New York or Nowhere's Quincy Moore and Liz Eswein on strategizing around big-name collaborations

When Liz Eswein and Quincy Moore launched New York or Nowhere (NYON) in 2020, they were intentional about focusing on community first, then a product after. NYON, birthed from Eswein's @newyorkcity Instagram account (currently at 1.5 million followers), first hit the scene with digital downloads such as phone backgrounds and a coloring book. Now, the 3-year-old company has become best known for its apparel and art prints featuring its brand name. 

Since its inception, NYON has entered physical retail, opening its first flagship store in NYC's Nolita neighborhood in October 2022. The brand has also forayed into product collaborations, including with the New York Knicks, Rimowa and American Express. 

"We're thoughtful and careful with who we collaborate with. Our biggest and most ongoing partnership is with the Knicks, and it's hard to get bigger than that, especially for a New York brand," Moore said on the latest episode of The Glossy Podcast. "Slowly but surely, we will continue to do smaller collaborations as a customer acquisition tactic. We don't have massive budgets for marketing, but it does work to align yourself with like-minded entities and feed off of each other's audience." 

As the brand expands, exploring new categories is at the top of the priority list. NYON launched its first knit crewneck over the holiday, which performed extremely well, according to Eswein. At the end of last year, the brand also expanded into more home goods products and released a candle and a blanket. Above all, Moore and Eswein said they are now focused on ensuring that all future products and assortment are a "level up" from previous items by producing them with high-quality materials.