The Designer

Niiamar Felder, fashion and costume designer has been influenced by industry icons including Paul Tazewell, Valentino Garavani, Halston and Patrick Kelly. Trail blazers whose work set the standards, often redefining fashion, and costume design. From evening wear to ready-to-wear, and costume design, his brand flourishes as the designer is driven by a passion for creative expression, capturing the beauty of nostalgic glamour and modern style in his designs.

 Media mavens and social influencers: Sherri Shepherd, Loreen Arbus, Katrina Adams, Princess Camilla Barungi, Nora Gasparian and Jane Marks are some of the celebrated women who have worn his designs on network television, to high-profile red- carpet events and the Academy Awards. Selected as a 2017 BE Modern Man of Distinction by BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine, Niiamar’s accomplishments in both fashion and costume design are well noted. Including features in EBONY magazine, FASHION BOMB DAILY, Black News Channel and an impressive appearance on Lifetime’s “24 Hour Catwalk” where judges took note of his exceptional design aesthetics. He is also a recipient of the American Express Passion Project Award and two AUDELCO Award nominations for Excellence in Costume Design.

 Niiamar embarked on a transformative and new venture in 2014, while chronicling and producing the fashion short documentary, NIIAMAR…It is What It Is (released in May 2015, on Prime Video), gives an inside look at what it will take to make his mark in the world of fashion. He shares the struggles, drama, and triumphs of creating an awe-inspiring collection.

 Off-Broadway production of August Wilson’s, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Reparations (Billie Holiday Theatre) directed by veteran actor and Tony Award nominee, Michele Shay. In addition, principal costume design work for The Billie Holiday Theatre productions of The Old Settler starring Pauletta Washington;(Yellow Man and A Walk into Slavery); Sowa’s Red Gravy (New Federal Theatre) starring Tony Award nominee Lonette Mckee.  Television, live broadcast of 12 Angry Men and Women, starring Wendell C. Pierce and Lisa Arindell directed by India Etwaroo. Assistant designer: The Wiz- (US Tour/Broadway), Back to The Future (Broadway) and Ain’t Too Proud, The Life and Times of The Temptations (US Tour); Set costumer: White Girl in Danger (Off-Broadway) and The Thanksgiving Play (Broadway) at 2nd Stage Theatre. 

 The designer is a graduate of the visual arts and theatre program at Florida A &M University (FAMU).  He is founder and design director of NIIAMAR™ his eponymous fashion label, that focuses on ready- to-wear and made-to- measure couture.