fall 2023
first edition
regenerative, circular, accessible fashion at UCLA.
CREDITS CREATIVE DIRECTION Mindy Luo PHOTOGRAPHY Lianne Calvo Mindy Luo Cyanni Yao WRITING Samantha Fong Kaitlyn Cui Tatiana Barberi LAYOUT DESIGN Izzy Parmeter Kaitlyn Cui STYLING Lianne Calvo Grace Zang Cyanni Yao
Cristina Morcus Yuuki Hayashi MODELING Brooklyn Bush Alina Beaman Cyanni Yao Lianne Calvo Alyssa Vu Quinn Wynacht Talia Balogun Cristina Morcus Grace Zang Tia Payne Charlotte Medema Seongmeen Kim SPECIAL THANKS TO Teleport Evewear Westwood Flowers
Letter from the President In a world being ravaged by overconsumption, it almost feels selfish to create. Within the sustainale fashion sphere, it is hard not to feel encumbered by the mind-boggling statistics we are confronted with daily about human greed’s irreversible consequences. After all, no one really needs anything you produce. In time however, I began to see how stifling it was to perceive myself as a burden to my own environment. Making art is an intrinsic human instinct and it is precisely through artists’ ability to envision and materialize a better world that we can find solutions towards the environmental issues we have today. At RefineLA, we are a community of designers and writers who believe that holding high ethical standards isn’t a limitation, but rather an opportunity to test our creative limits. For our inaugural issue, we went back to all the physical places that spark our imagination– the cluttered antique shop that feels like a walk through a history book, the lush botanical garden and its tranquil stream, and finally, our inviting beds where we return to each night. All the looks in the following pages were styled with clothing and accessories that were either handmade by our own staff, secondhand thrifted, or loaned from a local sustainable apparel brand. From fashion tech to sustainable sleepwear, our conversations with founders of LA-based brands also gave insight into the minds of creative business owners who are seeking sustainable solutions through their products. I’m incredibly grateful to the rest of the RefineLA team who helped transform this zine from just a figment of my imagination into physical print. I am so proud to be a part of such a lively, diverse community that has been ncredibly generous with their passion and energy.
xoxo,
E Evewear. Evewear. The Kitty
The Dotty Pink
By Samantha Fong, Kaitlyn Cui, & Tatiana Barberi
E
xtravagant runways, shuttering paparazzi cameras, and a front row of A-list celebrities: this was the world of high fashion that Talia Eve, the founder of Evewear, was thrown into as a Parsons undergraduate. In her early career Eve completed six fashion internships, through which she acquired key business and design skills and became acquainted with the inaccessibility of high fashion, where the quality of exclusive pieces often did not match their exorbitant prices. As a result of these concerns, her love of comfortable garments, as well as family ties to sustainability work, Eve founded Evewear in 2017. Today, Evewear is a pioneer in LA’s sustainable fashion scene with its focus on loungewear, use of deadstock fabrics, and free-spirited design ethos.
“I wanted to make every person that comes to my site to be able to relate to at least one product. Hence we have such a wide range of products that speak to the different personalities that live within all of us,” Eve said. Eve’s journey from fashion student to startup founder began when she interned for Dolce & Gabbana at age 17. During this internship, Eve gained insight into the elitism of the fashion industry, observing that, “the only way most people could see the newest runway collections was when you waited for Vogue to post it through catwalk books.” Her subsequent internships with Ralph Lauren, Jonathan Simhkai, and Erin Fetherston reinforced her evaluation of this reigning cultural attitude. One way Eve took this lesson to heart is by prioritizing American-based production when choosing brands to support. Likewise, a key part of Evewear’s design process is sourcing deadstock fabrics from local factories to keep production circular. Eve said, “As a young business owner, I thought, if someone is going to spend their hard-earned money on something, I want them to wear it time and time again.” Unlike high fashion, Evewear
offers pieces for everyday wear at different tiers of affordability so that everyone has a chance to participate in supporting sustainable fashion. Evewear’s sustainability ethos was highly influenced by Eve’s family, nearly all of whom are connected to environmental work: her grandmother started the first recycling center in New York and her father works in waste and energy. She said, “it’s kind of in my DNA to care about the environment”, providing the rationale for why Evewear’s products are made from all-natural 100% organic cotton material. To Eve, zero-waste is the best approach to modern fashion and one she chooses to hold herself accountable to. Even before “sustainability” was a buzzword in the industry, Evewear emphasized the importance of resource conservation. Inventing 360-degree worlds around each collection, Evewear followers can expect their marketing campaigns to be accompanied with social media posts consisting of digital style boards, curated Spotify playlists, and personalized horoscopes that bring the products to life.
