Jevyn Nelms

Jevyn Nelms is a New York based costume designer and textile artist. Originally from Chicago, Jevyn began her creative life at an early age when she took up jewelry making, weaving, knitting, crocheting, making hats, and sewing. While studying French at Tufts University, Jevyn took classes at several Boston area art schools, continuing her artistic study.

Jevyn eventually made her way to New York City where she received a BFA in textile design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. During her time at FIT, Jevyn began working in the wardrobe department of feature films, eventually designing for short films then progressing to features, commercials and plays. Jevyn has had the good fortune to design for several notable actors including Danny Glover, Hill Harper, Edie Falco, Michael Rapaport, and Vincent Pastore.

In 2023, Jevyn received favorable coverage from The New York Times for her costume work on 1920s Harlem Renaissance play She’s Got Harlem on Her Mind. Jevyn also designed costumes for War Dreamer and A Peregrine Falls at the Wild Project which received rave reviews in The New Yorker. Her costumes for film and TV can be seen in Summoning Sylvia, a thriller/comedy currently streaming on Starz and Lost Nation, a 1700s historical feature film about Ethan Allen and Lucy Prince which is set to be released in the summer of 2024.

In the fall of 2023, Jevyn designed a historic exhibit for a private client, which was exhibited at the Philadelphia Convention Center and featured mannequins dressed in costumes from the late 1800’s through 2014. Jevyn has lived in and visited several countries including Brazil, Iceland, Cuba, Ethiopia, where she was a textile artist in residence focusing on Japanese weaving, and Tanzania, where she received a grant in 2021 to study traditional textiles.

She currently lives on the Lower East Side and is a member of IATSE 829.