Designer Nilüfer Bracco Embraces Barefoot Luxury with her Sustainable Ready-to-Wear Brand, niLuu

A former professional volleyball player, Bracco left her small town outside of Istanbul for the United States where she studied interior and fashion design in New York City. After meeting her husband, having a child, and moving to Miami, Bracco incorporated her educational experience, aesthetic sensibility, and creativity by designing her eco-friendly oasis of a home in Miami Beach and her eponymous brand, niLuu.

An ode to her native Turkish roots, niLuu's meaningful designs toast Turkey's full bodied culture– rich in color, texture, and narrative. Blurring the line between loungewear and ready-to-wear, and marrying the archetypal sophistication inherent in traditional silk with an intentional twist, niLuu focuses on meticulous and timeless construction, welcoming an era of refined comfort with an earth-positive footprint.

Today, we sit down with the designer to discuss her inspiration, design process, and commitment to a sustainable future.

Veronica H. Speck: Can you tell us about your background and how you transitioned from working as an interior designer to a fashion designer?

Nilüfer Bracco: Ever since I was a little girl, I was passionate about fashion yet I had no idea how it would come about. I come from a small town outside Istanbul. I was a bit of an outsider as I grew to be 1.88m tall, so volleyball became my ticket to see and explore the world around me. After I turned 18, I wanted to take my chances in America and I was lucky enough to be recruited to play here. Even then, I would look at fashion magazines and imagine how cool it would be to work in that world.

VHS: In what ways has your background in interior design impacted your work as a creative director and fashion designer?

NB: In the US, I studied interior and fashion design, and worked as an interior designer in New York City. I met my husband; had a child, and all of a sudden everything was on hold. That’s when I decided to embrace fashion, first as a freelance stylist.

VHS: How did you find yourself in Miami?

NB: 7 years ago, I came to Miami with my family. Here, I put it all together and launched niLuu: my aesthetics and creativity; my love of fashion and beautiful things; and my desire to make a difference for the things I care about. I think the fundamentals of fashion and interior design are the same: the use of colors and textures for mood and depth; the attention to detail and the affinity to trends; and also the room for personal expression, where people need space to individualize their choices and make them unique. The tools of the trades are also similar: mood boards, sketches etc. So when I started following my original passion, it felt familiar and natural, and since my mind has always been attuned to fashion trends and designs, I found the transition to be quite natural. After all, it is no coincidence that some high-end fashion brands have a home line as well.

VHS: How do you incorporate sustainability into your brand and design process?

NB: At niLuu, we have done it the opposite way. We did not incorporate sustainability around our designs; rather, we designed around sustainability. To be specific, we design styles that work for the amazingly sustainable vegan silk that we work with. We launched niLuu anchored in this wonderful fabric that delivers the luxury feel of silk with a vegan and sustainable alternative that can be made with higher quality than commercially available silk.

VHS: Could you walk us through your design process? How do you come up with the inspiration for your designs?

NB: Our inspiration comes from nature: animals, plants, and colors; and what they represent. You can appreciate it in our pieces. We believe in living in harmony with nature, which is why niLuu's products are made sustainably from the time they are made to the point of being discarded. I am inspired by the inside/outside living of the places I love, such as the endless Miami summer lounge scene, the open-air clubs by the Bosphorus in Istanbul, the various places along the Aegean coast of Turkey (like Bodrum), as well as the Greek islands. I am also drawn to the Montauk bars and restaurants in the summer and the winter getaways to my favorite place, St. Barths in the Caribbean. I find myself drawn to the colors, textures, and long kaftans of Marrakesh.

My creative process for a new collection starts, quite simply, by imagining what I would like to wear. I naturally but assiduously follow fashion trends, which inform my next steps. To go from the imagination phase to making and delivering products, I don’t follow a rigid process. I may start by doing some light sketching and preparing mood boards, or I imagine how existing pieces can evolve and align with current trends and expectations. When an idea is concrete, we move on to creating initial samples. Sometimes we work with a pattern maker to facilitate construction but not always. Other times, we’ll hear directly from the Atelier and the seamstresses.

What sets us apart is that we adjust the design of samples repeatedly, whether it's the styles, prints, or colors, until I feel they are perfectly in line with my vision. Multiple iterations of sample-making allow us to evolve the designs organically and achieve the desired final design.

VHS: Can you tell us more about the process of designing your home, what was your vision for the architecture and the interior design?

NB: The design inspiration came from pictures of very modern homes on the hills of Ibiza, overlooking the Mediterranean. We wanted to create a place to gather with friends or family to enjoy swimming in the pool, lounge on the patio with good food and drinks, or have dinner indoors with the feeling of being in the garden.

As for the materials, we wanted to source locally as much as possible. This was important to reduce the environmental impact of construction, but also to represent appropriately the area where the house is located. While we used concrete for the house structure with hurricane-proof windows, as is the norm in this area, we chose to use mostly locally sourced keystone and white stucco for the exterior. Inside, we chose a light-colored wood to be predominant on floors and fixtures while keeping walls painted white as a modern home in a sunny location should.

VHS: Are there any objects of design in your home you can't live without?

NB: Currently, I am obsessed with my L'Objet Haas Monster Incense Burner. The design is fun and unexpected and I love how smoke comes out of its antennas. It is sophisticated and wild; almost having its own personality.

VHS: What's next for you and niLuu?

NB: We continuously focus on expanding the brand and we aspire to see more and more brands adopting fabrics and practices that are sustainable for the environment and society, without any animal cruelty. I am always looking for opportunities to expand our product line so that we can bring more sustainable products to market. In fact, we had started with pillowcases and loungewear. We then expanded the loungewear concept to silk-wear, making niLuu a brand that can be used during any part of the day from the elegant to the casual with an easy transition. We are currently developing new ideas that would further expand our proposition but I would only do that if we can reach my expectations in terms of quality and design while staying true to our sustainability ethos.

Explore the collection at niLuu