Modern Fashion: Jason & Jenifer Storey of Unknown Union On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Celebrate humanity. Some fashion brands are built around selling beauty or the perception of success; in contrast we are celebrating humanity and all of its accomplishments. Instead of a focusing on exclusivity, we are trying to deliver confidence, build character, and create space for self-realization. Using the brand to promote growth, human connection and broader perspectives, is a much more interesting endeavor for us personally.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jason & Jenifer Storey of Unknown Union.
Founded by Jason & Jenifer Storey, Unknown Union is a fashion house that bridges the worlds of art, culture and history to celebrate the diverse perspectives of humankind. We sell clothing and accessories that helps you tell a story behind everything you wear.
Jason is the co-founder and creative director of Unknown Union. Prior to UU, Jason was Associate General Counsel of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Jenifer is the co-founder and lead designer of Unknown Union. Prior to establishing Unknown Union, Jenifer was Assistant General Counsel of GoDaddy. Her experience in textiles includes 10+ years managing Unknown Union’s design studio, working hand-in-hand with its pattern makers, cutters, seamstresses and tailors, and overseeing third- party CMTs, including sourcing, production and quality control.
What makes Unknown Union unique:
As a cross-generational group of visionaries united in our purpose, we embrace the vastness of our combined inheritance. Through storytelling, we unlock this potential and form intimate bonds with one another that transcend culture, geography, language and even time. Diversity of perspectives and sources of knowledge allow for a more robust understanding of the world, they destroy preconceived notions, shift our viewpoint from myopic to panoramic, and compel us to evolve into fuller and more complete versions of ourselves.
We who answer the call to amplify this bond are unidentifiable by age, ethnicity, language or appearance. We are the seekers. We are the journeyers. We are the Unknown Union.
Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
Ah the epic backstory of the struggling artist; can’t say we were subjected to the typical narrative that hones most creatives … but we wouldn’t trade our upbringing. Most of our formative years were spent in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our father was an art dealer and our mother an attorney. But these descriptions are broad brushes at best, struggling to render anything about who they really were or how they impacted our lives. Our attorney-mother was also a sculptor and award-winning documentary filmmaker; our father a historian, orator and student of the human condition. But more importantly to this story, they were individuals that were both intensely community-minded, critical thinkers who taught us how to view the world through the lens of narrative and ideology. These ideals were engrained in our every-day life. We spent summers combing through books in the basement libraries of museums around the country; our dinner conversations often involved world issues and the impact we as individuals can have on the world if/when we choose to act; we spent time with family friends from all different places, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds; our bedtime stories as children ranged from A Tale of Two Cities to Treasure Island. Where some kids received cars on their 16th birthdays, we got our first opportunity to visit Europe as a family and explore numerous historical sights and galleries. All these experiences shaped our world view and in turn the trajectory of our journey.
Jason finished his high school career as a violinist, thespian, singer, Student Body President and state champion in track. Jenifer, similarly, a poet, captain of the track team, Class President and community organizer. From there we followed very similar paths: college, law school, and careers as corporate attorneys.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
Our currently career path is fashion, a chosen and deliberate career. To be candid, although we greatly valued the opportunity to have trained and practiced as attorneys (each of us successfully for over a decade), we wanted to pursue work that gave us meaning and purpose in life. For some, that’s law. For us, it was not. Although we each held envious positions in the legal field — Jason, Associate General Counsel of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and Jenifer, Associate General Counsel of GoDaddy — we wanted to pursue a different kind of wealth.
We believed then, as we do now, that knowledge is humanity’s most precious and underappreciated resource. And that our tendency to rely upon contemporary sources of knowledge (to the exclusion of ancient and indigenous sources) mistakenly limits our perspective to far too narrow a point of view. After all, as intimated by Bernard of Chartres, “.. in comparison to the ancients, we stand like dwarves on the shoulders of giants.”
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
That’s tough. We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with so many amazing artists, institutions, writers and the like, it would be hard to pinpoint which story or connection impacted us the most. A few moments tend to stand out, however. We started the brand as a proof of concept in Cape Town, South Africa. After growing from a small design studio to our first flagship store, we were given the opportunity to participate in a fashion show. This presented a challenge for a brand centered around storytelling and celebrating the human experience. We had to ask ourselves, how can we amplify these messages within the constructs of a traditional runway show? So we asked the organization operating the runway show: 1) do we have to use traditional models?; and 2) can we integrate experiences which have nothing to do with fashion? Having received approval to do whatever we wanted, our first runway show was born. Instead of fashion models, we entitled our show “Role Models” and asked members of the community who were doing amazing work in their relative field from ages 18–60 to walk the runway and represent the work they were doing within the community. We had live poets and musicians also share their stories on the stage through their own respective mediums. To watch the audience light up as they saw people of all ages, colors, genders, body types walking the runway and learn about the good work they were doing was fulfilling to say the least.
