Rising Stars: Meet Natalie Busby

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Busby.

Hi Natalie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story starts with my grandmother, one of my favorite mentors and muses. When I was growing up in Alabama, she was a school teacher.

She would save up her money all year and rent an apartment in Paris for a few weeks in the summer. She let me accompany her on many of these trips as her companion. While in Paris, we spent most of our time trying to live quiet, simple days that made us feel local. One of her favorite activities was perching in a local cafe, posting for coffee, and people-watching. We would talk, draw, write, and point out all of the beautiful outfits we saw on the streets of Paris.

This early observation of dress sparked a lifelong curiosity for personal style and the art of dressing me. Parisian women are, of course, notorious for their sense of style. I’ve always admired their ability to build a closet of timeless staples that always feel fresh and modern with their simple styling tricks and surprising accessories.

After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA and a concentration in fashion design, I moved to Austin, TX, where I worked at the most beautiful local boutique, By George. At the time, I was disappointed to graduate with a design degree and be working in retail, but this experience was such a necessary part of my growth.

The owner had the most beautiful taste in clothes of anyone I’ve ever met, and she taught me so much about small business ownership. Coming from a very conceptual art school, the business side of selling clothes was not a part of my education. Working at By George taught me so much about relating to customers and understanding what needs and concerns women express when buying clothes. Mostly, Women wanted clothes that made them feel good… Easy pieces of beautiful quality that hid and revealed all of the right things.

After a few years of working in retail and merchandising, I jumped to launch my line. The Natalie Busby Collection was born out of a desire to create timeless building blocks for the modern woman. For the modern woman, her ultimate luxury is her time. Women want to be busy living life, not dressing for it. I set out to achieve the unspoken art of “just enough” and began to create streamlined collections that span age and personality. Pieces that are versatile, chic, and effortless.

After several years working out of a tiny studio in Boston, I moved to Nashville in 2017 to be closer to family and manufacturing partners. A few months later, I opened our East Nashville Shop, and the collection has been growing ever since. Adding the retail space has been a great way for us to test small batches of products and get customer feedback before making larger production runs.

East Nashville has been the most wonderful community to grow a business in. Customers really value local gems that keep their neighborhood special, and they are so great about sharing and supporting businesses in their neighborhood. The Natalie Busby Collection is available to shop in our East Nashville studio and showroom, in retail partners across the country, and through our website.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For me, one of the hardest parts of launching a clothing line has been establishing reliable manufacturing partners and scaling the line. Making one of something is so different than making thousands of them!

Figuring out all of the steps between a prototype and a production run has definitely had its challenges. We are so lucky to have not only developed so many wonderful customers over the years but also so many wonderful suppliers and manufacturing partners.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Natalie Busby is a womenswear collection designed and largely produced in Nashville, TN. We offer versatile, well-made garments with everyday life in mind. We believe a woman should feel as good as she looks.

Collections focus on the incorporation of natural and sustainable textiles. We take this mission seriously and continue to educate ourselves on new materials and processes to make smarter choices. Most of our product line is manufactured locally within 15 miles of our Nashville design studio. All of our clothing is manufactured ethically in the USA.

To eliminate excess inventory, we rely on small-batch production. We cut garments in small runs that can be replenished by demand. By offering pieces for pre-order and ordering products in monthly refills, we can support a more thoughtful and focused production model that meets the demands of our consumers.

Customers love our line for elevated basics, butter-y soft fabrics, and everyday sets.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
East Nashville has such a wonderful, supportive, creative business community.

In other cities, I found the process of connecting with other business owners more difficult, but Nashville has been such a great city for me to network with other local fashion bands.

Contact Info:

• Website: nataliebusby.com
• Instagram: @nataliebusby

Image Credits
Natalie Busby and Nicola Harger