Zak: Forward Concept Made Wearable

Zachary Kaufman got an early start in the apparel business. At 16 years old, he was promoted to a buyer at the now-closed boutique Body in Encino and Beverly Hills, Calif., which gave him an introduction to the wholesale apparel machine. A few years later he launched a graphic T-shirt line named Vitamins, which sold in Urban Outfitters, Zumiez and Pacific Sunwear. He then cut his teeth making private-label garments for mass retailers. Now 23 years old, Kaufman is debuting a new men’s clothing collection, Zak.

“We try to take very forward concepts and make wearable products,” Los Angeles–based Kaufman said. “We’ll take a runway concept, even if its our runway concept, we’ll brand that item and give it the finishing details that make it department-store ready at a department-store price. I want to be able to reach out and dress dudes. I want this to be the brand that they trust and relate to.”

Retail price points range from about $80 for jeans, $60–$70 for cotton woven shirts, $28–$42 for T-shirt knits and $110 for a black cotton trench coat. The line has been written by The Closet stores in Southern California, Ron Robinson in Los Angeles, and Oak and Odin, both in New York, and will deliver its first season in Fall 2010.

The majority of the clothing is produced overseas. However, product development for the denim washes and the knits manufacturing is done in Los Angeles. Kaufman plans to be an “inventory-based business” to adapt to retail stores writing orders with shorter lead times. He works with several factories to ensure the best costing and quality product.

“Taking the business model of American Apparel, where they are completely vertically integrated, we take the opposite of that where we just outsource everything. We have an office in New York and an office in Oceanside [Calif.] where we use a lot of the same action-sports company [production resources]. We’re able to go to one person who specializes in one thing and do that to the best of their abilities, versus [using] one factory that does everything and everything that’s not so there,” Kaufman said.

The clothing takes the typical men’s fare and pumps up the details. Skinny men’s jeans feature a rib insert at the bottom to make them even more tapered at the ankle. A “modern sweatsuit” has a jacket hood that unzips to reveal a second hood, and the matching track pants are narrow with a dropped crotch. One jacket takes the collar of a moto jacket, the extra flap of a trench coat, adds epaulettes and puts it in the crinkly nylon fabric of a windbreaker to create something that looks different while remaining in the realm of wearable.

For more information, call (213) 749-0989, e-mail info@zakbrand.com or visit www.zakbrand.com.—Rhea Cortado