she landed in New York and has since been designing ready to wear collections from upcycled fabrics under her eponymous label, Daher.

When we first met Gabriella, her commitment to upcycling and making old things new again really resonated with us. Although that doesn’t quite work for making flip flops, her take on slow fashion and conscious production is another approach we can certainly appreciate and support. On the flip side, Gabriella was impressed with our commitment to rightshoring production and having a super tight and transparent supply chain—two practices she also uses for Daher.

After we nerded out about best practices for production and sourcing materials (which if you’re interested in hearing our thoughts on it, you should check this out), Gabriella told us that she finds herself reaching for her Tidals daily. Being able to slip them on and off makes them the easiest shoe to wear around her apartment, she explains. Tidals also naturally pair well with her designs, so it’s easy for her to throw on a dress she is working on with her Tidals to see how the piece is coming along. As Gabriella put it, they are her favorite at-home accessory she didn’t even know she needed.