Jamie Haller Is Shaking Up The Fashion Industry

In 2020, Jamie Haller created her own iteration of Indian jutti slippers, despite having no formal footwear design training. “I didn't know what I was doing,” the namesake designer, who spent 12 years serving as the creative director of NSF before striking out on her own, admits on a recent call with TZR. “There weren’t rules for me, so I could kind of disrupt the industry, because I wasn't doing the same thing everybody else was doing.” Next, came her label’s now-famous penny loafers, a style that once sold out in just nine minutes after it was restocked.

At $600 a pair and crafted in Tuscany, the IYKYK silhouette has cemented itself as her calling card, beloved by editors and influencers alike. “I never set out saying ‘I’m going to build a big business’ —it was a passion project,” Haller reflects on the early days of her brand. “I just wanted to make some shoes.” Though footwear offered Haller a much-needed mental break from designing clothing, she revisited her fashion roots back in the fall of 2024, launching a ready-to-wear line of tees, button-downs, and blazers.

Much like the rest of the world, Haller had an itch to buy clothes again once pandemic restrictions began to lift. With decades of design experience under her belt, it only made sense for her to create the pieces herself.

And for the first time ever, Haller had the freedom to use luxury materials. “When you work for other brands, you have to stay within their price point,” she notes. “I wanted nice yarns and elevated fabrics, and I didn't want to skimp anymore,” Haller continues. In turn, roughly 90% of the collection is crafted from Italian and Japanese textiles, including crisp Japanese cotton poplin and soft brushed twill.

What’s more, Haller saw a gap in the market for denim that struck the perfect balance between designer and contemporary. Ranging from straight-leg cuts to ultra-flared silhouettes, her jeans — priced from $440 to $525 — have won over fashion editors and industry insiders alike. After 25 years spent refining washes, she’s undeniably mastered the art of denim. “I test it all on myself,” she adds about her hands-on approach to denim, which debuted as part of her inaugural ready-to-wear collection.

And that’s precisely what distinguishes Haller from other independent designers. She isn’t chasing trends or tailoring designs to a specific customer — she is the customer. “To be honest, the only person I’m worried about pleasing is myself,” Haller confesses. For instance, if she doesn’t love a sample, it’s scrapped. “I have to feel my best in it, and then that carries through to other people,” Haller says.

Six years in, Haller has been expanding rapidly, rolling out various new categories since the summer. This month, for instance, the designer tried her hand at sneakers. “A sneaker requires an entirely different construction,” she explains. “You’re working with a different type of factory, a sneaker factory rather than a traditional leather-sole one.”

For the debut, she relied on Italian sacchetto construction, a technique that stitches the lining directly to the insole to create a softer, more flexible feel without the bulk of a stiff footbed — the same process Haller uses for the rest of her footwear. “It’s not the way 90% of people make shoes,” she shares, noting how the method sets the fit and feel of her footwear apart from others on the market. With the sneaker’s glove-like fit, Haller often skips socks altogether when wearing them, a styling trick her customers will no doubt adopt, too.

Meanwhile, she also expanded into handbags, launching her inaugural collection in September. “I’m in Italy so often at these tanneries, so it was a really natural progression,” Haller says of her latest venture. “I was always holding [sample pieces] under my arm, being like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t this make such a cute clutch?’” Her first designs — including the Ring tote and Document clutch — are produced in small batches in Tuscany using the brand’s signature Italian bufalini leather.

Haller admits that she rarely approaches a launch with a solid plan in place. “There’s a learning curve every time you enter a new category,” Haller shares. “It just keeps me engaged in a really fun way.” Such was the case with jewelry, which she released in November. She dropped square and oval-shaped signet rings, inspired by vintage men’s styles. This is just the beginning of her jewelry line: Haller says she’s currently designing more silhouettes.

As a small brand, inventory planning is a delicate balancing act. “There’s a fine line between ordering the right amount and overordering, but we’ve continued to increase our supply,” Haller says, adding that the demand has only climbed. As a result, Haller frequently places reorders the same day a new style launches, moving especially fast when she sees momentum.

As if Haller’s plate hasn’t been full enough, she opened her first standalone store over the summer in Montecito, California, where celebrities like Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Oprah call home. “It’s a little dream up there,” she says about the quaint town in Santa Barbara. The opportunity came when developers tapped her to be part of a new retail project, a shopping center known as The Post. After touring the space, the answer was an immediate yes. “The architecture felt minimal and beautiful, which aligned with me,” she says of the area.

For Haller, it’s more than just a store — the boutique allowed her to merge her two passions, fashion and interior design. (She’s spent the past five years designing spaces on the side, though her interior projects have been put on hold as her namesake label continues to grow.) “To be my own client and my own designer was really amazing because I could do exactly what I wanted,” Haller says about dreaming up the store, which exudes an earthy, minimal vibe.

What’s next for the beloved designer? Haller is focused on evolving her newest categories, particularly handbags and jewelry. “I develop stuff all the time, because I just like to get my ideas out there and see what has gravity,” she says. Judging by the response so far, her audience is clearly eager for more.