Denim is a family affair for Brandon Svarc, BCom’04, founder of Naked & Famous Denim. In a factory and warehouse space located in Montreal’s Chabanel district, Svarc introduces his father Alan Svarc, BCom’81. “He also went to McGill. What did you study, dad? Computer Systems, that’s correct?” (It is.)
The space overflows with fabrics and work uniforms, representing decades of memories. “My family has done hunting wear, prison uniforms, all kinds of uniforms. We’re in the schmatta business – that’s the Yiddish word for the rag trade.”
Svarc, who studied finance and strategic management at McGill, always knew he would follow in his family’s footsteps. “It’s in my blood,” says Svarc. “I always say that I bleed blue. When I was born, my dad named a brand of jeans after me. My middle name is Brandon, so it was called the David Brandon Jeans.”
Even when he studied at McGill, he had the family business in mind. “I did finance because I knew it wasn’t the type of thing I’d learn on the job. I didn’t want to do a full major, so I [also studied] strategic management, strategy for short. It’s marketing and entrepreneurial stuff. I wanted a little more fun,” Svarc explains.
Svarc talks fast and always seems to be smiling. His love for his work is infectious. Seated in front of the Wall of Fade – a collection of prized pre-worn pairs of denim sources from friends and family and shaped by their wearers – the ethos of his raw denim brand, Naked & Famous, comes into clearer focus. None of these pants are pre-distressed, instead they embody the unique lifestyle and story of each individual wearer.
Pointing to one particular pair of pants, Svarc explains that the wearer, Julian, works in construction. “Every time we get a pair back from him, the right knee always has a hole. Always the right one, never the left,” he explains.
Svarc is the third generation of his family to work in Montreal’s garment district. “My grandparents are Holocaust survivors,” he says. “They went through so much to come here with nothing and build something up. Then my dad came in and he actually did his degree at night and worked here during the day.
“They gave up a lot and worked hard to build something up. I always knew I should continue it. I think there’s even some incredible stat like the majority of third generation businesses fail, but it’s my duty to keep it going.”
“Now after 17 years, they know I’m a crazy weirdo and they’re always excited about what I’m going to come up with next.”
Brandon Svarc, founder of Naked & Famous Denim
Svarc has kept the business in Montreal, a non-negotiable, even as the Chabanel district slowly shrinks.
“I love Montreal, my business is here, my family is here, my friends are here. I’m here to stay,” he says. “I love the uniqueness of the city. I love the bilingual aspect of it. I also like that it’s weird here,” he laughs.
Whereas his parents and grandparents mostly worked at making clothes for uniforms and work, Brandon thought bigger. Naked & Famous Denim became something different.
The company was created 17 years ago, using high-quality Japanese denim. Launched in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Naked & Famous broke a lot of rules.
The company doesn’t invest in ads, runway shows or endorsements – the Naked & Famous name is a playful nod to the decision to steer clear of expensive marketing campaigns featuring scantily clad celebrities. That decision helps keep costs affordable compared to rival designer denim companies.
Naked & Famous might avoid advertising, but it still manages to attract plenty of attention.
Last year, Esquire listed Naked & Famous as one of the best denim brands for men. Earlier this year, Elle Canada described the company as “the cool kid of Canadian denim brands.” Derek Guy, an influential menswear writer, tweeted that Naked & Famous “makes some of the best jeans in Canada.” James Bond wore a pair of the company’s jeans in No Time to Die.
Naked & Famous has also developed a reputation for creating special edition pants that challenge everything you know about clothing. They’ve experimented with different dyes and materials, but also ideas like glow-in-the-dark denim and thermo-chromic Denim that change colours with body heat.
His latest innovation is the heaviest pair of jeans ever made, “guaranteed uncomfortable or your money back,” he quips. The jeans are admittingly a bit of a joke, an engineering challenge that also reflects Svarc’s eclectic approach to fashion.
“Before I started,” he says, “I wasn’t sure if I should use only Japanese denim, so I went to America and went to the oldest denim plant. I would say stuff like, ‘I want to make denim with cashmere’, and they really were not having it! But when I proposed the idea to the Japanese, they were like, ‘good, no problem’. Now after 17 years, they know I’m a crazy weirdo and they’re always excited about what I’m going to come up with next.”
When Svarc says he likes “weird” it all starts to make a lot of sense as he props up a pair of the 40-ounce denim jeans in front of the Wall of Fade. They stand up on their own, as he continues to speak, as if a third, invisible, person is standing in the room.
Will the Svarc family business continue into a fourth generation?
Svarc has a son and a daughter, “I would never push them into this,” he says. “But my daughter sometimes goes, I want to be the boss with you one day. She’s six.”
