California Apparel News

Edwin USA launched its fresh initiative for 2024 by celebrating the different facets of its customers’ style and promoting sustainable, domestic manufacturing. The nearly 80-year-old brand, founded in Tokyo, manufactured its Spring/Summer 2024 collection in Los Angeles using internationally sourced fabrics through B Corp–certified, Vietnam-based mill Saitex, which opened a factory in the City of Angels in March 2021.

“The team has been quietly trying to figure out where to take the brand, what sort of frontier it looks like for the brand and for fashion and particularly sustainable fashion,” said Suzanne Shpall, brand director at Edwin USA.

According to Shpall, the brand has been identifying how to properly navigate new approaches to sustainable fashion for its 2024 return and refreshed approach to its branding. This strategy includes reworking products, dropping smaller capsules on a monthly basis and relying on favorite core consumer silhouettes: the Lark, the Bree, the Marli and the Cai.

“From an aesthetic brand vibe, we celebrate eras of the past, hitting on each era that Edwin has been around to celebrate its history and its future. A little nostalgia for the modern consumer,” said Shpall.

Edwin USA’s recent relaunch efforts also see the label venturing into new style territory and tools for customers. For Spring/Summer 2024, it introduced workwear pieces including the Luna Shacket, inspired by oversized oxford shirting, and the Hayley Pant, a baggy carpenter-style jean.

Core pieces from Edwin USA will remain available permanently, but styles from its monthly drops will only be available for a limited time. Its next drop is influenced by the Wild West, according to Shpall, who cited “the 1950s cowgirl” and “supportive, empowering female friendships in iconic pairs” as inspiration. These include “Thelma and Louise” and Sissy and Bonanza from Tom Robbins’s “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.”

“[The next collection is] a new version of freedom that ties in the masculine and feminine. And it’s a celebration of California, where all of our products are made, so we want to celebrate, embrace and put it to the forefront as well. A lot of brands are trying to do manufacturing in the U.S., and we believe, think globally, act locally,” Shpall said. “We’re trying to get really creative with how to use the resources we already have rather than create more waste.”