Apparis, the Buzzy Vegan Lifestyle Company, Rebrands With New Website and Logo
Apparis, which made a name for itself with colorful and sustainable vegan outerwear and has evolved into a lifestyle brand, has undergone a rebranding with a new website design and visual identity.
Cofounded in 2016 by Lauren Nouchi and Amelie Brick, Apparis has expanded into ready-to-wear, home, accessories and pet collections. The brand has added a new Alt-knit collection, an alternative to cashmere, this fall that is expected to be a major growth driver. It is created from a human-made yarn that forgoes the use of animal-derived material.
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With the company’s transition from a pure outerwear company into a full-fledged lifestyle brand, the cofounders felt now was the time to create a new direction and visual identity that’s more in sync with its elevated design aesthetic.
“This rebranding and new visual identity is to set the tone internally and allows us to reevaluate our DNA as a brand and to create new products and new brand partnerships to keep scaling and growing our business,” said Nouchi.
Among the fabrics it is working with are vegan shearling, plant-based fur, vegan leathers, vegan alpaca and vegan wool. “It’s something for us that’s important to keep building on the outerwear, and the knitwear felt right. It’s a great layering piece, and we like to play with color,” Nouchi said of the Alt-knit sweaters.
During the pandemic, Apparis launched a lifestyle collection, mainly focused on home interiors. “That’s something, especially in 2024 and 2025, we’re going to keep expanding,” she said. The business made faux fur blankets from excess fabrics, and tested home as a capsule before expanding the business globally. Apparis is opening its first pop-up in Bon Marché in Paris in November, focusing on the lifestyle collection of blankets, pillows, slippers, accent rugs and small objects, such as tissue boxes.
Although it’s a fashion brand, the lifestyle project fits in with the company’s mission of “conscious, elevated playful and bold design at an attainable price point,” said Nouchi.
“That’s what made us back in 2018, really disrupting the industry and price point. That’s something that is very part of our DNA and who we are, and the passion of Emilie and I in really creating this high-quality, value product and a little bit redefining the meaning of luxury,” said Nouchi.
Among the winter accessories are scarves, gloves, earmuffs and bucket hats.
The company is on track to generate $20 million in volume in five years to support its next phase of growth. It manufactures its collections in China.
Both Nouchi and Brick are from Marseille, France and worked with French houses before starting their own firm. Nouchi previously worked at Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent, and Brick worked at Saint Laurent, Hermès and Chanel. At the company, Brick handles finance, business development, HR, administration and sales, while Nouchi works on creative, brand, projects, design and production.
For the rebranding and new logo, Apparel enlisted a creative agency that’s female-founded and female-led, called I Love Creatives Studio.
According to Sarah Campbell, art director of I Love Creatives Studio, she worked with Apparis “to create a luxe brand identity and seamless e-commerce website that expresses the bold spirit of the brand.
“Building upon the core pillars of consciousness and playfulness, the refreshed web design elevates the brand experience into the high fashion sphere. Streamlined, minimal design is applied throughout the site, creating a seamless user experience that allows the vibrant collections to shine,” Campbell added. The website used to be more colorful; now it’s more in line with the founders’ French hertiage.
“For us, it’s an evolution. It’s not a 180, it’s just evolving with the future of the brand,” added Nouchi. Apparis has four brand pillars: bold, elevated, conscious and playful. Previously their brand identity focused primarily on the boldness and playfulness.
“In order to grow, it was important to move away from that a little bit, and put more emphasis on elevated and the concept of conscious fashion,” she said. In April, 2022, the brand launched ReApparis, which are upcycled products. She said that was an investment and “is doing pretty well.” It’s not so much a volume producer, but gives their customers a second chance to get the outerwear. She said it taps into a different audience, which is Gen Z, which is different from the core Millennial customer.
In September, Apparis will launch a fall 2023 outerwear and accessories collection.
In addition to its direct-to-consumer business, Apparis sells to Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, Elyse Walker, Farfetch and Bon Marché, and on the rental side, to Nuuly and Rent the Runway. Nouchi declined to reveal the brand’s wholesale volume.
The company doesn’t have its own stores because of the seasonality of its business, but has opened pop-ups, including one this fall in New York City. The brand has done pop-ups in Paris and Chicago in the past.
As far as new categories, Apparis would like to add more slides and mules to the footwear category, which currently consists of slippers. The brand currently offers a very small range of apparel that can be styled within their outerwear assortment, however their goal within the next five years is to expand into a wider range of fabrics and silhouettes, featuring more tailored pieces and become more known for rtw overall.
In 2020, Apparis closed on $3 million in seed round funding, led by Third Kind Venture Capital, whose managing partner is Shana Fisher, a customer who chased them for a year, said Nouchi. The seed round included a major investment from Exor Seeds, the venture fund affiliated with the Agnelli family. Several angel investors participated in the round, among them Karlie Kloss; Francesco Carrozzini, Italian director and photographer, and Cam Newton, MVP New England Patriot quarterback and fervent vegan.
According to Nourchi, the investment was used for product development, adding more staff, product innovation, pop-ups, and a showroom retail space.
So who is the Apparis customer?
Nouchi described her as a “Millennial, a city girl, New York or tristate, who loves to travel.
“She’s not a trendsetter, but is a fashion lover, who cares about high-quality, investment pieces. She’s looking for value, something that’s attainable and also a piece that’s versatile and easy to be styled,” said Nouchi.
She said the fits and silhouettes are very simple and timeless, but they play with texture and color. “We always like to have a good mix of vibrant neutrals and bold colorful colors. That works for us,” said Nouchi, noting their three top colors are black, cream and pink.
For fall, Alt-knit will have 30 to 40 stock keeping units; the “Field Day” outerwear collection is 90 skus, and accessories are 60 skus.
Keeping things attainable is a key strategy. Apparis outerwear retails from $195 to $795, accessories are $35 to $150, and home decor goes from $50 to $450. The price is $198 for its bestselling faux blanket.
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