Unmade Makes its Mark

Sadie Keljikian, Express Trade Capital

Unmade, a London startup, has a unique approach to sustainable, high-end knitwear. The company — as the name indicates — allows customers to customize colors and pattern arrangements before the garment is manufactured. Founded in 2013, the company has already received significant support from investors and consumers alike. The firm’s big-name backers include Connect Ventures, Felix Capital, and Jose Neves (CEO of Farfetch).

Each piece is specifically tailored to the customer’s exact specifications. This results in a method that involves almost no waste, leaving minimal off-cuts and no surplus merchandise.

Frédéric Court, Founder of Felix Capital said in a recent Forbes article “[Unmade] is a formidable enabler for creative talent to design and produce knitted garments that just couldn’t be created before, mainly because of supply chain and design technology limitations.”

Pieces are manufactured using the same type of industrial knitting machine that is used to mass-produced garments, meaning that the knitwear is high quality, but not nearly as expensive as a typical custom made garment. Each piece is created using recently developed software, called Knyttan, which automates the production process.

The plan is to eventually establish production facilities internationally, making the process even simpler by limiting shipping distances to allow customers to create their custom garments and receive them faster. If the investors involved with Unmade are as confident as they appear, we may see Unmade expand beyond its London home into the U.S. soon.

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