Pamela Nanton

I started in fashion because my mother taught me how to sew, and as a teenager, I was a curvy girl who wanted to make clothes fit me better. Over my 30 plus year career, I've worked in many different roles including pattern maker, draper, paper pattern maker, and computer pattern maker. Technical design didn't come about until the early 2000s, so I transitioned into that role, which involved using computers and having more emails and conversations with sewing factories, whether they were local or abroad. My first director role came in 2022. I've done uniforms for Delta Airlines, though that contract ended up being canceled, and I've done a lot of custom work. My husband and I owned our own company called Ply Apparel from 2013 to 2018, which was luxury apparel for plus-size and curvy women. The name stands for P for Pamela, L for Lamar, and Y for you. We would sprinkle in pink pieces or pink decorations for some of the styles, and those pieces included a donation to breast cancer, as I'm a breast cancer survivor. In my current role as Director of Production and Technical Design at a luxury brand, I follow the lead from the design team, from their sketch and their sample throughout the process to production, so that our customers feel good and functional in their apparel. My day-to-day involves communication with the cutting room, the sewing room, the pattern room, dealing with questions about trims and fabrics, and handling issues like fabric shrinking when ironed. Every fabrication is different and has a mind of its own, so I have to be quick and able to communicate promptly because I don't want production to be late.