slow-fashion
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John Fluevog Nearly Ran Out of Money - Then Made Weirdness Its Moat
The Vancouver shoemaker survived two brushes with collapse, stopped trying to please the middle, and built a durable cult around shoes that announce themselves before their wearer does.
Ruti Zisser
Ruti Zisser is the Israeli-American founder and CEO of RUTI, a slow-fashion label she started in her Palo Alto garage in 2009 after a career in tech. Built on three rules - cool, flattering, practical - the brand grew from imported Israeli labels and living-room trunk shows into a chain of boutiques, a $6M Series A for an opt-in facial-recognition personalization platform, and a viral hit with its 'On the Loose' barrel-leg pants that helped push revenue past the $40M mark and open a Madison Avenue flagship.
Frank & Eileen
Frank & Eileen is a Los Angeles-based apparel brand founded in 2009 by Audrey McLoghlin to reinvent the women's button-up shirt using premium Italian fabrics historically reserved for menswear. Named for the founder's Irish grandparents, the brand is 100% woman-owned, has never taken venture capital, and became a Certified B Corporation in 2020 with one of the highest impact scores of any U.S. apparel company. Its shirts are woven in Italy and its knitwear is made in California, and its work has been worn by figures including Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle and Angelina Jolie.
Spell
Spell is a Byron Bay fashion label founded in 2009 by sisters Isabella Pennefather and Elizabeth Abegg. Beginning as a jewellery stall at Byron's artisan markets, it grew into a globally recognised 'elevated boho' womenswear brand known for hand-drawn signature prints, dreamy romantic silhouettes, and a large, loyal online community. The company - which retired its former name 'Spell & The Gypsy Collective' - is a certified B Corporation and carbon-neutral business that has moved much of its supply chain toward organic and recycled fibres.
RUTI INC.
RUTI is a women's fashion label and boutique chain founded in 2009 by Israeli-American designer and former tech executive Ruti Zisser. Built on three rules - cool, flattering, and practical - the brand designs ready-to-wear clothing, shoes, bags and accessories aimed at women over 35, and pairs its slow-fashion boutiques with a homegrown AI platform (including opt-in facial recognition and a purpose-built retail CRM) that personalizes both in-store and online shopping. Headquartered in the Bay Area with stores across California, New York, Arizona and Dallas, RUTI raised a $6M Series A in 2019 led by Viola Ventures.
Another Tomorrow
Another Tomorrow is a New York-based luxury fashion company building timeless womenswear with a sustainability-first model. Founded by former Morgan Stanley managing director Vanessa Barboni Hallik, it pairs farm-level material traceability with a digital ID on every garment, enabling provenance tracking, anti-counterfeiting, and authenticated resale. It was the first luxury fashion brand to earn B Corp certification and frames its work around human, animal, and environmental welfare.
Karla Gallardo
Karla Gallardo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cuyana, a San Francisco-based sustainable fashion brand built on the philosophy of 'fewer, better things.' Born in Ecuador and educated at Brown University and Stanford GSB, she co-founded Cuyana in 2011 with Shilpa Shah to create timeless, high-quality women's essentials through ethical, transparent supply chains. Under her leadership, Cuyana has grown to 160+ employees, raised $44.8M in funding (including a $30M Series C), and built a loyal customer base that includes Meghan Markle and Jessica Alba. The company achieves a remarkable 90% full-price sell-through rate — rare in fashion — and has been recognized for pioneering sustainable luxury retail in the U.S.
Shilpa Shah
Shilpa Shah is the co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of Cuyana, the San Francisco-based sustainable luxury fashion brand built around two words: fewer, better. A UC Berkeley-trained UX designer who spent a decade building interfaces for Disney, AT&T, and Sun Microsystems before pivoting to business school at 32 — pregnant during her first semester — Shah co-founded Cuyana in 2011 with Karla Gallardo. The company has grown into a cult-favorite direct-to-consumer brand with 7 retail locations, 150+ employees, celebrity fans including Jessica Alba and Ayesha Curry, and $30 million in Series C funding from H.I.G. Capital. At Cuyana, Shah is the architect of the customer experience, championing quality over quantity in an industry obsessed with the opposite.