Jasmin Nessa Ali is a Guyanese fashion designer from Queens, New York. As a young painter and interdisciplinary artist, she participated in several pre-college exhibitions in New York City, including shows at Cooper Union and School of Visual Arts, as well as a group residency at Ace Hotel. She moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 2018, where she graduated with a BFA in Fiber and Fashion from Maryland Institute College of Art. Her debut as a fashion designer in Heatspell, the 2022 annual Multimedia Event at the BBox Theater, led her to design and construct collections on commission for Full Circle Dance Company, and later make a deeper connection with her Caribbean peers in the creative space, such as Indo Caribbean Beauty Magazine. Currently, she is working on designing and releasing new, hybrid clothing collections.

Her brand, NESSA, is a womenswear fashion brand that is designed and handmade by Jasmin in her bedroom studio in Baltimore, MD. The brand’s two main fashion influences are New York City streetwear and Guyanese pride. Her clothing features streetwear staples like cargo shorts and cropped hoodies, but holds true to Guyanese aesthetics and silhouettes, including sarees, lehengas, gold, and beading. The purpose of the brand is to elevate collaboration among artists, and speak power to Guyanese people for as long as NESSA thrives. Jasmin’s short term goal for NESSA is to release clothing collections at a larger scale, and forge a spot for a Guyanese designer in the fashion industry.

While sewing is her passion-turned-lifestyle, she is also a committed gold jewelry wearer, avid vintage shopper, she loves the beach, lovers reggae rock, espresso martinis, and she spend lots of time with her family in Queens.