Fashion teams are feeling the need for speed. Disruption has quickly become the new norm, with macro-scale events happening consecutively and concurrently rather than sporadically, requiring heightened risk management. By condensing development calendars and lead times, companies can achieve a closer response to demand, thereby improving inventory management. This means reducing markdowns and discounting while simultaneously preventing lost sales from slow trend adoption or stockouts.
A key way to accomplish this agility is through nearshoring. In the United States Fashion Industry Association’s Benchmarking Study from 2025, 47 percent of respondents said they are planning to expand sourcing from Mexico in the next two years, a steep increase over the 26 percent that stated the same in the 2024 survey. Additionally, half plan to increase sourcing from Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) member countries in the same timeframe. Due to this trade deal and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), these regions have been largely exempt from the Trump administration’s tariff hikes, raising the appeal of the neighboring sourcing destinations.
For North American brands, sourcing in the Western Hemisphere has plenty of pluses in the current climate. Bringing production geographically nearer to headquarters enables speedier time to market, closer collaboration and less chance for transportation disruptions. But two pieces of the puzzle that have historically been lacking in nearshoring are verticality and scale.
Denim manufacturer Artistic Milliners is helping to fill in these gaps. The global company has long had a design office in New York, but over the last few years, it has expanded its production presence from Pakistan into the Western Hemisphere through strategic acquisitions. First came the purchase of a Los Angeles laundry facility in 2020, establishing the group’s venture Star Fades International (SFI), which has grown into a state-of-the-art creative center.
With SFI serving as the hub for Artistic Milliners in the Western Hemisphere, the group has expanded into other parts of North America. SFI opened an office in Guatemala (part of CAFTA-DR), which also supports categories beyond denim. Then Artistic Milliners made a cut-and-sew move with the addition of a garment factory in Parras, Mexico, which now operates as Artistic Milliners Mexico. In addition to its own facility, the company has partnered with a group of garment manufacturers and mills in the region to create localized sources for everything from fabric to finishing while helping to satisfy its customers’ demands.
Artistic Milliners’ verticality solves one issue the industry has long been facing as it looks to scale up nearshoring: surety of supply at the fabric tier and the continued reliance on Asia—particularly China—as a textile source. For instance, its strategic partner Cone Denim is only a five-minute drive from Parras, and the group ensures that textiles are available by pre-booking and reserving fabrics, which cuts six to eight weeks out of the process.
Although lead times are condensed, the result is speedy—but not fast—fashion. Consumers are tired of garments that fall apart or fail to meet their expectations, and Artistic Milliners is collaborating to deliver quality in concert with quickness.
“With our Western Hemisphere expansion, we’re not just scaling capacity—we’re building a speed platform,” said Murtaza Ahmed, managing director of Artistic Milliners. “We plan to leverage AI across design, development and manufacturing to compress timelines from concept to shelf, giving our partners real-time responsiveness in a market that demands it.”
Vertical integration is Artistic Milliners’ “creative superpower.” With a focus on co-creation, the group provides a full-package suite of design and manufacturing solutions. Teams can support on tasks ranging from concepts and sketching to 3D tech packs, fabric innovation and washing.
Rather than replacing in-house design teams, the intent is to be an extension, extra hands and an expert resource. Leveraging decades of experience in denim, Artistic Milliners’ teams stay on top of trends—including all the major runway shows—and translate them into designs that fit each brand’s unique DNA. Providing inspiration, the New York and Los Angeles facilities feature full collections, and the group keeps a vintage library with pieces available to borrow.
Adding to its Americas expertise, Artistic Milliners brought former Macy’s and Target denim designer Melanie Balasa-Flottman onto the team as vice president of global design & full package, bringing a wealth of experience from almost two decades in the industry.
One client turned to Artistic Milliners as an alternative to setting up its own offices, teams and supply chains in the Western Hemisphere, which it estimated would be a multi-year process. After aligning with Artistic Milliners, they quickly got running, and the customer had its first order ship just four and a half months later.
Together with its decades-strong manufacturing base in Pakistan, Artistic Milliners has established coverage across both hemispheres, further allowing for flexibility. This came into play for a customer that was an established brand branching into denim for the first time. Artistic Milliners tapped into its full supply chain and a dual sourcing strategy to manage the brand’s wide assortment of SKUs and meet their needs. Since this is the label’s initial foray into jeans, the Western Hemisphere will be leveraged to fill reorder requests quickly based on the response to styles in the market.
Courtesy of Artistic Milliners
Currently, Artistic Milliners’ Americas operations are predominantly working with U.S.-based brands, but it says that demand is growing from outside North America as companies seek out diversification.
While Artistic Milliners has built a comprehensive ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, there is still room for industry-wide investment in the region. To help scale up production in the Americas, the group sees the need for more sewing contractors and wash houses. And to provide peace of mind that any created capacity will then be utilized, brands should be making long-term commitments with their manufacturing partners.
To learn more about Artistic Milliners, click here, and find more information on Star Fades International here.
