ses eager to collaborate with it. Inside Retail spoke with the brand’s founder and CEO Quincy Moore to discuss its breakout moment following an unexpected celebrity endorsement, his approach to developing IP-focused collections and the brand’s plans for brick-and-mortar expansion. From Knowlita to New York or Nowhere Long before New York or Nowhere was even a concept, the brand’s founder said it was always his plan to start a clothing brand. “The intent was always to head into apparel at some point. I started with art because it was less saturated and I thought it could differentiate the brand in the early stages, then parlay that into garments, which I thought was a sound strategy,” said Moore. He recalled starting his first T-shirt brand in college, when he was “obsessed” with graphic shirts and designs. That fixation would prove useful while building out Knowlita and New York or Nowhere. The initial seeds of Knowlita were sown with Moore designing posters in 2012. As Moore told Inside Retail, “I remember finishing my first series of posters during Hurricane Sandy. That’s how long ago it was when Knowlita was a creative endeavor, a [way] for me to test, learn and see if my ideas had any validity in the market. From the beginning, the focus was always very New York-centric. Everything I have done has been a love letter to New York, a celebration of the city and all the things I love within it.” With Knowlita, Moore offered posters featuring iconic street names, like Prince and Mott Street, or illustrations of different coffee cups from cafes all over the city. “It was very niche, but it picked up an audience because people love New York and the things that define this city. We started picking up some good press, and eventually began looking for a slogan to help people understand what I was building, and that’s where “New York or Nowhere” came from.” However, it would famously be a non-New Yorker who helped put the brand on the map. How a “Cleveland or Nowhere” shirt helped cement NYON’s cultural credentials By 2016, Moore said, the Knowlita brand had become more established, having secured Saks as a retail partner. “I had a studio on Lafayette Street in Nolita and was doing a lot of various creative direction projects, which had gotten the attention of Saks. Through Saks, we got put in touch with somebody on LeBron James’ team [at the time, James was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers]. They liked the idea of or nowhere as it celebrates the pride of a place and thought LeBron might like it. So we made him a box full of garments [with the slogan, “Cleveland or Nowhere”] in different sizes, sent it off and forgot about it. Then a few weeks later, I got a DM right before the game [Game 7 of the 2016 World Series] that he and his wife were wearing it. That was definitely a critical watershed moment for my career.” From there, celebrities like actresses Emma Stone and Sarah Jessica Parker went on to wear pieces from the brand, helping further build New York or Nowhere’s cultural cache. Although the brand had built a local presence in downtown New York, it had been averaging roughly $100 a day in online sales before its major breakthrough, Moore recalled. “It was a very “how to make it in America” kind of scenario, where I was struggling to survive and get it off the ground,” said Moore. In 2019, Moore decided to shift his focus from Knowlita and begin building New York or Nowhere as a standalone brand. He officially launched the company in 2020. By 2020, New York or Nowhere had reached seven figures in revenue and launched its first brick-and-mortar store in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan in 2022. Collaborations, retail stores and more Moore attributed the brand’s rising cultural relevance to its collaborations with multiple New York-based sports teams, including a New York Yankees collection in 2024. Recently, it collaborated with the New York City-based children’s show Sesame Street. Discussing the importance of these partnerships, Moore said, “They were integral to our growth… They have been the marketing and awareness engine behind everything that we built, and it’s validated the brand and everything that we do. The fact that these legendary, iconic brands and teams have co-signed us to the extent that they have, we would not be where we are today without them. It’s been an essential part of our growth and remains so.” However, this doesn’t mean New York or Nowhere is willing to work with any New York franchise that comes its way. “We’ve been very intentional in who we’ve decided to partner with. Knowlita was the more local version of the brand, where New York or Nowhere is more global. In our scope, we’re really working with New York stalwarts that are recognized around the world, putting our spin on them and creating the best merch that we possibly can,” said Moore. Although Sesame Street differs from the brand’s usual collaborations, Moore noted that the show’s IP is still deeply rooted in New York and reflects the team’s willingness to experiment. “I wanted to challenge our team to step outside of our comfort zone and apply our design and creative sensibilities to a different type of IP that still feels authentic to who we are,” he said. Moving forward, Moore said he and the team would continue to focus on New York-themed franchise collections. “There are so many quintessential New York shows that I feel like we could put our spin on, and we’re going to pursue a bunch of them over the next couple of years,” said Moore. Beyond collaborations, Moore said the brand, which is now an eight-figure business, is focused on expanding its physical retail presence. Over the next six months, New York or Nowhere plans to open its second storefront. “We have a huge international customer base, both online and in the store. You walk in the Lafayette Street location and you’ll usually hear five different languages. So, it’s all in the works,” he said. Ultimately, while the company is focused on building out its range of SKUs and testing new product categories, its focus will always be on highlighting its homegrown New York identity. “We’ve just started to hit our groove from a content perspective and a product perspective, and we’re more sure of ourselves now. Which is being reflected in how much people are flocking to us. A win for New York or Nowhere is being on the top ten list for places to go when somebody visits New York. We’re right there with the Strand Bookstore or the Guggenheim. We aspire to be on that list and we want to be the thing that people seek out when they visit New York.” Further reading: Tomorrow-Today Beauty’s Indianna Roehrich discusses building a brand with community