totem new york

The fashion world is changing rapidly and dramatically.  Great taste is just the baseline requirement to become a creative leader.  We now have to think of design as a dynamic system and only companies who are organized and know how to innovate will succeed.

We add value by providing creative and technical expertise to streamline the design and development process helping you become more nimble, efficient, and profitable.  

Having worked with luxury and contemporary designers, large public companies, vertical retailers, and private label manufacturers across a broad spectrum of markets, products, and company cultures we have truly seen it all...the good, and also, the not-so-good. We know what works and we know how to help you fix what doesn't. 

We blend entrepreneurial scrappiness, creativity, and strategic leadership with corporate discipline and financial rigor to help companies and teams approach things from a different angle. We launch new categories for brands looking to expand or evolve established businesses in order to increase their market share and bottom line. 

IN THE BEGINNING...

Seizing upon a void in the marketplace for the highly specialized skills required of knitwear, Creative Director Wendy Friedman launched Totem New York as a full-service design studio specializing in fully-fashioned sweaters, cut/sew knits, and coldweather accessories to help designers who lack the infrastructure or technical expertise to grow their collections.  A rare A-Z creative, Wendy has the necessary skills and talents to "do" not just "delegate" the entire scope of design and product development tasks. She is able to draw upon her vast industry experience and adapt to each designer's specific aesthetic to create both commercially successful collections as well as pinacle pieces garnering broad editorial coverage.

NOW...

We still design a lot of knitwear but as we have grown, clients have asked for more. We now help companies nail their brand story, craft original content, and lay down a foundation upon which they can move foward with actual templates and call-to-action steps.

SUSTAINABILITY:

We were recently retained by a large overseas manufacturer to develop a D2C Men's and Women's contemporary brand made from 100% recycled materials guided by sustainable practices and radical transparency from the ground up: creating proprietary yarn and fabric, drafting original copy to story-tell the vision, values, and purpose, creating concept and pitch decks, identifying strategic partners, website oversight and of course, designing and developing the actual clothes.  

We can also help your company incorporate these principles into your own supply chain to work toward becoming a zero-waste company.

COMPANIES WE HAVE WORKED WITH: 

Coach, Henri Bendel, Tommy Hilfiger, Victor Alfaro, Thakoon, Adam Lippes, Bill Blass, Badgley Mischka, APiece Apart, Kimberly Ovitz, Sari Gueron, Kai Milla, Natori, Miguelina, Tommy Hilfiger Sport, DKNY Active, Calvin Klein Performance, Gap, Amazon, Saks, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Vineyard Vines, John Varvatos, Draper James, Doncaster, Steve Madden, Maridade, Joe Fresh, Susan Lazar

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WGSN has recognized Wendy as one of their "Pinterests that Inspire" and through The Darker Horse, a visual inspiration and news blog dedicated to high-fashion knitwear, Wendy curates knitwear trends and provides vision and direction for those to come.  

Wendy holds a B.S. from Cornell University in Textiles and Functional Apparel Design and a certificate in Journalism from NYU. She is a contributing writer and reporter for KnittingIndustry.com and InnovationInTextiles.com and a former adjunct professor of knitwear at F.I.T and Parsons School of Design.

Wendy loves animals and is very anti-fur!