OUR STORY
THE BRAND
ChicNiCity is a Boston, Massachusetts based ethnic inspired contemporary women’s ready-to-wear clothing label.
ChicNiCity was created by a group of friends who wanted to be “Chic in their Ethnicity & in the City”. We desired clothing that honored our heritage and at the same time reflected our modern and progressive lifestyle.
Our vision is strongly inspired by the founders’ dual identity of ethnicity and modernity. Ethnic inspired colors & prints are fused with contemporary design elements and silhouettes that stay true to creating inclusive, premium, wearable and versatile pieces.
Since the brand launched in July, 2017, it has been worn by notable fashion & social media influencers. Our pieces are currently being sold in boutiques in the US, South America, France, Ghana & Nigeria. In February, 2023, ChicNiCity debuted its exclusively designed collection for the retail giant HSN.
BEHIND THE CHIC
Boye "Bibi" Asenuga is a Nigerian-American Founder and Creative Director of ChicNiCity, a women’s ready-to-wear clothing label based in Massachusetts.
Inspired by her dual identity of ethnicity and modernity, Bibi created ChicNiCity by fusing ethnic inspired colors & prints with contemporary design elements and silhouettes that stay true to premium, wearable and versatile clothing.
Prior to her starting ChicNiCity, she started her career as a lawyer, but quickly switched and pursued her passion for a career in fashion.
Over the last 15+ years, Bibi has worked with multiple international fashion brands to develop and manufacture their clothing lines that have been sold in retail stores all over the world. ChicNiCity recently debuted its exclusively designed collection for the retail giant HSN.
Bibi is a proud alumna of Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; and School of Fashion Design, Boston, where she was awarded “The 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award”.
She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two kids.
BRAND STATEMENT
ChicNiCity creates ethnic inspired contemporary clothing that enable women to experience culture through fashion in a sophisticated manner.
BRAND POSITION
For women who want to experience culture through fashion in a sophisticated manner, ChicNiCity offers its customers clothing in ethnic inspired colors & prints fused with contemporary design elements and silhouettes.
Our clothing is created to be inclusive, premium, wearable and versatile, because ChicNiCity is committed to providing clothing that honors culture and reflects modernity.
ETHICAL & SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH
With design operations out of Boston, Massachusetts and Nigeria; and majority of production done in India, ChicNicity is committed to implementing an ethical and sustainable approach to fashion design.
From working with women owned factories who value their workers wellbeing to garment creation in a more eco-friendly manner, we realize that sustainable and ethical fashion work in a complementary manner and we strive to make better choices to improve the social, economic, and environmental systems in which the fashion industry functions.
ETHICAL APPROACH
Our ethical approach to fashion is human-centered, we focus on social impact and worker protections at every stage of garment production.
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85% of factories we work with are women owned businesses.
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100% of factories we work with are small, family-run factories in India, where fair wages and safe working conditions are the norm. We only source and work with factories that can maintain our Code of Ethics, click here to view complete list.
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100% of our orders in Nigeria are fulfilled by "stay at home" moms, we offer part time jobs that work around their family schedules.
SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH
The ChicNiCity ideology is to analyze ways to strengthen every level of garment creation in a more eco-friendly manner to achieve environmental justice.
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Up to 30% of the fabric we use in production are a combination of surplus stock textiles that, although high quality, were not seen as fit to be used in industrial production. We partner with textile mills in Asia and select the highest quality bolts from pre-consumer textile waste from large garment factories.
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Discover our ECO CHIC collection of sustainable clothing, crafted from premium surplus fabrics, each piece is a testament to our commitment to quality and sustainability. Made in small quantities, our garments are a conscious effort to prevent surplus from contributing to landfills. Embrace fashion with a purpose, where every thread tells a story of eco-conscious choices and mindful creation.
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Almost 100% of the fabric we purchase is used in production. We cut the majority of our garments by hand to utilize every piece of fabric, making the most of textiles that are considered unusable by mass manufacturers.
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At ChicNiCity, through our design practices we strive to offer high quality and timeless designs. From classic silhouettes to wider seam allowances and higher SPI (stitches per inch), our practices
enhance product life expectancy, it should be used long and well through good care, repair and perhaps redesign. Our focus is on designs that last longer and less likely to be disposable.
ChicNiCity is committed to reducing our impact on the environment, and this is a work in progress. We welcome any suggestions, feedback or questions regarding our ethical and sustainability approach to fashion.
CHIC-Views
What Our Customers Are Saying
“We sold everything we bought from the last trade show. We want more.”
- Kieu Avant Concept Store, Mexico