Matthew Baldwin and Michael Abe have been friends since childhood. But it took a pandemic before the two Los Angeles-based fashion industry insiders decided to start working together.
And on Thursday, Unity Service, their first collection of upcycled garments, will make its debut.
Baldwin and his wife Emily founded the denim brand Baldwin, which was based in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2009 and built a robust wholesale business as well as a handful of retail stores around the country.
But that journey came to an end in 2020 when the company’s investor group pulled the plug, and Baldwin, which had been renamed Bldwn, was dissolved. “The entire chapter closed up,” he said.
Related Galleries
Baldwin moved back to his hometown of L.A. and reconnected with Abe, who has his own high-end men’s and women’s brand Lost Daze, and a rich resume that includes Amiri, Greg Lauren, Double RL, Fear of God, Outerknown and other menswear brands based in California.
Together they created Us Studio to work with other brands such as Hyer Boots, which created the original cowboy boot and is readying a relaunch next year, to develop product and business strategies.
But while consulting for other companies paid the bills, Abe and Baldwin saw an opportunity to take their partnership to the next level — one that centered around sustainability and elevated upcycling.
First up, they opened a pop-up shop in L.A. customizing vintage apparel and quickly discovered a community of like-minded customers. “We found there were a lot of people excited about second-hand thrifting, especially the youth,” said Abe. The shop was open for nine months.
Now the duo is taking that experience to the next level with Unity Service, a collection of garments for men and women. The line will launch with seven categories including jeans, pants, shorts, chambray and Hawaiian shirts, and jackets.
The pieces are obtained from a network of second-hand recyclers who specialize in “vintage Americana,” as Baldwin described it. The items are washed with essential oils and refreshed and a special design element such as a satin waistband is added to modernize the looks.
The collection will retail for $240 for shirts, $300 for pants and around $400 to $500 for outerwear.
“Our goal is not to be a gallery brand, but to sit in the contemporary, post-streetwear space,” Abe said.
The collection will be wholesaled to men’s and women’s specialty stores and the designers are also hoping to snag a department store or two that sees the value in these one-off pieces.
Ultimately they would like to be considered one of the primary resources for upcycled garments selling at an affordable price, they said. That would set Unity Service apart from other brands such as Greg Lauren or Bode, whose collections sit in the designer price point range.
“This is for the guy who goes to the beach in Malibu and wants to be comfortable, not avant-garde,” Abe said.