Toit Volant
Toit Volant designer Alnea Farahbella describes her brand as a recollection of her life experiences and travels, rooted in a constant redefinition of beauty and inspired by the many women she encountered during her travels. Alnea was raised in Victorville, California. She later moved to Asia as an adult, traveling and teaching in various countries on the continent for ten years. In 2014, her and her partner Arno Nabos moved back to the United States, later launching the brand in 2017 out of their living room.
Toit Volant is committed to responsible, sustainable, and ethical practices, hoping to sustain a circular model that centers people and the planet. All Toit Volant garments are responsibly made by a small team of highly skilled machinists and technicians at Alnea’s own factory in Los Angeles, Nana Atelier.
Nana Atelier developed from a frustration in the lack of cultivation of technical talent and skill in Los Angeles. Upon Farahbella’s return to Los Angeles, she found herself unable to tolerate the low standards of the small and dysfunctional garment manufacturing factories. She and her partner, Arno, made the decision to open Nana in 2017, in order to create a space with better practices to produce her garments and provide a safe working environment for members of the community.
Nana Atelier’s mission as a manufacturer is not too hail itself as a savior to the garment industry in Los Angeles – rather, the goal is to normalize fair and just treatment of other human beings within the garment manufacturing field. Farahbella aims to bring dignity and strength back to the arduous work of garment manufacturing through fair treatment, fair wages and clean environment.