First Name Unknown was founded by a Tibetan immigrant born in 1994 to a nomadic family in Tibet. At the age of eight, the founder fled with their parents and three siblings to India, escaping persecution under the Chinese Communist Party. The family found refuge in Dharamshala—a mountain town that has become a sanctuary for Tibetan exiles preserving their language, culture, and spiritual traditions under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

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At eleven, the journey continued to New York City, where the family of six—Ama and Apa (mother and father), an older brother and sister, and a younger sister—resettled in the diverse neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn. It was here, during the immigration process, that the founder was assigned the name “FNU”—short for “First Name Unknown”—due to a paperwork technicality.

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What began as a bureaucratic error soon evolved into something deeper. For over a decade, FNU became the name that accompanied the founder through school, work, and everyday life—a stand-in for an identity in flux. Over time, the name became a symbol of displacement, resilience, and transformation.

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First Name Unknown is a reflection on identity, rooted in Buddhist philosophy and the belief in interdependence—that all things, including the self, exist only in relation to others. With this in mind, First Name Unknown exists as a platform to collaborate with other artists and creatives from immigrant, refugee, and displaced backgrounds. Together, we explore self-expression through clothing, storytelling, and other creative medium outlet.

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We’ve all felt unseen or unheard. Join us on this journey of creativity, innovation and authenticity.