Why We Started From Scratch

There are easier ways to start a clothing brand. Most startups buy their stock from a wholesale supplier, slap a label on it, build a Shopify store, and run some ads. Hundreds, if not thousands, of brands do exactly this. It works... in the sense that it generates revenue.

The problem is you get generic pieces that don't fit well and definitely won't last. The patterns are out of a box, the same ones hundreds of other brands are using. Straight out of the box means a poor fit and a generic silhouette, built to capture the widest market possible. It rarely accounts for proper grading, which is how a medium can look decent on the model while every other size fits like it's an afterthought - because it is. 

The fabrics are pre-selected, watered down and stripped of all quality. Wholesale suppliers cut corners on fabric weight, fiber density, trim qualities (buttons, zippers, and the rest), and overall construction. 

We chose not to do it that way. 

It meant giving up the shortcut. No existing pattern library, no pre-vetted supplier, no six-week timeline to launch. Just a blank sheet of paper and a decision to build the thing we actually wanted to wear, not the thing that was easiest to sell. 

That decision is the whole story. What it actually took to get there is next.