I have to preface these post with a shout out: the images are from Kyle Roth, a local photographer who does beautiful work and who is a big champion of Cleveland, be sure to read his blog at North Coast Lifestyle and Epstein Design Partners.
Did you know that up until about the 1950′s Cleveland had one of the largest garment districts outside NYC? Well. we did. Thankfully, we have cool designers like those from Wrath Arcane putting us back on the fashion map. From the TEDxCLE website:
WRATH ARCANE was started on January 3rd, 2006 when Cleveland boutique owner Brian O’neill called Cleveland designer and long-time friend Sean Bilovecky. The next day the two began tossing around ideas and making patterns. By the end of April ’06 WRATH ARCANE had developed a small production run (Spring ’06) and was in Brian’s store www.clothingbrigade.com for WRATH’s first official release party. Within two weeks, the line had 100% sell-through.
Since then, WRATH ARCANE has grown into an international menswear label. Although being based in Cleveland has presented WRATH ARCANE with challenges that an average clothing line would not have to face, their location, both geographic and economic, has been crucial in enabling the label to define who it is and what it wants to say.
The talk was filled with humor and fun. We got to see a history of the clothing line in pictures. Clothing Brigade needed private label lines and Wrath Arcane was the team. Their approach is respectable and admireable. All the clothes they are making are made int he USA. They keep their clothing money in the US, from pattern to pieces. They added hats and shoes and are sourcing them from America as well. They are really about the clothes and the looks, not about the models & bull that comes from most of the fashion industry. They make careful choices when it comes to their fabric choices, things like wax cotton that is durable, repels water and lasts forever. they managed to get noticed by staying true to themselves and to their vision. They build collections that are based on clothes that are for everyone. I have to say that nearly every piece of clothing that I saw on the screen was something I would wear. I love these designs. And I love that they are involved in DPA: Domestically Produced Activism. By choosing rightly what you put into the things you make, you can influence the world around you.
Look for Wrath Arcane at a store near you. Made in USA, made in Cleveland!
