Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Rose.
Taylor, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up I never felt like I fit in with the typical expectations of being a woman. I always knew I needed to leave the small-town life behind and find a place that would truly feel like home. My journey began at the age 15, without even knowing it. For me, working my first job at Nordstroms was a great escape, learning experience and came with discounts! But this was just the beginning…
“My life didn’t please me so I created my life” – Coco Chanel
During my time at FIDM, The Fashion Institute Of Design And Merchandising, I dedicated my time and future to my career. My dad always told me, “10,000 hours of practice will make you a professional,” and that’s what I worked towards! Predominantly learning about womenswear in school, I decided to take the road less traveled and challenge myself by stepping into the men’s industry. I enjoyed shopping and styling the men in my life, therefore my eye for men’s fashion wants and needs came naturally.
Pre-pandemic I was working as the assistant designer at Vince. The position taught me everything and more than I could have ever imagined. When the 2020 quarantine came about I felt confident and ready for something bigger.
The pandemic offered an opportunity of time to create the brand XIVI. The brand prioritizes sustainability and versatility while combining luxury and comfort so you can ‘Wear Whatever’s Comfortable’. To the core, the brand believes when you feel good, you look better. The brand’s Motto was inspired by my dad, who must be comfortable or he is stopping to buy something that provides him just that.
“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury” – Coco Chanel
Many of my family members worked in different industries focusing on environmental preservation. Being raised with sustainable values, I’ve always been determined to keep sustainability at the core of the company. When looking into the best fabrics to use I came across a fabric called Tencel, which is created with Eucalyptus, ground up into a pulp and spun up into a thread that can then be used to be knit into fabric. The benefits in using Tencel are endless, including: being anti-bacterial, odor resistant, temperature regulating, biodegradable, uses 99.5% less water than cotton and so much more. Along with the benefits and sustainability, this material has a silky handfeel creating the most comfortable materials and our customers agree!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, there are going to be struggles but that is how you learn. The whole process of starting a business is growing, learning, adapting and knowing when to pivot. XIVI has been like a self-taught master’s program to me. I have several mentors that I can go to for help and through the journey, I have met so many amazing clients, customers and peers who truly want to see XIVI as well as myself succeed.
Something that I struggled with is finding a good production company to partner with. Production is so important! They control the quality, the sizing, the price, the products aesthetic following the designs, the timing and so much more. I prefer working with production companies right here in LA because at any given day or time I can stop by to check on things, maintain the relationship easily, make sure everything is going as planned while choosing to support local LA employees. The issue with local production is the cost is higher whether the quality and attention to detail are there or not. XIVI recently started working with a production company that I strongly believe we will be at for a long time to come! They are a pleasure to work with as well as their workmanship, time frames, making XIVI a priority and working with myself on costing to the best of their abilities. After testing out 6 companies in 2 years, XIVI’s search for now is over!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
XIVI designs have a soft aesthetic which truly stands out in the menswear industry. The soft aesthetic that most leisurewear brands use in straight-up leisurewear, we use in everyday wear. Many brands focus on tougher materials which have their own place in the industry as well but made room for a brand like ours to step in with something different and truly special. Our concept is combining luxury and leisure so you can ‘Wear Whatever’s Comfortable’.
At XIVI, we prioritize sustainability, comfort and quality of life. We believe in no expectations for who we should be, which is why our menswear line has evolved into offering gender-fluid clothing. Designed for adults of all ages and genders, combining luxury apparel with loungewear, so you can ‘Wear Whatever’s Comfortable’.
In just two years we have been worn by the following celebrities: Glen Powell, Allen Leech, Eric Dane, Lio Tipton, Anthony Hill, Ben Giroux, Patrick Walker, Rob Raco, Jason Lewis, Jimmy Yang, Kelly Mi Li, Lucas Castellani, Michael Mando, Nick Wechsler, Travis Van Winkle and more!
And XIVI has been featured in the following: GQ (announcing soon), Vanity Fair, CVLUX, DaMann Magazine, The Magazine, Fashion Mannuscript, New York Weekly and more!
Learn more at: www.xi-vi.com
Follow us on IG to stay up to date: @XIVI.Official
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
1. Don’t ever get comfortable.
The industry is constantly changing and it is my job to keep up with everything. From the algorithm changes on social media to the storefront upkeep, updating our e-commerce site regularly and so much more. You never know what is going to be brought to your attention later today that you will just need to pause what you are doing and pivot to fix any issues like Meta rejecting items randomly, Shopify not syncing to instagram properly, the ceiling at our office leaking and many other issues.
2. Be prepared to Pivot.
People don’t necessarily see the back-end issues in the Fashion Industry. When issues with products arise, you need to be able to choose between the quality of the product within whatever the issue may be and just losing out and pulling a product completely out of stock. Production and fabric issues can be completely out of a brand’s control but we still take the loss and start again.
3. Build and keep relationships.
This goes for any industry. But the relationships I have made are the connections that help me when I need advice, need to pivot or grow. You never know who or when you will need to ask someone for their help, so be kind to everyone! I just can’t stress that enough.
From production, manufacturing, fabric sourcing and the people I’ve met along the way, I have worked with a lot of different people over the last couple of years. Some have been great while others not as much. I might love working with someone, but if it is not the perfect fit for my company, I need to move on. I always try and keep the connection as best as possible but at the end of the day, XIVI comes first.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.xi-vi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xivi.official/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XIVI.official
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/xivi-los-angeles
- Other: https://g.page/r/CYIxadaTRVETEAI/review
Image Credits
Models: Kris Gandhi, Haylee Joe, Isaiah Matthews, Jade Celestina, Catherina Torneros, Arlan Yerby And Jelani Janisse II Others Contributors: The Team at Social IMG Including: Ryan Sadigh, Aaron Vos and Britney Elizabeth
