Alexandra Nyman
- About Me
Alexandra Nyman
SOCIAL MEDIA & PUBLICITY
Born and raised in the Pocono Mountains, Alexandra Nyman has carved out a unique niche in the intersecting worlds of fashion, film, and advocacy. As the founder of the Break Free Foundation, Alexandra’s mission is clear: to shatter the stigma surrounding mental health, substance use disorders, and co-occurring conditions through art, advocacy, and community-building.
Alexandra’s career began in film production as a fashion designer, where her talent and vision quickly gained recognition. She has dressed influencers and celebrities alike such as Lady Gaga, Pink, Nikki and Gabi DeMartino, Naty Ashba, and Bershan Shaw of The Real Housewives of New York. Her work extends to film, where she has served as a costume designer and stylist for stars like Brian Anthony Williams, Mischa Barton, and Eric Roberts. Alexandra’s passion for storytelling, both through fashion and film, led to the founding of LadyCat, a fashion design house launched in 2019. LadyCat’s debut collection, “Therapy,” was inspired by her brother’s mental health journey and set the tone for Alexandra’s ongoing mission to merge fashion with advocacy.
In 2022, Alexandra took her vision to new heights with the launch of the Break Free Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing scholarships for individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorders. Through initiatives like Recovery on the Runway, an annual New York Fashion Week event, Alexandra has created a platform where mental health and recovery are not only acknowledged but celebrated. Her efforts have garnered national media attention from outlets like Forbes, Seventeen Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, Yahoo News, and Fashion Week Online, and her events have attracted high-profile attendees, including Margaret Josephs (The Real Housewives of New Jersey), Brandon Novak (MTV’s Jackass), and America’s Next Top Model’s Khrystyana Kazakova.
Alexandra’s advocacy work extends beyond the runway. She is a Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC) and a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA), and she facilitates SMART Recovery support groups, including an LGBTQ+ group and a Women-Led group. She also serves on the Parity Coalition through the Legal Action Network and co-chairs NAMI’s co-occurring illnesses subcommittee, reflecting her commitment to systemic change in how society addresses mental health and recovery.
Through her work, Alexandra has shown that fashion can be more than an aesthetic—it can be a powerful tool for storytelling, healing, and breaking barriers. Whether she’s organizing events with over 350 attendees, creating size-inclusive designs for LadyCat, or fostering conversations about recovery, Alexandra Nyman continues to inspire and empower individuals to embrace their stories and find their path to recovery.
"I adore pretty things and witty words."
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Break Free Foundation
The Break Free Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to breaking the stigma often associated with substance use, mental health, disordered eating, and co-occurring disorders. We provide education, advocacy, and a supportive community to individuals and families. Whether it’s your day 1 or day 101, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive in their recovery journey.
We define being in recovery as being in recovery for substance use, a co-occurring disorder, risky behaviors such as sex and love addiction, gambling addiction, or self harm, disordered eating, being a suicide attempt survivor, and being in recovery for your mental health. At Break Free, we are all recovering from something.
Our signature event, Recovery on the Runway, merges fashion with advocacy, showcasing the resilience of individuals in recovery and empowering them to share their stories on a larger platform. Additionally, we host sober events that bring the recovery community together, creating spaces where connection and healing can flourish.
From A Different Angle
What was your first job?
My first job was kind of the coolest, I worked as a gaming associated at Game Stop. It was always my dream job as a kid and I worked there during college. I miss my old boss Kyle and our manager Jason. The team was so good and fun to be around.
What is your superpower?
I always say that my ADHD is my superpower. It allows me to effortlessly multitask, be creative, and to see things in a different light. Growing up I used to be really ashamed of it, but now I’ve learned to embrace this part of myself.
Favorite podcast and why?
My Brother, My Brother, and Me, hands down! I love how the brothers three give the best bad advice ever. It makes me laugh and it’s a great way to unwind after a stressful day.
Best advice you've ever gotten.
I think it was being told to just start from my partner of ten years. I was afraid to begin a nonprofit organization and kept putting it off and putting it off and putting it off. And he said to me, “Just start, what’s the worse thing that could happen?” And surprisingly, that was what I needed to take the leap.
