Young, up-and-coming, home-grown fashion startup Livingwear launched its first item in an eleven-piece capsule, to be released over the course of 2021, via Kickstarter on Wednesday, 14th April 2021. Successfully exceeding their funding goal by 200% in 30 hours, their debut piece LW001 of the capsule collection titled: Joy of New Beginnings, celebrates their tumultuous journey as a young business with a hopeful resilience set towards the future. Not newcomers to the crowdfunding scene, the online-native brand had successfully raised over 400% of their goal in their first Kickstarter project spanning 35 days in late 2018, with a growing international customer base in North America, Europe and across Asia-Pacific.
“It is a reminder for me that despite the darkness that surrounds us, what unites us and raises us out of our despair is hope. We could not have come out of this bleak period without the steadfast support of our closest friends, families, mentors and our team who’ve been there for us. It’s a celebration of humanity.”
What the brand is calling “Your new favourite Tee”, the LW001 Mock Neck Tee is made from 100% organic cotton that is GOTS and Fair Trade certified. Crafted in an optimal mid-weight fabric, the tee features a sophisticated neckline, stable knit structure that is more torque resistant, and straddle stitches on the seams, meaning your clothes retain their shape for a longer time to come. With comfort and confidence at the forefront of their design philosophy, Creative Director and Chief Design Officer Jon emphasizes that comfort is not just the physical touch of soft fabric to skin, but the peace of mind that comes with shopping ethically, and the effortlessness of adding new elevated staples that fit your existing wardrobe seamlessly.
How did it all begin? At the end of September 2020, Livingwear duo Des and Jon came to serious crossroads many young businesses inevitably have to face and ask. After reaching the point of almost closing the brand down due to a series of investment deals gone south, the founders realised they were simply not ready to throw in the towel. Coming out of fighting depression and a personal dark period himself, Jon Max Goh took the sum of all of these learnings, the emotional roller coaster, and channeled it into something positive.
“This capsule collection, for me, is a stubborn celebration in the face of everything that is threatening to drag you down — choosing wholeheartedly and surely to fight for what gives you hope,” says Jon.
“It is a reminder for me that despite the darkness that surrounds us, what unites us and raises us out of our despair is hope. We could not have come out of this bleak period without the steadfast support of our closest friends, families, mentors and our team who’ve been there for us. It’s a celebration of humanity.”
“It’s also a conscious shift in thinking that I wanted to practice for myself, and in turn embed this lived experience as a core tenet of our brand’s DNA. To be able to celebrate and relish not just in the positive moments, but equally in the moments that are imperfect, difficult, and that feel ‘hopeless’. How do we rally each other in those times of uncertainty? How do we continue to fight on? How do we embrace this act of ‘Life’ each of us plays out each day that’s in fact a constant multitude of ebbing-flowing, up-down, in-out, round-and-about, non-linear, ever-changing, series of unexpected challenges?”
Of the brand and the collection, Jon and Des say this: “We hope Livingwear, through our messaging and imagery, will continue to support people in feeling represented in the many ways ‘living’ and ‘life’ plays out for each one of us — that there is no singular, “right” way to live — and most importantly, that no one has life perfectly figured out.
This is just the beginning. Our commitment is to create effortless clothes that support you through that exploration of humaning each day, so you can spend less time thinking (about what to wear) and more time living, and living well – starting with our Mock Neck Tee, LW001.”
The visual treatment and artistic direction in the campaign images are a reminder to give ourselves the permission we need to approach each new opportunity, mistake, discovery, and uncertainty with an untainted child-like curiosity. Capturing the quirky and off-beat moments we experience every day, the series speaks of affirming our power to re-colour, re-write, and re-tell our situations and narratives; to turn things around.
Find out more about Livingwear on their website and Instagram. Running till 14th May 2021, don’t miss your chance to visit Livingwear’s Kickstarter page to enjoy pre-order exclusive discounts of up to 43%.
With every Livingwear purchase, a portion of proceeds will go towards their Be-A-Differentiator (B.A.D.) initiative. The aim is to produce an annual impact report, which they want to be able to share with the community. The B.A.D. initiative is their commitment to explore and support multiple NGOs around the world, giving back to causes that tie home to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). The brand’s first partner is ShareTheMeal, the world’s first app against global hunger.
Whats The Plan Please 