# Conner Ives isn't a nepo baby, he's just friends with them

> The London-based designer is moving his label to New York, and his powerful friends are helping him sell out.
- Title: Conner Ives isn't a nepo baby, he's just friends with them
- Summary: The London-based designer is moving his label to New York, and his powerful friends are helping him sell out. Building relationships with powerful supporters…
- Keywords: conner ives, new york fashion week, fashion, lauren santo domingo, sara moonves, moda operandi, protect the dolls, trans lifeline, london, new york, central saint martins, emerging designers
- Source: Vanity Fair — https://vanityfair.com/story/conner-ives-new-york-fashion-week-profile
- Author: José Criales-Unzueta
- Published: 2026-09-16T20:56:07.425+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: conner ives, new york fashion week, fashion, lauren santo domingo, sara moonves, moda operandi, protect the dolls, trans lifeline, london, new york, central saint martins, emerging designers
## The viral T-shirt guy
Conner Ives made the Protect the Dolls tees worn by Addison Rae and Pedro Pascal, raising over $600,000 for Trans Lifeline.
## He reads his own hate
After his New York Fashion Week debut, someone posted asking if Ives was a ponzi scheme. He found it funny.

> The first thing that I do after a show is go online and find the vitriol. I'm a sadomasochist.
## The Grill as runway
His show took place at The Grill, a wealthy Manhattan spot with Warhol paintings. Socialites and actors walked his runway.
## Everyone thinks he's British
Ives is American but became a designer in London after studying at Central Saint Martins. His visa expired, bringing him back to New York.
## Not a nepo baby
Ives is from wealthy Bedford, New York, but his father is a minister and his mother is a self-made orthodontist who put herself through school.

> I'm a cis, white male from upstate New York, Bedford, more specifically. It's very easy for people to fill in the blanks there.
## Powerful women as patrons
His biggest supporters are Lauren Santo Domingo of Moda Operandi and Sara Moonves, editor of W Magazine and daughter of Les Moonves.
## The old patron model
Ives compares his relationships to Galliano's with Sao Schlumberger or McQueen's with Isabella Blow. It's a symbiotic relationship.

> If you have a friend who likes what you are doing and has the power and means to support it, why would I turn that down?
## His generation says no
Designers in Ives's cohort like to reject the establishment. He thinks doing fashion in an edgelord way feels strange in 2026.

> It just feels so strange to do fashion in 2026 in this edgelord kind of way.
## Moda can't keep stock
Moda Operandi did nearly $500,000 in sales from his fall trunk show in March, an extraordinary result for an emerging designer.

> We cannot keep his clothing in stock.
## Santo Domingo wore him
When Santo Domingo wore Ives to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, his fall collection launched at 75% sell-through in one week.
## The viral jacket moment
Moonves wore an Ives fur robe coat to a Paris dinner in 2025. They sold 30 jackets that night from Instagram messages alone.

> When the party pictures went up, I cannot tell you how many messages I received about the jacket.
## Clothes that make you dance
His clothes make women feel sexy, cool, and effortless. You stand out without peacocking, Moonves says.

> Every time I wear them, I want to go dancing.
## A 350% sales jump
His fall collection brought a 350% increase in wholesale and private clients. The company is entirely self-funded with no external investment.

> There was this injection of money into the company just from us selling clothes.
## Everyone's invited
For every socialite at his show, there's someone like him who dreamt big and made it. Everyone has a seat at his table.

> Whether you believe what I'm saying or not, everyone has a seat at the table. Everyone is invited. And the bigger the party, the bigger the table.
## Key takeaway

Building relationships with powerful supporters is a time-honored path in fashion, and Ives's willingness to embrace it is paying off commercially.