Charles Nolan, a native New Yorker and F.I.T. graduate, is quickly becoming one of America’s top fashion designers. After training with Bill Blass and Christian Dior, among others, Nolan was named designer of Ellen Tracy in 1990, catapulting it from a recognizable clothing manufacturer to a successful fashion label.
Another high point in Nolan’s career was when the parent company of Anne Klein was about to enter bankruptcy and they hired Nolan to revive its line. In barely any time at all, the company was once again being talked about. They reemerged from bankruptcy and the company was sold for $163 million. When Nolan left Anne Klein, it was front-page news in Women’s Wear Daily, featured the next day on Page Six and the day after that in the New York Times.
In under two years, Nolan had made a name for himself and the inaugural CHARLES NOLAN collection opened with six windows at Saks Fifth Avenue in September 2004. In the winter of 2005, Nolan opened his own shop in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District, for which he designed every last detail – even the furniture, which is also for sale. Nolan describes himself as a realist and his clothes are straightforward and wearable, tailored but with a definite sex appeal.
