California Apparel News

Adam Vanunu grew up in the industry, learning about color and fabric at American Dye House, the Vernon, Calif.–based dyehouse founded by his father, Isaac Vanunu.

“About 25 years ago, my father started doing garment dyes—acid washes and tie dye—but then, 15 years ago, moved into premium wash denim, which involved hand sanding, wax coating, ombré looks, which was a big process, but it set us apart from other laundry facilities,” Vanunu said.

The 60,000-square-foot dyehouse specializes in finishing treatments for the premium-denim market. The company can process up to 40,000 units each week.

When the elder Vanunu died in 2009, Adam Vanunu took over the family business and began to develop a concept for a premium T-shirt line. He experimented with color testing and dye renderings, leveraging the facility to produce quality, high-end garments.

In 2011, Vanunu introduced Cotton Citizen,a line that used denim techniques to give the knits a soft, buttery finish.

The collection was immediately picked up by Karen Meena, vice president of buying and merchandise at Ron Robinson at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, Calif., and Los Angeles, where Cotton Citizen was initially sold exclusively. Now Cotton Citizen is sold in more than 150 stores, including Satine, Douglas Fir and Atrium, as well as its own website, which launched in January.

In addition to tees, the collection includes sweat bottoms, sweatshirts and maxi dresses. Wholesale prices range from $26 for T-shirts up to $100 for specialty pieces.

“We take basic bodies and make them look luxurious with washes and fabrics we choose. Every season we come out with more fashionable items,” Vanunu said. “But our core products are V-neck and crewnecks that we ship and stock all year long with a good color palette. We are known for the essential tee.”

Vanunu and his small team—including Vice President Liran Vanunu, Director of Operations Daniel Rosen, Creative Director Elizabeth Kott and Wash Director Andrew Nah—use their denim knowledge to introduce freshness to the T-shirt market. They play with denim trends, creating pieces that stand out individually but can be paired with denim bottoms. “There is a lack of luxury premium T-shirts, so we made the tees so they can complement the denim trends,” Vanunu said.

Wax and metallic coatings give T-shirts a leather look. The colors vary from subtle to bright, but all have a soft hand and vintage appearance created by stone washing and hand-grinding along the hem.

The women’s 50/50 Modal/cotton tees come in V-neck and crewneck with a loose, draped fit. Men’s tees come in 100 percent cotton.

“We wanted to lend our design to a higher fashion, so we gain a lot of our inspiration directly from the runway,” Kott said.

The new “Indigo” collection comes in jersey and French terry and includes the popular racer-back maxi dress in indigo tie-dye.

All cut and sew is done in two Los Angeles factories, but the T-shirts are made in the main facility to maintain quality control and ensure quick-turn delivery.

“We stock the tees and do everything [here], from dyes, customization, labeling and quality control,” Rosen said. “We get the product out in a two-week maximum and even one week sometimes.”

For more information, visit www.cottoncitizen.com.