CALI C-SUITE Executives of Los Angeles-based brands dish on what it means to be a part of the city’s denim community. w o rd s _____ L IZ WARRE N
YAEL AFLALO, founder and CEO, Reformation How would you define your brand proposition?
At Reformation, our mission is to bring sustainable fashion to everyone. I started Reformation in 2009 to prove that “green” fashion didn’t mean compromising style. Reformation is about changing the world’s view on the fashion industry, educating consumers about the powerful effect we can all have on the environment, and using our brand to inform the industry that it can be done in a sustainable way. Is premium denim today dictated by cost or some other measure?
Premium denim is still defined by how it’s manufactured. But what is changing is the awareness that denim is pretty much the worst clothing for the environment. Our main priority with Ref Jeans is to create great-fitting denim, with the smallest environmental impact as possible. What are the challenges of manufacturing in L.A.?
Reformation created America’s first sustainable apparel factory in L.A., and in 2019, 68 percent of our production was L.A.-based. A big challenge has been scaling production and product assortment to keep up with customer demand—there are certain items that can’t be made in our factory or in L.A. at all, forcing us to expand to other sustainable manufacturing partners in the U.S. and abroad. For any partner factories that we work with, we have a rigorous screening process to make sure they share our values of sustainability, transparency and accountability. We require all of our direct cut, sew and finish manufacturing partners to adhere to our Code of Conduct (which represents international standards for fair labor prac-
tices and safe working conditions) and to be monitored for compliance and continuous improvement. What’s new for F/W 20-21?
With new collections, we’re always looking for ways to bring sustainable fashion to ever yone—whether that’s through sizing, design or fabrication. We’ve been introducing even more vintage-inspired styles in new cuts and fits to our Ref Jeans collection, and we’re using sustainable and innovative fibers like organically grown cotton, recycled elastane, Tencel Lyocell and Refibra. What does it mean to be part of the L.A. denim industry’s legacy?
L.A. is known for producing some of the world’s best denim, and it’s exciting to be a part of that legacy, but it’s also time for us to set the new standard with sustainable denim production. Traditional denim requires a large amount of cotton, water and harmful chemicals; a typical pair of jeans takes approximately 1,500 gallons of water to make. According to our RefScale tool, a pair of Reformation jeans uses an average of 200 gallons to make, saving over 1,300 gallons per pair. We also save approximately 80 percent of the waste and more than 70 percent of CO2 emissions compared to a typical pair of jeans. We’re excited to be leading the way in sustainability and to make sustainable RIVET NO.9 / APRIL 2020
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manufacturing the status quo; our goal is to push not only the L.A. industry, but the entire industry forward and to encourage change among other denim brands.
YUL KU, CEO, AG Jeans How would you define your brand proposition?
Our brand proposition is simple: Fabric is king and construction is queen. There is a noticeable difference between the denim we source from Italy or Japan and a lot of the denim you see in the market—that and how we choose to construct that denim sets us apart. AG’s vertically integrated model allows us to own the entire process in a way that other companies can’t. It allows us to pivot quickly and innovate mindfully. Not only can we keep a close eye on the quality of our products, but we can change the way we manufacture as soon as we find new solutions.
