How a former Tesla executive is blowing up luxury fashion in Manhattan

Ordering on Moda requires shoppers to put down a deposit, since the item is being made just for them

It’s 9 p.m. on a Thursday, and the night shift just started working at a studio space in lower Manhattan. Fashion photographers scurry about, shooting looks that just days earlier were draped over top models strutting the catwalk at New York Fashion Week. 

In this studio, however, the models—some outfitted with Jason Wu pinstripe dresses and black tulle outfits from Red Valentino—are mannequins. They represent a radically different way to sell fashion in America and, soon, around the world—a shift led by a company that’s raised almost $300 million and is now run by a former Tesla Inc. executive.

For the uninitiated,