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After meeting on their first day of orientation and working side by side in core design classes for three years at Parsons the New School for Design, Nolan Bellavance and Ava Hama decided to start a company together.

Nolan and Ava have collectively worked with Gap, Theory, JF & Son, and Opening Ceremony. Nolan won the National CFDA Student Award Scholarship and was awarded the coveted Saga Furs award in coordination with the Hong Kong Fur Federation. His senior thesis collection was sponsored and he traveled both to Denmark and Hong Kong to train and represent Parsons. In 2012 he was nominated for Designer of the Year, and both Bellavance and Hama’s theses were selected to be displayed at Saks Fifth Avenue.

The duo’s debut collection came to being when in September of 2012 Nolan was selected as the winner of the inaugural MADE for Peroni Young Designer Award, an initiative to foster emerging design talent, from a gifted group of Parsons alumni. Peroni provided Nolan with two trips to Italy and $45,000 to create and showcase his designs.

Bellavance NYC

Nolan Bellavance and Ava Hama, Co-Founders

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