INTERVIEW #101 EMILY’S ESSENTIALS

Based in: Rome, Italy

Founded in: 2022

Founded by: Emilia Barone

Stores: Currently building a website

Price range: 50-80 euro

Instagram: @emilysessentials_

Emily's Essentials. Welcome to A Sustainable Closet! Tell us about your new brand. 

Emily’s Essentials is a very young brand born with the idea of providing today’s modern women with clothing for their everyday urban living. We want to give them the next go-to clothing pieces they fall in love with. We are the next generation of athleisure, and our goal is to be part of our customers’ lives and accompany them during their frenetic days.

How did you come up with the name Emily's Essentials?

Essentials to us refer to something very simple that we all need, clothing, in this case, that we all need to have in our closet; Emily is my name (luckily, it’s a pretty name). Emily represents all those women out there who want to look always good and chic, but at the same time comfortable to freely move.

Who is the talented designer behind the pieces? 

At the moment an experienced designer from France is helping us develop the first pieces, but I hope and would love to be the designer for our next collection.

We are curious about where the products are being produced, spill the beans!

The products are produced in a small factory in France, close to Toulouse. We wanted our clothes to be as sustainable and ethical as possible. When we found this beautiful factory in France, we decided we wanted to work with them. They are really committed to sustainability and all their garments are eco-friendly. As they like to define themself, they produce Fair Fashion respecting the environment.

All of our recycled products have GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certification from the Ecocert Greenlife organisation.This label certifies that our textile products are manufactured with at least 50% recycled materials and ensures their traceability throughout the production chain to provide you with correct, verified information.

Where is the material being sourced from?  

Our clothes are entirely designed from high-quality, organic and recycled materials such as linen, organic cotton and recycled cotton, lyocell, recycled polyester and modal. Our pieces made with recycled materials contain either pre-consumer or post-consumer material.

Pre-consumer recycled material is diverted from the waste stream during the production process. The reuse of materials able to be reclaimed within the same process that generated them is completely excluded.

Post-consumer materials generated by households or end users of a product can no longer be used for the intended purpose. This includes material returns from the distribution chain.

Who is the typical Emily's Essentials customer that you want to attract?
We want to attract young, dynamic, modern women who want to feel both comfortable and chic during their chaotic city lives and that care about their impact on the environment.

Where have you found the inspiration for the first collection?
We took inspiration from cities and urban living; therefore, all our colours and collection are inspired by cities all over the world.

What have been and are the major challenges of starting your own brand?
Finding a supplier for sustainable products at fair prices. I am also struggling a little bit with the promotion phase, but I hope it won’t last long.

What have been and are the largest gains?
For the moment I have gained personal experience and professional growth, it is too early to speak of financial returns.

What's up next, do you have anything fun to share with our readers?
Yes, we will soon show you the other colours and shades of our first drop, hope you like it!