Brooklyn’s Sustainable Design Boom: 10 Eco-Friendly Designers To Know Right Now
Alice Wu and Moriah Carlson, Feral Childe
feralchilde.com
Feral Childe has grown and shifted through many iterations in the years since Wu and Carlson met while working on an art project; it launched loosely back in 2002, started doing “proper collections and trade shows” in 2008, and in 2012, Wu says, “we pared everything down, to focus on simplifying our silhouettes, perfecting our fit, and refining our aesthetic” to its current streamlined look. Another big change: the line is now bi-coastal, and Carlson (pictured above) resides in Boerum Hill, while Wu now lives in Oakland.
Their work has stayed hyper-local, though, with manufacturing divided between the Garment District and their studio in Sunset Park. Wu adds, “We’ve learned from almost every one of our suppliers and contractors, from our dye house in Williamsburg to our first pattern grader in the Gowanus. Our first textile designs were printed by the t-shirt company upstairs. Lately we’ve been working with a sewing contractor in Sunset Park just a few blocks from our studio. The cutter there has recently shown us a few new tricks! Our manufacturing network has been entirely referral-based.”
Other than producing locally, their biggest sustainable focus is on their choice of fabrics. “At the start,” Carlson says, “we only used remnant fabrics purchased from the fabric jobbers downtown. Closeouts, damaged goods, odd lots—the more unloved and unusual, the more we relished the challenge of repurposing these unwanted fabrics into beautiful and useful garments. When our orders increased we also needed reliable, consistent fabric sources. That meant developing relationships with mills and purchasing new or custom-made fabric, and it was only natural to seek out responsibly-made fabrics. We make our clothes locally because logistically it makes the most sense, but also, we can’t imagine not personally knowing those individuals who print and dye our fabrics, and cut and sew our garments.”