Selva Negra's Founders on Representation, Ethical Fashion, & Their New Intimates Collection
We’ve long been fans of LA-based brand Selva Negra (we were even lucky enough to pull pieces for one of our first editorials) — not just because of the cool, creative aesthetic of its clothing, but because of the mindfulness in which it’s rooted. Born in Brooklyn after two recent fashion school grads, Sam Romero and Kristen Gonzalez, connected on their artistic vision and Latinx heritage, Selva Negra had sustainability and ethics built into its business model.
Since then the brand has swapped coasts, and now its fabrics are sourced in and collections created in Los Angeles. Besides minimizing its carbon footprint by manufacturing locally, Selva Negra also keeps waste minimal by utilizing deadstock materials, and creating masks, hair accessories, and most recently its new intimates collection with leftover materials.
This three-piece capsule — a bodysuit, bralette, and body short — isn’t just solving a waste problem, it’s also a response to the increasing demand for comfortable yet chic loungewear, as much of the world remains restricted from traditional work and social settings. Romero and Gonzalez first answered this call by creating their now best-selling sweats, so the intimates were a natural progression.
Ahead of the late-January launch (pre-orders for the pieces are being taken now, with an estimated January 25th delivery date), we chatted with co-founder Romero about the new line, pivoting during a pandemic, and how they’re supporting fellow BIPOC designers.
How do you think fashion is going to change post-pandemic?
We’re watching department stores close, luxury brands pivot, e-commerce thrive, small brick and mortar stores closing; it’s an incredibly unpredictable time for fashion. One aspect of the industry that we think is changing for the better is the upkeep of a historically rigorous fashion calendar. As our lives changed, so did our priorities and ultimately we think this moment will have a longer standing impact on how we approach seasons and see more and more brands transition to off-beat calendars and seasonless products.
Pivoting has been the unofficial word of 2020! How has Selva Negra had to pivot during this time?
Yes, pivot is the official unofficial word of 2020 and we sure as hell had to! Firstly, it changed how we approach wholesale. The majority of our stores had to cancel orders in order to survive and we had to plan accordingly. Understanding that stores are equally in a tough spot, we worked out different terms to accommodate and made most of the FW20 collection available for “immediates,” slowly gaining back orders over the course of the pandemic.
We created a section on our website for buyers to place wholesale orders from home, now allowing them to shop our current inventory and future inventory on pre-sale. This is a huge change and cost saver as we are unable to have market appointments as per usual. We’ve also had to pivot for our customer and created our first sweatsuits and loungewear.
We created and donated masks right at the beginning of PPE shortage and made them available for customers. We’ve designed into future collections thinking even more deeply about form and functionality. Pivoting during this time has truly allowed us to stay afloat and in some months thrive. Continues to be a learning curve for sure!
What were your must haves when creating the intimates collection? What was your vision of what it needed to be?
Because we are spending so much time at home, we intended for this first round of intimates to act much closer to loungewear rather than undergarments. While you can absolutely do both, we wanted our customer to have this lazy-at-home-wear that we felt were missing from our closets as we continue to stay at home.
What are some of your favorite pieces and ways to wear them?
The Yamel bodysuit in Tortilla rib with our Santi sweater or favorite cardigan and chunky ribbed socks. [Or the] bralette in Lilac stretch (which is a deadstock fabric) with matching body short or favorite oversized lounge pants.
Sustainability has always been part of your brand's ethos. Can you share a little about the ways you stay earth-friendly?
We continuously make efforts to reduce the amount of plastic used in our studio by shipping with zero plastic and compostable packaging. We ship goods to our stockists in reused or recycled boxes. Some of our fabric is purchased from deadstock wholesalers to reduce the amount of new fabric purchased from fabric mills. Additionally, we save scrap fabrics to make scrunchies, tote bags and now this intimates collection! As our company and footprint grows, we plan to continue to implement sustainable practices.
Finally, let's talk about inclusion and representation in fashion. It seems like ever so slowly, people are starting to be aware of the need to know who's behind what they buy and what they're supporting — namely businesses owned by people of color! How have you been experiencing this shift?
Yes, we’ve experienced this shift from so many angles. Everywhere from being added to many lists and receiving an influx of interview requests to fostering our own community and creating a safe space for us to talk to other BIPOC creators. We started a BIPOC support group for people in our network at the height of this summer’s racial reckoning and eventually created our first online BIPOC marketplace called In Todo (meaning “as a whole”) alongside Aliya Wanek, Shobha Philips, and Adele Tetangco. All participating brands and shop owners are WOC owned businesses you should check out!
