Meet the Nepali designer building a career with America’s most iconic brands

From a fashion apprenticeship in Kathmandu to the studios of Ralph Lauren and J Crew, Alina Shrestha has carved out a place in one of the world’s most competitive creative industries.

A shopper browsing a Ralph Lauren store in Manhattan might pause over a handbag before glancing over a belt or a wallet, unaware that part of its journey began thousands of miles away in Kathmandu.