California Apparel News

Years ago, blue jeans made the unlikely leap from work pants to the realm of contemporary fashion. For Free Movement’s Andrew Suttner, it’s time for plain T-shirts to make the same leap.

“I know it’s a T-shirt, but it is not just a T-shirt,” Suttner said of his current project, known as Free Movement, which is designed in Newport Beach, Calif., and manufactured just over the border in Tecate, Mexico. To differentiate itself, Free Movement puts bespoke tailoring details into its crew necks, V-necks and polo shirts.

The garments’ seams are covered by green satin strips to give a feeling of luxury and comfort. Like a Savile Row shirt, shoulder areas in Free Movement’s tops feature darting—or folds in the fabric—for a more structured look.

For fabric, Free Movement only uses organic cotton. The shirts have a soft feel created by what Suttner calls a refined-dye process. He said the process is environmentally friendly because it uses trace amounts of chemical softeners. That means a minute amount of chemicals is used in treating the garments.

To make the shirts as unique as possible, no more than 90 shirts are made in a run for each category. Wholesale price points range from $24 for basic tees to $75 for hoodies.

The line has been sold at high-end retailers such as Azalea in San Francisco and The Blue Jeans Bar, which has several locations, including San Francisco.

The market for high-end T-shirts is gaining momentum, and labels such as James Perse, American Giant and Michael Stars have placed their T-shirts in high-marquee retailers. “The T-shirt has definitely come a long way over the years,” said Suzanne Lerner, president of Michael Stars, which makes women’s tops and recently introduced a men’s line.

“Soft cottons and a perfect fit make it luxurious yet effortless and more directional than it once was, so it never seems to go out of style,” Lerner said of the high-end tees. “I think that’s why luxury retailers can command a higher price point. There’s an art to creating the ‘perfect’ T-shirt.”

Free Movement’s full collection of tops was introduced for the Spring 2015 season. It is based on 15 years of making T-shirts at Suttner’s Secura Inc., which is headquartered in Orange County, Calif., and makes T-shirts for streetwear and action-sports labels.

Suttner and his business partners thought they had enough experience to make what they believed to be an Olympic gold medal–level T-shirt. But they also wanted to make a statement that businesses could manufacture top-rated products, be good corporate citizens and could outfit a casual but creative lifestyle.

The label is called Free Movement because it respects the freedom to create, which is something that living in America offers, said Suttner, who grew up in South Africa and moved to California in 1991.

Suttner opened a factory in Tecate, the town best known for making Tecate beer, after a colleague recommended it would be a good place for a second chapter in Suttner’s manufacturing career. Suttner closed a plant in 1999 in Oceanside, Calif., where he made boardshorts.

Building an apparel operation was not easy in the border town’s small manufacturing community. Suttner had to deal with everything from making sure that workers showed up on time to improving sewing standards. The factory currently employs 135 workers. The company offers medical benefits and developed a training program for all new sewers, Suttner said.

He also formed a star team of workers, he said. “Not all patternmakers are the same. Not all sewers are the same,” he said. “We have groomed and mentored teams so that everyone is striving toward the same objective. Great patterns and cutting is meaningless without crafted assembly.”

For more information, please contact info@free-movement.com.