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After more than 13 years of slow-burning momentum, Daniella Kallmeyer’s namesake label has emerged as one of the most-watched American brands of 2025. What looks like an overnight rise was, in reality, a strategic, deeply intentional year. And it was one defined by smarter wholesale partnerships, a high-performing retail expansion and the kind of word-of-mouth buzz that brands can’t buy.
Kallmeyer acknowledged that 2025 marked a turning point. The brand’s Madison Avenue store, which opened in May, became an immediate engine for visibility and full-price sell-through. “I think we really pulled up the [brand’s growing] momentum when we opened on Madison,” she said. “It was a real convergence of opportunities and recognition happening at the same time.”
That momentum extended to wholesale. Over the past year, retail partners like Net-a-Porter helped bring Kallmeyer to a broader global audience, on the brand’s terms. “We’ve been like a sellout brand for them,” Kallmeyer said. “We work with them to edit the assortment, and the client is really getting a range that speaks to who we are.” Other retail partners include Moda Operandi, Goop and Elyse Walker.
Kallmeyer remains a founder-owned, privately held label, with Daniella Kallmeyer independently launching the brand in 2012 and continuing to run it without outside investors. While the company doesn’t disclose financials, industry reports note consistent year-over-year sales growth as the brand has moved from being an insider favorite to receiving wider recognition. This has also come through key milestones: opening its first Orchard Street store in 2019, entering the New York Fashion Week schedule in 2023, staging its first full runway show in September 2024, and earning increasing cultural buzz over the last two years as celebrity fans and media embraced its refined aesthetic. A major visibility jolt came in February 2024, when The New York Times spotlighted Kallmeyer’s women’s suiting, instantly widening the brand’s audience beyond its cult following.
Kallmeyer’s growing visibility has brought her a roster of high-profile admirers, though Kallmeyer was quick to clarify that celebrity dressing isn’t the engine behind the brand. “The celebrity moments are always important ones for our visibility, but not necessarily for me as a designer — other than [showing that we’re] continuing to problem-solve for real women’s lives,” she said. “These women may be celebrities, but they still have real moments that they are celebrating or being celebrated for.”
She noted that many of the biggest brand moments came from organic discovery. “People like Jennifer Lawrence and Sarah Paulson have purchased the pieces,” she said. “That’s how you’re seeing them wearing them — they’re discovering them on their own,” she said, adding, “Michelle Obama purchased the pieces on her own and then wore them for her [November 2025] People magazine interview.”
And the same pieces are designed for everyday use, she said. “A working woman can keep them in her wardrobe and restyle them in a way that’s not for the red carpet,” Kallmeyer said, noting that the brand’s strongest growth driver remains its core community. “All of my best-dressed girlfriends are wearing Kallmeyer.”
That brand’s IRL virality is supported by its two retail stores — but connecting with brand fans IRL is nothing new. “Even before we opened retail, we were doing traveling trunk shows and in-home shopping and styling events,” she said. “Giving customers product knowledge and product education has always been part of my strategy.”
This emphasis on hospitality and community also informs Café Kallmeyer, the brand’s growing event series, which Kallmeyer sees as an extension of the world she’s building. She said her team plans to expand the format, which has taken different shapes, in the coming year, noting, “We are looking at doing little Café Kallmeyer pop-ups in different cities,” alongside deeper experiential storytelling, as additional customer touchpoints.
As the U.S. tariff environment reshaped production costs this year, the brand leaned further into product excellence. “I would be lying if I said [tariffs] haven’t affected us,” Kallmeyer said. Rather than raising prices without added value, the team rebuilt key garments before increasing prices. “For us, it’s re-engineering the garment to improve the product, so that when the customer buys it now at this price, she’s buying a better garment.” This could include adding more detailed tailoring inside the garment or using higher-quality materials.
Opening on Madison also unlocked a new customer base. “It’s a woman who has a lower barrier to entry and is less price resistant,” Kallmeyer said. “She’s gravitating toward our product because it really serves a need that she hasn’t been able to fill where she normally shops” — namely, the need for versatile, problem-solving pieces that move effortlessly across her real life.
Looking ahead, Kallmeyer is preparing for broader expansion after the success of the Madison store. “It’s made us hungry to expand,” she said. “Whether that’s opening more stores or doing more events that engage the community, those are really exciting opportunities.”
Kallmeyer’s nomination for the 2025 CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year underscored the brand’s rising influence, and her ambition. “I started this brand to play to win,” she said. “We want to become one of the next great American heritage brands, alongside Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch — something that has a lot of longevity.”