Another moment that stands out is our first panel discussion about the philosophies that drive the brand. This took place at one of the largest lifestyle festivals in the UAE: SOLE DXB. The room, which sat about 75 people, was relatively full at the beginning, most likely to see and hear from one of our panelists and brand ambassadors at the time, Yasiin Bey. Over the course of our panel discussion, in which Dr. Barbaro Martinez-Ruiz discussed certain intrinsically African themes evoked by our current collection, it became clear that the messages, perspectives and value-systems contained therein were of universal import. People crowded the doorways, the windows, and every available space. Our talk ran 45 minutes longer than planned, and the feedback was incredible — not the least of which was that we were having an open conversation about ideas that were often whispered within the private confines of friends, families or inner-circles. To see how perspectives of one culture so quickly resonate with another, and to witness how this connection transforms and impacts the individual, we knew that our work could make an impact.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Success seems like one of those ever-moving goal posts. As the brand’s founders, we are always striving to be good leaders, to create a company culture that reflects the work we are trying to do, and to grow as individuals in a way that reflects positively on all the team members and brand partners who put their trust in us. What we’ve learned so far on this journey is that it takes grit, perseverance, discipline, and patience to venture out on your own, to rise above the white noise, or just to lead others in general. Grit because it takes a bit courage to step out of your comfort zone into new or unknown paths (be it career or life). In Joseph Campbell’s words, the most monumental shifts, the ones that really take you on a journey, aren’t fully clear at the onset. Perseverance, because once you answer that call, once you make a decision to travel down a new path, you will inevitably face obstacles. Your perspectives may be challenged, you may encounter new or different problems, your effort may sometimes feel in vain. To push through these obstacles requires perseverance. Discipline, because it’s easy to lose focus or direction, especially when a particular path begins to feel long or the problems you face seem insurmountable. It takes daily discipline to stay on track and to keep both yourself and your team focused on the end goal or mission at hand. Patience, because like most things in life, the outcomes you seek may not always be the ones you achieve and the people you meet may not always share your vision. Therefore, we must exercise patience as leaders. We need to have faith that we will eventually reach our goals even if we take some turns along the way. We must have patience with people and meet them where they are at in their own respective journeys; we must find ways to understand their views or their visions. Such understanding often can lead to mutually beneficial solutions or to a realization that you may be on different journeys altogether, and that’s okay. Lastly, we’ve learned that the best way to lead is by example. We don’t ask any thing of our team that we aren’t doing, haven’t done or wouldn’t do ourselves. Whether that’s scrubbing floors before an event, staying up all night prepping for an exhibit, spending time learning about each of the factories we work with, or standing up to speak at an event. The best way to lead is from the frontline.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We live by the motto, “do good work with good people”, with the understanding that the journey is more important than the destination. This ethos holds us accountable both in the value systems we encourage within our own organization as well as the value systems we seek in our partners. That being said, there are many companies and organizations that do the same. What makes us intrinsically different from other companies, particularly with respect to those companies engaged in the production of fashion, is that the preservation and dissemination of knowledge is our primary purpose for creating fashion, and that art and culture are the reference points we use to give each source of knowledge context. For example, we have a capsule collection called Original Royals, which focuses on value systems originating from Lesotho, a small mountainous country that sits within the borders of broader South Africa. This country has an important blanket-wearing tradition — if you saw the movie, Black Panther, many of the blankets worn in that movie were Basotho Blankets from Lesotho. In 2014 and 2015, we were invited by Aranda Textile Mills (the exclusive manufacturer of the Basotho blankets) to participate in the Royal Fashion Affair for the royal family of Lesotho. Our show intended to do two things: first, to repurpose these blankets into modern fashion in a way that respected the culture and the people who carry this heritage; and second, to share the stories and ideas literally interwoven into each blanket’s design. After the showcase of both the fashion and the stories they contain, we were given permission to carry-on this important work and, to our knowledge, the only company in the world without ethnic roots in Lesotho to do so. A portion of proceeds from this range will be donated to Sentebale.org, a not-for-profit founded by members of the Lesotho and British royal families — a bond that has existed since Queen Victoria of England gifted to the founder of Lesotho, King Moshoeshoe, the first blanket in the mid-nineteenth century.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Do good work with good people”. That’s the answer but the question itself came from a different source. A Greek philosopher once posed the following analysis, paraphrased as something like, “..in order to figure out what you must do in life, first contemplate it from the position of death.” We undertook this analysis by reviewing our own lives — where we spent our time and how, who we were around and why, and what we were doing with this incredibly fleeting and awesome gift of consciousness. Sitting from the vantage point of corporate professionals at the time, the outcome of the analysis was jolting. The “dead” versions of ourselves would have kicked our “alive” asses for wasting this gift on the pursuit of things that didn’t truly make the most of our limited time on earth. This realization caused us to leave our corporate gigs and pursue a “different kind of wealth”, and the roadmap to achieve it was straightforward: to do good work with good people. No matter your calling, no matter your goals, no matter the obstacles that you will face in achieving them, doing good work while surrounded by good people will be the most enjoyable and rewarding manner in which to journey.
Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
Fashion is an extraordinary industry because it touches upon an essential human need. We have three primary needs: food, shelter and clothing. Out of the three, fashion is also, from a cultural perspective, one of the needs most closely tied to our identity — it provides us an opportunity to make a statement about who we are, where we come from, what we identify with and where we see ourselves going. It is constantly speaking on our behalf. While there are exceptions to the rule, it seems to us that many luxury fashion houses have used these same factors to highlight superficial qualities, such as status or material wealth. “I wear [x] brand because it signifies that I have the means to spend lavishly.” Where we use the same materials and quality of workmanship, and where our focus is similarly directed at design and silhouette, in contrast we use these tools to elevate the contributions of art, culture and tradition to our collective human experience. “I wear Unknown Union because it speaks to who I am and what I believe in.” That’s our aim.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
All we can say is that we hope we are bringing goodness to the world in some respect. Until we reach the end (should there be one in our lifetime) of this journey, we can’t say what impact we will ultimately have on this world. However, all of the work we do is rooted in the mission of “doing good work”. Our mission centers around the preservation and dissemination of knowledge; the process and effect thereof becoming a catalyst for broadening perspectives and amplifying human connection. That is the general flow and nature of learning about art, people, culture, history and the like. We hope that such work, the work we have devoted our lives to, culminates in adding something positive to society.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
Our focus as a brand lies more in the cultural space with respect to where we feel we add the most utility. But as an internal guidepost, we like to support other independent or family businesses, as well as companies which are doing great work in their respective fields (whether through sustainability efforts or investing in the communities in which they do business). For example, one of our top fabric suppliers is a California based family-owned mill, LaFayette Textiles. On top of being a family-owned business, we chose to work with them because of their personal commitment to sustainability. From reusing packaging and spools, to integrating all electric vehicles/lifts, to low carbon emission production. I guess that all ties back to “doing good work with good people.”
When it comes to the actual materials we integrate into our design, and while we are not limited to natural fabrics (cottons, wools, mohair, etc.), natural fabrics compose the bulk of our production materials. We love the way that natural fabrics breath and the fact that using natural fibers tend to have a lower climate impact and avoid increasing the amount of microplastics in the environment.
Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?
Our pursuit is knowledge-sharing and fashion is our vehicle for doing so; accordingly, competing with fast fashion isn’t even part of the equation. We are on another tip entirely. When it comes to construction and design, the biggest consideration for us is whether each piece properly conveys the stories we are trying to tell to the best of our ability. Do the colors we’ve chosen carry the desired meanings within the context of the story; Does the fabric and the construction provide the proper context to exemplify the beauty, complexity, utility and so on of such rich human histories. If our goal is to preserve and spread knowledge, then time, attention and focus needs to be placed on creating pieces that last; pieces which can be passed down to future generations.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
That’s an interesting question. We cannot speak for what makes other brands successful. There’s probably a formula out there or certain commonalities between successful brands, but we set out to pave our own path. We aim to cultivate a company culture which is driven by the following principals:
- Create a community of collaboration. When we state that our primary goal is knowledge-sharing and fashion is just the medium, we mean it. If we want to tell those stories responsibly it’s important for us to also partner, wherever possible, with the institutions, educators, artists, historians, communities and people who spend their lives sharing, archiving, developing or communicating these immense bodies of work. Furthermore, while fashion is our medium for storytelling, many people connect with ideas better through other media. So we constantly reach across to the aisle to other creatives and provide platforms for them to respond to or share these stories through their respective medium — be it art, music, poetry, photography, film, or dance.
- Passion should drive purpose. We aim to create a working environment (both inside our brand and with the partners we collaborate with) where people are encouraged to pursue what they are actually passionate about. We want people to find and do work they enjoy and to work on projects that spark their interest, their excitement and their drive.
- Dance to the beat of our own drum. We didn’t set out on this journey to live a life defined by others’ ideas of success or of what a fashion brand should be. We can’t say where we will end up. But if we stay true to ourselves and, by extension remain true to our brand ethos, the journey will be a fulfilling one.
- Celebrate humanity. Some fashion brands are built around selling beauty or the perception of success; in contrast we are celebrating humanity and all of its accomplishments. Instead of a focusing on exclusivity, we are trying to deliver confidence, build character, and create space for self-realization. Using the brand to promote growth, human connection and broader perspectives, is a much more interesting endeavor for us personally.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
Fashion as an industry is starting to slowly shift in some respects, but we would love to see more industries (not just fashion) shift towards: i) cultivating authentic connections and creativity; and ii) promoting quality over fast profit. If more industries took this approach, think of the impact it would have globally.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
That’s what we are doing. Unknown Union strives to be part of that movement.
Modern Fashion: Jason & Jenifer Storey of Unknown Union On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.