Entireworld, Maker of Fashion's Favorite Pandemic Sweats, Is Closing
Founder Scott Sternberg announced the news in an e-mail to customers on Wednesday.
Photo: Courtesy of Entireworld
Sad news for anyone who fell in love with Entireworld's sweats over the past 19 months (and Team Fashionista, in particular): Scott Sternberg's direct-to-consumer brand of "stuff you live in" is shutting down.
Sternberg, who founded Entireworld in the spring of 2018, announced the news on Wednesday in an e-mail to customers, the contents of which were also posted on the brand's Instagram.
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In it, he explained that the team had been negotiating an acquisition deal that ultimately fell through, leaving them with "no choice but to shut things to down." You can read his full letter below.
"I've always been a builder. Give 6-year-old me a box of random old plastic bricks, he'll build you a world like you've never seen before. I guess I'm still that same kid. I mean, I didn't get into fashion for the glamour of the runway. I fell into fashion when it hit me what a unique opportunity it presented — build an intricate world through a super personal brand vision, meticulously design all of the products that make up that world, and if I'm doing it right, people will literally live in it every day. Cool, right?
"Turns out worlds are a little more complex to maintain once you’ve built them, especially if we’re talking about an independent retail company and not a box of toys. Entireworld is a big idea, a massive undertaking, which would require significant capital to be able to compete with the countless brands out there. Just a few weeks ago, we were closing an acquisition deal that — after years of unsuccessful fundraising — would have finally given us a shot at realizing the financial potential of the brand. But that deal disappeared in a flash, leaving us and our factories high and dry and giving us no choice but to shut things to down.
"It's not all a sob story. Despite this nuclear apocalypse of an ending, I’m so proud of the Entireworld team and extended family and the world we built together over the last few years. And what a gift to be part of all of your lives during this insane pandemic, to have had purpose and meaning and hopefully provided some calm and comfort. Worlds are nothing without the people in them giving them life. Together, all of us were part of something ambitious and beautiful, a little odd, not quite perfect, but always full of love.
"Alas, here we are, a messy pile of bricks strewn across the floor, having a friggin’ liquidation sale — starting today, with more stuff going online over the next 2 weeks or so. Dare I say, everything must go. So stock up. Enjoy it. Live in it. Love in it.
This news likely came as a shock to many, beyond the Fashionista Slack channel. Entireworld's candy-colored sweatsuits became a viral sensation in the early days of Covid-19 lockdown, and remained a favorite as stay-at-home orders went on across the globe. They were the subject of a widely-read New York Times Magazine piece by Irina Aleksander published last summer, titled "Sweatpants Forever." (By the end of March 2020, "the brand's sales were up by 662% over March the previous year," she wrote.) At one point or another, Entireworld was sold at retailers like Nordstrom, Goop, Mr. Porter and Maisonette. More recently, it collaborated with Warby Parker to reimagine its Hatcher frame in the brand's color palette.
There is a (bittersweet) bright spot in a very sad day for comfort dressing: The brand is running one last sale, dubbed "Underworld: Final Sale Edition," where shoppers can get up to 70% off Entireworld goods — yes, including the famous sweats.
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