How Much Water are you Wearing?
Get to know today’s hottest environmentally friendly denim brand, Triarchy.
Indigo Fringe Jacket, $449.67 | Indigo High-Waist Vintage Denim Jean, $251.17
When you think “environmentally friendly” you think recycled paper cups and edible straws, not a brand new pair of fresh denim jeans; but for sustainable fashion brand - Triarchy - that’s exactly what it means. Adam Taubenfligel is a self-proclaimed “denim sustainability steward,” and as one of Triarchy’s co-founders he has made it his mission to bring environmentalism to the forefront of the fashion industry. Watching label after label produce clothing in a way that further damaged the world we live in, Adam and his siblings decided to marry their creative ideas, emerging a trio of designers that put sustainable and responsible fashion into the fore.
Since a young boy, designing dresses for his mother to wear, Adam knew the fashion industry was in his life’s path. “My first encounter with fashion was my mother bringing me home Versace catalogues,” reminisced the designer, “as what I now understand was a nod for me to recognize my world, where I belonged.” After University the eager creator was given the opportunity to travel to Italy to work in a denim factory, and his love affair with the fabric began. “And here I am ten years later,” the designer tells us, “marching to the beat of my own drum to make the denim industry more responsible.”
Indeed, the world is better off for it. When Adam, brother Mark, and sister Ania came together to form the brand, the trio decided on the name Triarchy because it stands for “three coming together to make one.” As they ventured out into the world of building a fashion brand, they began to see the irresponsible practices that came with running a highly successful denim line, and sought to change that. “We decided to take it offline and redevelop the brand with a very tight lens on sustainability and conscious consumption of resources,” shares Adam. Continuing in honest humor, we can “have our sustainable cake and eat it too;” but it will take discipline and responsibility to get there.
Of course, this type of discipline and responsibility is exactly what Triarchy practices, attempting to motivate fellow businesses to adopt the same practices. “I think a lot of companies are saying that they are becoming more environmentally friendly, sustainable, and conscious,” expresses the designer, “but I’m not sure about the actual execution of these claims.” Indeed, there are many companies out there who boast sustainable methods but do not always have the data to back it up. Staying true to his cause and mission through denim, Triarchy “employs third party auditors to verify the claims [they] make,” saying they then publish that audited information for the world to see. “I think this is what will start differentiating the ‘talkers’ from the ‘doers’,” shares the revolutionist, “and it is up to the brand to make it easy for the consumer to understand sustainability.” Though vigorous, the designer firmly believes the auditing process is worth it.
“We, each of us, need to own our own mindfulness and from that place of calm, make decisions that will bring fewer, better things into our lives and appreciate those things for a long time.”
Triarchy’s focus on quality over quantity can be seen in their beautiful denim jeans, jackets, and perfectly fringed pieces. When asked why denim, Adam says quite simply, “because denim is everything.” The designer says that no other style offers the same versatility and global recognition that denim does, and that from “five dollars to five thousand dollars there’s a pair of jeans out there for everyone.” Adam’s own personal style is always comprised of a pair of blue or black jeans with a simple t-shirt and Nike Air Max ‘97’s. “That’s about it,” he says with a smile, “but the jeans remain throughout. It’s a rare occasion you’ll see me in a color other than blue or black, but I’ll switch to a white pair of jeans in the warmer months.”
Working so closely on a much-needed mission, we were eager to uncover the everyday life of the Triarchy clan – their day-to-day schedules on the job, their experiences in the industry as a whole, and how they have learned to run their business over the years. Adam says that for him, he is a stickler for routine, “so much so that I eat the exact same thing every day,” laughs the denim designer. “My days always start with mediation and breath-work, then I work out as I may or may not check emails depending on what’s happening at that time. I will never compromise my health or well-being for work, not to mention my work will suffer if I do so I always put myself first. I’ll then sit down and work on whatever is up; sometimes I’m designing, sometimes I’m dealing with production, photoshoots, websites, or collaborations.” Depending on the time of year, the workload will change and flow with the season. “Then I repeat that the next day, and the day after,” shares Adam.
“Everyone puts their pants on the same way in the morning and at one point in everyone’s journey, no one knew what they were doing. So don’t stress the ‘industry’ and all the nonsense that surrounds it,” advises the designer. “I think 2020 has done a nice job of pulling the curtain back so we can finally see everything for what it really is, and how much of it doesn’t work anymore. Which is exciting, as it means everything is up for renewal.”
Speaking of renewal, we had to know how this eco-friendly advocate feels about today’s social media heavy world and its huge role in the fashion industry and in consumption. “Honestly,” begins Adam, “I don’t interact with social media very much. I really admire the generation of designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, and Gianni Versace. None of them were scrolling on Instagram, and look at their collections. Genius after genius.” Further believing the human mind needs silence and a lack of external stimuli to create, Adam practices this notion in his daily meditation work. “If our eyes and ears and minds are full all of the time, we will never have that needed silence.” However, the designer does believe that social media has played a vital and healthy role in allowing the brand to communicate effectively with its audience:
“Lately, with the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, social media has allowed me a place to speak from the heart and share my thoughts as a brand owner with people who elect to look at our content. It’s a privilege to have people’s time, and so I always strive to use social media to do right by them. Of course, it’s a lovely place as well to do some shopping for sustainable denim, but message with product is important and Instagram allows us to share both nicely.”
So what can we expect from Triarchy moving forward? Adam enthusiastically reveals, “the world’s first biodegradable stretch denim jeans!” Stretch denim usually contains some form of plastic, whether virgin or recycled, and it poses a huge problem for landfill decomposition (much like a plastic bag). “We have so many communities banning plastic bags, but we have no problem wearing plastic jeans?” the creator questions, “No thanks.” So, Triarchy is launching stretch denim that is derived from natural rubber instead of plastic, which means no more micro-plastics in the ocean, either. “To me, this is the Holy Grail of denim,” admires the designer.
“Triarchy always poses the question: How Much Water are you Wearing? To make you think about the consumption of the garment you’re wearing,” concludes Adam; “but I always lead with: Sustainability Begins with Mindfulness, so that we all get into that headspace first.”
