Re/Done isn’t about chasing denim trends. The brand, founded by Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur in 2014, is about solving a denim problem.
“The epitome of cool is Levi’s,” Barron said. “Girls have been trying to wear vintage Levi’s that fit them right for years. But classics like the 501 are men’s jeans and its hard.”
Re/Done’s solution is to deconstruct vintage men’s Levi’s jeans and rework them into modern fits and silhouettes for the women’s premium market. The brand offers jeans size 23 to 32 and retails for $250-$350.
While the rest of the denim industry continues to chase after vintage looks and develop more sustainable production processes, Re/Done has mastered both in a short time by offering women 100 percent cotton vintage denim that is both flattering and unique—two qualities that they won’t find at their local thrift shop. In doing so, Re/Done has become the hot “it” brand in the premium market for Millennials.
Re/Done’s bread and butter is women’s jeans made from old Levi’s. The brand sources vintage denim from a handful of suppliers based on the West Coast, primary Levi’s from the 80s and 90s made without any blended materials.
“It’s not like, ‘Here’s one order, give me 10,000 yards.’ It’s more personal,” Barron said.
That personal experience is carried into the final product. Since each pair is created from vintage denim, Re/Done can tout one-of-a-kind colors, fading and distress marks. This, of course, adds to the exclusive nature of the brand’s designs, with only a handful of each size in each cut available on its site.
One of Re/Done’s most popular and outrageous styles is The “Ass Rip” jean, which features a tear under the right back pocket, revealing a hint of cheek. The inspiration for the infamous jean came from Re/Done’s following on social media.
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Barron says Instagram is one way the brand crowd-sources. “We kept seeing girls with jeans on Instagram that had an ass rip. And we saw that the most [number] of likes came from an ass rip jean so we said why don’t we just make it?”
Having found a niche recreating Levi’s jeans, Re/Done is exploring other American heritage brands, including Hanes. The brand teamed up with Hanes to introduced the Hanes by Re/Done collection in 2016. The line takes inspiration from the boxy shapes of the 50s and the skinny rocker style tees of the 60s. T-shirts retail for $78.
Unlike Re/Done denim, the Hanes collection is made from scratch in the U.S. from fabrics that resemble the look and feel of vintage Hanes.
“Everyone has an experience with Hanes. They had it when they were a kid, they had it as a three-pack, their boyfriend wore Hanes. There’s a million different stories,” Barron said.
It hasn’t hurt Re/Done that vintage denim is popular among high fashion labels like Gucci taking a break from athleisure, or Vetement creating Frankenstein denim. But Barron isn’t worried that his brand’s success will fade as denim trends move elsewhere.
“We solved a problem, it’s not a trend. What Vetement’s does is awesome, that’s a trend.”