For instance, Evewear’s latest PR for their collection “Sweet Slumber” emphasized the homegrown qualities of their new line, and how they are designed to complement a diverse range of aesthetics – the tomboy, the girl next door, the sweetheart, and the romantic are all represented in the creative direction of the photoshoots. Reflecting on her latest campaign, Eve said, “I tried to figure out what people wear more than anything but also where they feel their most comfortable best selves, and how I can combine and enhance that experience.” The Evewear girl is multidimensional, stylish, self-confident, and caring. The Evewear girl is also a reflection of Talia Eve’s personal evolution, showcasing her progression through life as a young woman, fashion student, and now a successful small business owner. Born out of a need for accessible and rewearable fashion, Evewear asks the central sustainability questions: “How can we make use of the resources we already have?” and “How can we keep fashion fun and open-access?” Looking back on her journey, Eve expressed that Evewear came from the
desire to help people “feel their most comfortable selves” while being kinder to the planet, a goal the brand continues to uphold through its partnerships with sustainable suppliers. As for styling tips, Eve’s go-to outfits are the Kitty set paired with jeans or a white tee and the Betty set paired with Evewear’s signature ruffle socks, loafers, and a basic button-down. In true fashionista spirit, versatility is a quality that is built-in to every Evewear design. Where one piece becomes ten outfits, Evewear’s detail-oriented selections encourage wearers to get creative with their styling while curbing overconsumption. In the near future, Evewear expects to drop an exciting collection of patterned boxers, with additional hopes to host popups in Los Angeles where customers can try on their latest styles. From comfort to craftsmanship, Evewear demonstrates that it’s possible to be fashionable without contributing to material waste. It’s safe to say that if anything should keep you warm this winter, it’s definitely some sustainable sleepwear.
sec ret away in the
garden Woven in nature: looks inspired by springtime blossoms captured in UCLA’s Botanical Garden.
Quinn Wynacht in thrifted and second hand pieces.
Lianne Calvo in her handmade jewlery and accessories, with a dress by Fanci Club.
Alyssa Vu in handmade hair bows and vintage corset.
Grace Timan in thrifted jewelry
T R O P E L E T
takes thrifting in a new direction By Samantha Fong
As the attention on the resale space rises, so are barriers to fashion accessibility. This is where Teleport, the self-proclaimed “Tiktok meets Depop” peer-to-peer resale app, steps in to provide a new shopping experience, where users are allowed to list items directly from their closet in short-video form. According to co-founder Danielle Vermeer, Teleport’s mission is to “make thrifting online as easy and fun and affordable as thrifting in real life, especially helpful for those individuals who don’t have the time, skill, or patience to go sifting through the racks at the thrift store.” Reducing accessibility issues and uplifting small creators are two
of Teleport’s main initiatives. Vermeer founded Teleport after working as a Product Lead at Amazon Fashion, explaining that a consequence of working for large corporations is that internal change happens rather slowly. However, with startups, you can build sustainability directly into the business model. Vermeer said, “If we’re going to shift more consumers from fast fashion to secondhand fashion, we have to shape these new generations’ buying behaviors in their formative years – and a startup tends to be more effective in achieving this goal.”
In fact, Vermeer’s selfcontradiction is what drove her to create Teleport. As an undergraduate, she recalls buying hauls from Forever 21 while studying labor and environmental issues in class. After self-educating about the harms of fast fashion, Vermeer shifted to exclusively shopping secondhand. 100% of her closet is now secondhand. Likewise, Teleport’s purpose is to shift mentalities about consumption, which is evident in its educational content describing the implications of fast fashion and the benefits of repurposing existing garments. Thus Teleport expresses the larger sentiment that circular fashion tries to articulate: that shopping second hand — second to not shopping at all — is the most sustainable option for consumers.
Another key feature is the social connection Teleport facilitates through its app. As a user, you can comment on one another’s outfits, find style inspiration, and build community around a shared love for thrifted pieces, meanwhile diverting thousands of garments from the landfill. Teleport is a leading example of a platform that demonstrates the environmental, social, and individual benefits of thrifting. From the discovery of a secondhand garment to the moment you pass it onto the next owner, repurposing the items in our wardrobes is an effective way for students to engage in sustainable best practices. With an emphasis on building community through shopping sustainably, Teleport is helping move fashion in the right direction.
y r e v o si c
into the
d shop
reimagined and reworked pieces.
Brooklyn Bush wearing a handmade necklace by Lianne Calvo and a headpiece by Cyanni Yao.
Cyanni Yao wearing a handmade necklace by Lianne Calvo.
Alina Beaman wearing her handmade dress.
Lianne Calvo wearing her corset upcycled from an Ed Hardy tote bag and handmade hair accessories.
Brooklyn Bush wearing a reworked denim dress by Mindy Luo and Cyanni Yao.
Brooklyn Bush and Cyanni Yao wearing various handmade pieces.
Cyanni Yao wearing a top made by Lianne Calvo.
@refinela