Our Story
The Spark
Tired of staring at her overflowing closet with a never-ending sense of having nothing to wear and constantly having to throw away low-quality clothing with seams coming apart after only a few turns in the wash, designer and founder, Alicia Tsi, quit her full time job and decided to pursue her passion in fashion - to design and create quality classics that made women feel beautiful in them.
As she delved deeper what she uncovered was so much more, the why behind our low-quality garments, and a system training us to buy more and more products of increasingly lower quality by an industry that hides the outrageously high environmental and social cost of its production.
Proving that there's a better way.
Over 15.1 million tons of textile waste was generated in 2013, and the number is increasing.
Esse was born out of a desire to redefine the way consumers approach fashion and interact with their garments by inspiring them to consider their garment’s purpose and lifecycle.
We do so by merging elevated classics and timeless designs with social responsibility and environmental awareness to create investment pieces that are thoughtfully-made, whilst building a progressive supply chain and business model that encourages longevity, reduces waste and champions transparency.
Considered Designs
Instead of fabricating a ‘trend’, we design our clothing with living in mind. This means we’re focused on every last detail of design and how it fits into your life. We draw inspiration from classics, translating them into modern designs and sartorial staples that evoke effortless sophistication, innate beauty and confidence. Combining seasonless styles with inventive, sustainable fabrics and a refreshed colour palette, each of our styles are tested by time and are phased out or brought back accordingly.
Sustainable Materials
Textiles is now the second most polluting industry next to oil. To reduce our impact on the environment, we make our pieces from more sustainable materials like Tencel, Bamboo and 100% Organic Cotton, which use much less resources than conventional cotton and are less-polluting than oil-based fabrics to produce. The rest of the fabrics that we use to make our pieces are remaining, over-ordered fabrics from designers and fabric warehouses. This allows give second life to fabric that may be destined for the landfill. It definitely looks better than it sounds.
Respected Makers
One in every six people in the world work in the apparel industry. But it’s an industry that is entirely in the shadows, making it one of the largest employers of child and forced labour. Therefore, we select each of our supply chain partners through a stringent set of criteria emphasizing product integrity and good business practice. We make it a point to visit each partner personally to understand the production process and focus on building long term relationships.
Thoughtful Production
From putting each of our garments through wash tests to understand how it will stand up against wear and tear to rigorous sample fittings, we’re continuously improving designs and fit based on customer feedback to ensure longevity of each piece.
Through creating a transparent supply chain and two-way dialogue with our customers so that they can make more informed buying decisions, we continuously improve processes in each stage of our supply chain to make the best product possible.