Q&A with Meg He and Nina Faulhaber, Co-Founders and Co-CEO's of ADAY

Meg He and Nina Faulhaber are the Co-Founders and Co-CEO's of ADAY, a technical, simplistic and sustainable clothing brand. Nina and Meg worked at Goldman Sachs in the firm’s Investment Banking Division in London. Nina worked at the firm from 2010 to 2012 and Meg from 2008 to 2011.

What was your original vision for ADAY and how has it changed over time?
Nina: ADAY was born of a need: we wanted clothing that was comfortable, technical and visually appealing but couldn’t find it anywhere. At the time, it was pretty unlikely that we’d start a fashion brand because neither of us had backgrounds in the industry. We spent the past couple of years in the technology world at venture capital funds and tech startups. We saw a lot of friends doing really cool things, but no one was innovative in the subject we were most passionate about: the clothes we wear every day.

Meg: Nina grew up as a competitive gymnast and I completed my yoga teacher training in California, so both of us knew how comfortable active wear felt, but we wanted more from our wardrobes. We wanted our closet to be working for us, not against us, so we started researching intelligent technologically, advanced fabrics and construction.

We also wanted our clothing to last longer than our everyday staples. We needed them to be technical, beautiful and sustainable. Ultimately, we got passionate about what we think of now as “clothing of the future.” We’re reimagining everyday seasonless staples with intelligent fabrics, construction and design to create apparel that simplifies life. It was a long journey to get where we are today. We had to learn about fabrics, design, manufacturing, we traveled to fabric shows in Paris, visited mills in Italy and a ton of different factories in LA, Portugal and Asia until we found some that could make what we had in mind.

What is your role in the clothing design process? Would you say more of your time is allocated to running the business or thinking about design?
Nina: We started by turning fashion design on its head by putting an emphasis on design thinking, creative problem solving and consumer testing. Our creative process blends the creativity of fashion design (inspired by history, cultures and techniques), the problem-solving of sportswear design, Silicon Valley-style design thinking (designs inspired by observation, i.e. taking a broad/audacious approach before honing in) and Dieter Rams-inspired product design principles (less is more).

That same creative vision is ingrained in our designs and processes and we spend a lot of time with the team to bring it to life. That being said, we wanted experts and have a team of four talented women leading the day-to-day of the design, development, supplier relationships and production. I spend about 40-50% of my time working with product and design, 20-30% on brand and marketing and 30% on other parts of running the business. Meg spends about 40-50% on web and customer experience and 20-30% on brand marketing and 30% on other parts of running the business.

Why is versatility important in your clothing and how is that relevant in today’s work from home lifestyle?
Meg: What a year! We’ve always said that our pieces are special because they “do more with less.” They’re travel and office-appropriate sweatpants designed to be ready for anything. What else do you need for your Zoom call? A few favorites include the Something Borrowed Shirt, which is a crisp, flattering and versatile white button-down, the Turn it Up Pant, which is a pant that looks like Monday but feels like Sunday and lastly, the Easy Days Pant, which is great for flights, dinners and the couch. We provide A+ non-negotiable comfort.

You have been praised for your innovative fabrics and named one of the “Most Innovative Companies in the World 2018” by Fast Company. Could you explain some of the fabric options and why innovation is important to you?
Nina: Innovation is at the heart of what we do. We choose our fabrics to deliver on our proposition of comfort, wearability, functionality, easy-care and longevity. Much of fashion is designed for the moment and made from relatively cheap fabrics. We want to change that.

Here are a few examples:
1) Scuba, made with Repreve yarn

We have worked with Repreve’s innovative yarn to recreate one of our most important fabrics, our scuba, with a recycled version (rather than changing Repreve’s yarn). We originally developed Scuba to create a structured, pilling-resistant, breathable and super-soft performance fabric that’s much better than traditional “scuba.” The original scuba was made from a virgin polyester with strong performance qualities such as durability and no shine. 

By swapping virgin polyester for the recycled Repreve yarn we are re-using ~42 bottles per garment, which means that per a production order of 300 garments, we are saving 12,600 plastic bottles from going to landfill. We also considered recyclability of the garment by using only 10% elastane content.

By the end of 2020, 70% of our products will be made from recycled, regenerated or natural materials. According to carbon accounting expert, Arnaud Brohé, swapping from virgin to recycled materials can have a 30% improvement of carbon footprint for our fabrics. With fabrics representing about 80% of the carbon footprint of a fashion brand, this is a huge milestone and can have significant impact on the industry.
 

2) Stretch Linen

We spent the past two years partnering with an Italian fabric mill to design a unique stretch linen made from a proprietary blend of linen, viscose and elastane. Stretch linen has all the performance properties ADAY is known for, such as breathability, moisture-wicking and machine washable material. Inspired by traditional uniform design, ADAY is launching a linen high-waisted pant, loose fit shirt, shorts and wrap dress. The materials “super powers” include being machine washable, stretchy, pilling resistant, luxuriously soft, thermoregulating, moisture-wicking and quick drying.

3) Cool Weave

ADAY’s Cool Weave is an innovative new fabric powered by brrr° technology, infused with patented natural minerals designed to keep you cool in the heat. The fabric is 80% cooler than comparable fabrics and is made from 50% recycled fibers. ADAY is launching a “cool down” crop top and “chill out” blouse in the brrr° fabric, encouraging mixing and matching with its best sellers and the new linen pieces. The materials “super powers” include being moisture-wicking, cooling, UV protective and UPF 50+, odor resistant, stretchy and breathable.

Why is sustainability important for fashion companies?
Nina: The fashion industry and its impact are huge. There are 16 billion new garments produced every year. There is no question that sustainable supply chains with much lower emissions and environmental impact are absolutely essential to achieve the goal of global cooling. Thankfully, the willingness to invest in this is growing substantially is happening on both the business and consumer side. In a recent survey, 74% of our community said they will pay more for something that’s sustainably made and 88% said they want to buy from companies that care about their social and environmental impact.

Our minimalism philosophy addresses the huge problem of fashion waste. 16 billion garments every year, with an average life span of 5.4 years, is not sustainable and charity stores (i.e. downcycling) is not a solution. Solutions lie in sustainable raw materials, renewable energy, upcycling, circularity and consuming “fewer” but better products. We’re investing in these areas every day. I know it can sometimes feel daunting, but with good hearts and innovative ideas we can be optimistic about the future.

ADAY engages their customers to see what they would like to see next from the brand. Can you share how and why you survey your customers?
Meg: We survey our customers before we design our pieces. By receiving inputs from up to 1,500 customers per survey, we ensure that we only launch pieces our customers want, reducing fashion waste at a company level. We only produce small batches to ensure every piece is landing in someone’s hands and to avoid overproduction.

You work with a CEO coach and have personal mentors. How has mentorship helped you grow as executives and as a brand?
Nina: We love working with our coach, Sunil. He challenges us to be better leaders, look at things from a different perspective and to pause and celebrate successes with the team. He talks us through specific situations such as a review process or hiring negotiation. I appreciate that he holds a mirror in front of us. On the mentorship side, I always notice I have too few conversations because when I do have them, I am reminded how magical it is to look at the big picture.

What are your favorite pieces in the collection?
Meg: My favorite pieces from the collection are the Chill Out Blouse and Kick Back Pant. The Chill Out Blouse is made from our new “Cool Weave” fabric, which is designed to keep you 80% cooler than other performance fabrics. The pants are made from Stretch Linen, which is our unique stretch linen blend that has all of the performance properties we're known for.

What lessons did you learn while working as analysts at Goldman Sachs that have impacted your personal and professional lives?
Nina: Goldman Sachs taught us the meaning of excellent teamwork, to always put the client first and to never stop before achieving A+ results. These lessons run deep and we love to inspire our team every day by marrying the best of what we learned at the firm with values and workstyles we picked up on our alumni journeys. We loved our time and, to this day, receive much support and love from our network – we’ll always be Goldman Sachs employees at heart.