Functional Desire
Designing a Hospitality System Guests (and Staff) Want to Wear
NYLO wasn’t a fashion brand - and that’s exactly what made this project compelling. The task wasn’t to invent something new from scratch, but to enter a pre-existing operational system and create a design language that worked as both uniform and lifestyle extension - balancing utility, brand identity, and desirability.
This project lived at the intersection of hospitality, operational reality, and cultural expression - and it demanded clarity more than novelty.
KEY CONSTRAINTS
Instead of infinite creative freedom, the project was defined by clear operational parameters:
- Industrial wear requirements (durability, laundering, daily movement)
- Defined price targets across multiple categories
- Alignment with NYLO’s existing architectural and brand DNA
- Scalability across roles, body types, and environments
- Extension beyond apparel into accessories and travel goods
This was systems work, not seasonal design - every decision needed to satisfy utility, cost, cohesion, and identity simultaneously.
APPROACH
I treated NYLO Wear as an ecosystem, not a seasonal capsule.
Rather than defaulting to generic hospitality uniforms, the work was built on disciplined foundations:
- Narrow, cohesive color palette to ensure visual consistency across categories
- Industrial-friendly materials reinterpreted in softer, more fashion-forward ways
- Subtle design details - finishes, proportions, and details to avoid “generic uniform” territory
- Accessory and travel goods integration to extend the system beyond staff wear into guest lifestyle touch points
The intention was simple: create garments and accessories that feel covetable without compromising function. The visual language needed to be approachable and familiar, yet distinct enough to register as a thoughtful brand experience.
OUTCOME
NYLO Wear successfully expanded from a purely functional uniform program into a recognizable brand extension.
- Apparel, accessories, and travel goods spoke in one cohesive visual language
- The system reinforced NYLO’s design-forward hospitality ethos and was successfully rolled out across numerous properties
- Staff uniforms became products guests desired - blurring the line between uniform and wardrobe without losing utility or operational ease
This project proved that functionally driven design can still be intentional, modern, and aspirational - and that strategic clarity can elevate what’s often treated as a purely utilitarian category.
REFLECTION
If given more runway, I would further strengthen the color strategy. While the neutral palette supported cohesion and operational ease, anchoring the system around a distinct statement color could have created even stronger emotional resonance - at little additional cost.
This experience reinforced a core principle of my work: