Mike is the designer with a Ralph Lauren pedigree
and passion for textiles, Alex is the Yale grad with a background in investment
banking and private equity. The vision for Faherty Brand, though is a shared
one, "The coolest thing about this company is literally that Alex and I
have been talking about this since we were little kids," Mike explains.
Albert Einstein may have been
talking about these two when he said, "Play is the highest form of
research." A childhood in an idyllic beach town set the veritable stage
for their vision. "We grew up in Spring Lake, New Jersey. About an hour
and a half south of the city, two blocks from the ocean. Our lives were all
around cookouts, bonfires and surfing. We were the youngest kids in a huge
family, and growing up was really about these laidback, great casual moments.”
"We wanted our life
embodied in a brand," Alex explains, "We were like, 'let’s just stay
true to that and build a company around who we are and what we are interested
in.'"
The initial launch is a line
of one-piece, two-piece, high-waisted and vintage inspired swimwear with an
emphasis on print, utility and sustainability — in equal standing.
"They’re made for women and their active lives at the beach," Alex
explains. The brothers did market research with close friends and family and
found that women were looking for bathing suits that stay in place, with
adjustable straps and bra-referential tops.
As for the punched up hues and
artisanal prints, Mike's years on the ground for Ralph Lauren were just the
starting point, "I travel a lot, for work and for play, and I’m always
going to remote lands to find indigenous textiles and grab inspiration from
them," he explains. "You’ll see all of it in the pieces, a mix of my
travels through different regions of the world — Indonesia, Java, India."
As for eco-awareness, the
fabric is created out of recycled bottles, "Through my background working
with mills I was able to develop something that was luxurious, but inherently
made from recycled materials." Faherty Brand will begin rolling out
ready-to-wear including dresses, tees and shorts in the coming months, as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment