Jamaican fashion designer, Neville Wisdom, has opened his second store at 1090 Chapel St. in the downtown area of New Haven, CT. The well-known designer will offer his signature designs, along with tailoring, alternations, fashion consulting and customer services.

The Chapel St. store marks a return of Wisdom to the downtown area. He moved his original shop from the city’s historic Ninth Square on Orange St. to Westville. The expansion to a second store on Chapel St. is ample evidence of the popularity and success of his designs.

Wisdom’s road to iconic fashion designer has been filled with twists and turns along the way. Born and raised in Jamaica, he discovered his passion for fashion at an early age. When he couldn’t find a pair of pants he wanted, he decided to make his own and quickly discovered a talent and a love for making beautiful clothing. He moved to the U.S. when he was 28.

On his journey, Wisdom has worked in construction, owned and operated a restaurant, and trained as a surgical technician at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was helping to save lives, but in his spare time he was also making fleece jackets for his colleagues and it was then that he realized how much he missed design.

Wisdom brings a strong sense of community involvement to the area. He mentors young designers and hosts an annual charity fashion show. He was selected to create the inaugural gown for New Haven’s Mayor Toni Harp. Wisdom’s new boutique will be located next to the Yale Center for British Art, a fitting location as his clothing has been called a wearable form of art.

His brand is manufactured in-house and he prefers to keep his fashion house relatively small for the interaction it generates with customers. Wisdom’s stores harken back to old-school couture with specialized services, but with fashions that are easily accessible to anyone.

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