Apparel

Adidas, North Face, Levi's on What's Next for Sustainable Apparel
April 8, 2015

Fashions change from season to season. It takes far longer to make over the business behind a $1.7 trillion industry.

The good news is that sustainability is more in style than ever, and on its way to becoming a perennial wardrobe staple.

"There's more collaboration, more focus, more businesses are tuning in," said Letitia Webster, senior director of corporate responsibility for North Face and Timberland parent company VF. "There's heightened awareness. [...] Things are starting to congeal."

In researching that thesis, I uncovered plenty of evidence. And the source of most of the action? Expansive global supply chains...

A Virginia Retailer's Quest to Make Bulletproof Clothing Look Beautiful
April 8, 2015

"Most people who walk into our shop don't realize what's going on back there," Abbas Haider tells me as he finishes explaining the intricacies of bulletproof underpants.

Haider is the founder of Aspetto, a custom bulletproof clothier, which he runs along with Robert Davis. The front room of their small store in Fredericksburg, Va., is littered with silk swatches from Italy, wool remnants from leftover suiting and lists of measurements, all the makings of an old-school tailor shop. The back, however, is full of what the owners call "ballistics," but most of us would refer to it as bulletproof gear.

A Chip Off the Old Croc: The Ugly Shoe Is Back
April 8, 2015

The shoes that polarized a nation are being polished up for a comeback. In 2007, Crocs clogs—the brightly-colored, hole-filled footwear—were both widely worn and wildly derided across the U.S. As quickly as they filled the shoe racks of Americans everywhere, and inspired hateful websites and scornful media takedowns, they seemed to disappear.

Company leaders now hope to bring classic Crocs back. Following the shoes' initial popularity surge, Crocs expanded into all sorts of footwear—from d'Orsay-cut flats to high-heeled pumps—in a bid to go upscale. By 2013, then-chief executive John McCarvel's strategy used the clog only as bait. The shoes were relegated to the back of stores...

Apparel Tops List of 2014 Counterfeit Seizures
April 8, 2015

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week released a report on 2014's most-counterfeited items. Topping the list? Apparel.

Did Versace Copy This American Apparel Tee?
April 1, 2015

In 2013, L.A.-based artist Kesh made a splash with her capsule collection of graphic black-and-white T-shirts and hats for American Apparel. From models like Cara Delevingne (frequently seen in multiple pieces from the collaboration) and Jourdan Dunn, to musicians like Jessie J and Wiz Khalifa, it seemed everyone was Instagramming Kesh's signature print for the global retailer. It was sold in American Apparel flagship stores around the world, from Tokyo to Berlin to New York.

Today, Kesh posted a photo on her Instagram featuring her $30 T-shirt, next to Versace's new, nearly identical Medusa cotton-jersey T-shirt, which retails for $650.

Compression Clothing: Not the Magic Bullet for Performance
April 1, 2015

Maybe you've seen them in the gym, or even squeezed into them yourself: super-tight T-shirts, leggings, knee and calf sleeves, even tube tops. More and more athletes are wearing compression garments, hoping they will improve their performance and recovery.

But do they work? This is a question Abigail Stickford, a postdoctoral researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, wanted to answer.

She conducted a small study using compression calf sleeves. Decades ago these were marketed to people with circulatory problems, but today they're also aimed at athletes. Manufacturers claim these garments will help improve blood flow and oxygen delivery...

Is This the World's Greatest Hoodie?
April 1, 2015

I know, I know—don't believe everything you read on the Internet. But when outlets from Slate to Refinery 29 saw fit to declare that there is one true hoodie designed to rise above and rule all others—yes, I'm summarizing—I had to check it out. The sweatshirt in question is made in the USA by San Francisco-based American Giant.

A year ago the hype around the brand was such that their hoodies were back-ordered for months on end, but all of the women's colors that weren't marked limited editions were in stock and ready to ship when I looked.