The time is ripe for fashion do-gooders. At a moment when just about everyone is fed up with old-fashioned corporate greed, brands with more altruistic ideologies are thriving. Toms puts shoes on your feet, and someone else’s; Warby Parker gives vision to those in need. And now there’s Everlane, making its way into the Samaritan-y style spotlight.
Founder Michael Preysman, a former venture capitalist, says his vision was to create an entirely new digital retail experience when he launched the line two years ago.
Everlane’s small-batch seasonal collections of basics for men and women, plus a handful of accessories, are sold only on everlane.com and arrive via free shipping. But the California-based company’s standout trait is transparency: The customer is able to see, to fairly minute detail, where goods are being made and, for a few items, a “true cost” breakdown.
Pondering their $55 slim-fit Oxford, for instance? You’ll see the shirt was modified from its original design after Everlane sought customer feedback; that it was produced in a factory in Hangzhou, China, which the company last visited 10 months ago; and that the cost of making it is $26.92, with the price further broken down into parts and labor.
But the clothing brand isn’t just about responsible retail and delightfully affordable cashmere. Luxury fashion happens to run in its employee DNA. One of Preysman’s key employees is head of product Edoardo Zegna, whose last name is exactly what you recognize: that of the venerated, century-old Italian fashion house, still run by his family.
Zegna declined to discuss his heritage, and the company has made a (sort of informal) policy of not publicizing his connection to the brand, but it’s clear that Everlane has a devoted acolyte.
“I’ve always been interested in more than fashion. The total business as the whole has always been a passion of mine,” Zegna says. “It’s fascinating to be able to create a brand from scratch, to give it life and a soul.”
Zegna says Everlane models itself in the image of companies like Patagonia and Nike (“We do not sell collections, we do not go on sale, we do not do all of that”) rather than high-fashion labels.
Preysman also points to furniture and industrial designers as major influences on Everlane’s aesthetic, citing Eames works and “really beautiful [stereo] speakers” as mood-board types of inspiration.
“We tried to fill a need in people’s lives,” says Preysman. “But we tried to put more romance into the function.”