California Apparel News

With a successful family business that launched in 2012, the Kaviani sisters—Shideh, Shida and Shirin—are further expanding their affordably priced e-commerce apparel company, Naked Wardrobe.

On April 23, the Kavianis opened their first pop-up shop, a nearly 1,500-square-foot space at the intersection of Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood.

“In October it will be our 7-year anniversary, and our customers have always asked us to open up a store,” Shideh said. “Once they come into the store, they get to experience it for themselves.”

Opening this first store experience in Los Angeles was important for the women, who grew up and started their business in Northridge, Calif. This first shop experience is a way for Naked Wardrobe to provide greater access to its brand, which has been available exclusively online.

“We’re quality driven at an affordable price point,” Shideh said. “We want to show people the difference between our product and our competitors’. Seeing a black bodysuit online can look the same whether it’s $10 or $400.”

The expansion of Naked Wardrobe isn’t limited to this new, temporary storefront, which will remain open until May 30.

The sisters also released a Los Angeles–made capsule collection of Naked Wardrobe denim, a line that includes jeans in embellished styles featuring rhinestones and Cuban link chains in addition to a basic design. This is a complete collection as opposed to the few denim pieces that Naked Wardrobe offered in the past.

“We’ll be rolling out a few more styles over the next couple of weeks. The styles we are launching now are very intricate,” Shida explained. “They’re a little over the top, and there is one basic style, but this is such a moment of diamonds and crystals and being as flashy as possible. We incorporated that to make our denim a little more fun.”

Available in sizes 24 through 40, the jeans in the capsule collection are offered with two different inseams that measure 30" and 35" and three different bodies. Denim shorts will also be released within the next few weeks, and tops, such as corsets, will range from sizes XS to XL. By Fall 2019, they hope to expand sizing up to 4X. Retail pricing for the denim capsule ranges from $79 to $99.

“In our new pop-up, we created a beautiful denim wall that is the focal point of the space and it’s just a little taste,” Shida said, adding that by the end of the year Naked Wardrobe will feature menswear-inspired shirts, jumpsuits and suiting in denim for women. “Over the next six months, we’re launching much more denim. Anything you can think of and dream of in denim, we’ve got you covered.”

Made in Los Angeles, with denim from a local source, the capsule is elevating Naked Wardrobe to the next level. The brand already provides an array of garments, including body-hugging dresses, leggings, bodysuits and crop tops; on-trend blouses, sweaters, slacks, shorts and skirts; maternity pieces; outerwear; swimwear; shoes and accessories.

The sisters’ goal has been—and remains—creating reasonably priced quality pieces for clients of every size to enhance their bodies, whether they are petite or curvy, and feel good about how they look.

“A size small isn’t a traditional size small as it used to be. Women are more empowered to embrace their curves and their height,” Shideh said. “We try to incorporate those things and think about those things throughout the design process.”

In addition to the new denim collection, the pop-up shop will include the 2019 swim line, which features string bikinis, two-piece designs and one-piece suits—which vary from a traditional style to others with cutouts—in trendy animal and snakeskin prints, bright neon colors and black.

With some pieces available to purchase as separates for the first time to accommodate different tops and bottoms sizes, swimwear is priced from $20 to $58. The line launched nearly two weeks ago while a second swimwear drop will take place in June.

“Before, we used to sell our swimwear in sets. We are listening to our customers around the world, who want us to start selling our swim as separates,” Shida said. “Just because someone is a medium on top, they might be a different size on the bottom—the sizes for sets might not be cohesive.”

While the Kavianis have no current plans to shift into wholesale with retail partners, they are planning to launch additional pop-up experiences in different cities around the country and are open to considering a future that includes a permanent bricks-and-mortar presence.

Next up on their pop-up-shop map is New York and Miami, but this week the proud Angelenos were excited about unveiling a Naked Wardrobe experience in their hometown.

“Growing up, we used to grab our girlfriends and go shopping on Melrose, so we’ve come full circle” Shida said. “Those girlfriends, whom we shopped with on Melrose, they’re coming to celebrate with us as well. It’s surreal.”