Ammara Yaqub launching contemporary blouse collection

Ammara Yaqub has found a new endeavor. The businesswoman will begin offering high-end blouses at contemporary price points through her website ammaranyc.com beginning June 1.

Yaqub, who graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA, has an impressive resume with stints at Zac Posen, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Saks Fifth Avenue before she launched her own advanced contemporary label in 2011 which she ran for six seasons.

She feels that e-commerce is one of the most important aspects of fashion business right now as it is easy to capture what returning customers are buying and not buying.

This new e-commerce venture for her is exclusively about blouses. For the launch, she is focusing on 12 tailored blouses and will add two to three blouses each month. “Women are always looking for shirts and can’t find them. A lot of designers focus on dresses. We wanted to focus on one piece and perfect it,” she said to WWD.

Ammara Yaqub offering new take on silk blouses

The blouses will be manufactured in New York City, which will make a six-week turnaround time possible from concept to bringing the blouses to the market. Fabrics used will include sea island cotton, silk, and silk charmeuse.

Some of the styles included in the collection are a white off-shoulder blouse with a flounce in the back in sea island cotton, a pajama top in silk charmeuse in black with white piping and white with black piping, an asymmetric full top, a white top with intricate draping, and a black v-neck leather top. Price points for the blouses are between 200 and 300 dollars. She's able to offer a more accessible price point for her contemporary line compared to other brands because she is cutting out the retailer and selling direct-to-consumer. Sizes range from SS to L and 0-12.

Moving forward, Yaqub is hoping to add more silk colors, and eventually offer clutches and wedges.

She has yet to determine figures for a first-year projection. She is currently working on collaborating with bloggers and influencers to spread the word about her site.

Photo:ammaranyc.com