The Pursuit of Harmony
Los Angeles–based Sweater.com has amassed more than six years of knitwear experience producing moderate sweater line One Girl Whohellip; and the upscale contemporarycashmere line B. Chyll, which launched last year. This year, the company takes its knitwear expertise to the ecofriendly and casual-lifestyle market with its newest brand, The Pursuit of Harmony.
“As long as it’s knitwear, we feel we can approach it,” said Bruce Gifford, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sweater.com, which is owned by Hartmarx Corp. “We saw the eco lifestyle becoming important; at the same time we wanted to go into the casual market. We thought it was the perfect marriage of two ideas.”
Designer Michelle Brown directed The Pursuit of Harmony to appeal to a broad age range of women and lifestyles. Half of the line is composed of weekend and yogafriendly organic cotton/bamboo jersey tees and fleece hoodies. The other half includes bamboo-blend and soybean sweaters, wraps and cardigans in heavy-gauge yarns. A two-tone corn/bamboo reverse-knit wrap vest and a long soybean cardigan are comfortably slouchy but can also be thrown over a party dress.
Brown, Gifford and co-founder Dan Jaffe developed the organic cotton/bamboo fleece, organic cotton/bamboo/Lycra jersey, corn/bamboo, soybean and bamboo yarns used in The Pursuit of Harmony with Sweater.com’s production teams in Taiwan. All of the yarns are dyed using low-impact dyes, which use minimal toxins and fixatives. Graphics designed by graphic artist Chad Jenkins, such as a rising-sun print that resembles the Tibetan flag, are screenprinted with water-based inks.
“Certainly a carbon-neutral ’eco-closet’ is the ideal but may not be realistic for everyone,” Brown said. “The Pursuit of Harmony is that cute, go-to piece that feels good on every level.”
The Pursuit of Harmony has been sold to Yoga Works, Planet Blue and Fred Segal Fun, all in Los Angeles. Wholesale price points range from $26 for an organic cotton/bamboo ribbed tank adorned with a “Peace” screen print to $85 for a corn/bamboo- blend cardigan sweater with tagua nut buttons. For more information, call (310) 315-2880, Ext. 228. —Rhea Cortado
