Founding Garments

“Having made over 330 000 pieces, the challenge is no longer making a great T-shirt. It is making the same one, again and again. From the farm to final garment, variations in conditions occur at every step of the manufacturing process. To keep consistency, we’ve relied on the same (singular) 55 year old knitting machine for a decade now.”

“Our second ever garment to launch was a catastrophic failure. The first version of The Sweatshirt had a 60% defect rate - discovered only by our customers. On the brink of bankruptcy we were forced to go back to the drawing board and start small. That's the moment “continuous refinement” – starting small and evolving our garments over time – became an integral part of how we work.”

“At some point in 2017 we discovered that our cited cotton origin for The Oxford Shirt had changed. Somelos were pioneering in their support for traceability and helped us retrace The Oxford Shirt. The Oxford Shirt became the poster child of Full Transparency and our ongoing commitment to trace every single garment, component by component, process by process. A journey that continues to this day”

“To achieve traceable merino for our Fall/Winter 2019 production, we had to commit to 4 tonnes of wool in 2018. A commitment representing more than 10 times the merino sweaters we'd ever sold. Once committed and traced, we visited the farm in Australia and discovered that it didn't live up to our animal welfare standards. The garments were already made, so no going back - but the year after we moved to Nativa certified farms in South America.”

“Our first piece of denim took us all the way to Japan. An iconic trip, highlighting both mutual values and conflicting cultures, taught us what makes denim great. Beyond over half a century old machinery that produces unique yarns, secretive rope dyeing techniques, and uncompromising finishing processes, it's the genuine pride in every step of the value chain that makes the difference.”