Find Your Match at The Consistency Project

April 05, 2023

Located in New York City, The Consistency Project brings purposeful consumption into the mainstream, with a flair. Upon entering the kaleidoscopic rework studio, located in the heart of Chinatown, visitors are met with the clothing inventory of their dreams. Multicolored painter's pants and vintage denim gems are stacked in neat piles across the space that doubles as a secondhand shopping destination and upcycling studio.

But what lies behind the exuberant space is a deeper examination of how we interact with clothing and the ways in which we purchase. Founder Natasha Halesworth was brought up in Hawai’i by Filipino-Chinese and Korean-American parents, so the mentality of persistence and hard work comes naturally to her. Now, through The Consistency Project, Halesworth shares those valuable lessons with others, teaching visitors how to lengthen the lifespan of their wardrobe and find that ideal fit one pair of pants at a time.

Interview by Kayla Curtis-Evans
Photos by Halle Klum

office visited The Consistency Project for a personalized fitting session guided by Natasha Halesworth, Maddy Stoopack, and Nikki Stewart. Dive into the process below.

What first got you interested in secondhand clothing and exploring the possibilities of reinventing pre-loved pieces?

Natasha — I always wanted to study fashion but because of a mix of reasons I instead went through a traditional college experience studying business. But when an internship came up for a fashion PR company, I seized the opportunity and went for it. I was pretty green when it came to understanding the industry so I quickly felt out of place and didn’t connect with fashion as much as I had hoped. It all felt a little surface-level and a bit pretentious. After that internship, I decided to put anything fashion related on hold. Fast forward to when I was working my corporate job, I felt the itch to explore it again. This is when I started The Consistency Project back in 2014. What started as a side project exploring one’s relationship with their clothing, quickly became an opportunity for me to learn about the fashion industry beyond being a consumer. As a teen, I shopped secondhand clothing out of necessity not realizing the environmental or even style impact it had. But it was when I started TCP that my relationship with secondhand became more developed. I sought out alternatives to fast fashion and just “new” clothing in general and realized if I was going to be in fashion, it would be in secondhand fashion. It was not till after the pandemic that TCP began to explore rework as a part of the business.

Tell us a bit about where the name “The Consistency Project” comes from.

The Consistency Project started as a project (surprise!) — a side project that helped me explore a relationship with fashion and clothing. When thinking about the name at the time, I was really just thinking about what I wanted this “project” to be for me personally, which was to strive for more consistency in my life. I never really knew if TCP would ever become a viable business so it is funny to think about how the name still holds the same meaning within the business today. At the time of starting TCP, I was learning more and more about the impact of consumerism and the waste we humans cause and I felt like if I could inspire people to shop for secondhand clothing, it could maybe spark them to consider changing other parts of their lifestyle like shopping secondhand for other things besides clothing or considering things like composting to provide more consistency for themselves and their values. To me, this is what The Consistency Project is all about. It is about the relationship between us and our clothing which then helps us understand and slowly analyze other parts of our lives in a more mindful way.

Where does The Consistency Project’s interest in American workwear stem from? Did any of you grow up wearing or buying Stan Rays or Levi’s?

Honestly, it really just stemmed from a personal style choice and was most likely influenced by my time growing up in Hawai’i & living in California. When I started selling vintage, I wanted to sell things that I felt were a functional and comfortable alternative to the vintage that most people thought about, which were styles like 70s polyester sets or decadent beaded dresses. I wanted to provide everyday vintage and secondhand that suited a more versatile lifestyle. The perception of vintage typically felt like it only captured a certain style aesthetic and I wanted to open it up a bit more as I personally didn’t resonate with most of the vintage I was seeing at the time.

I was always a city girl living on an island. Growing up in Hawai’i, I was far from wearing (or even knowing about) Stan Rays and Levi’s but when I went to college in California, it should be no surprise that Levi’s became a huge part of my style. It was at the vintage warehouse I started sourcing from when I started TCP that introduced me to Stan Rays and it became one of my favorite styles to wear. A lighter-weight cotton than denim, it really suited warmer climates like Hawai’i. I realized that American Workwear really encapsulated TCP’s style — function and comfort. Traditionally American Workwear signified blue-collar work, but now we’re excited to showcase how we, TCP can redefine the approach to American (modern) Workwear.

Teaching thoughtful consumption is the goal of The Consistency Project — how do you consistently share education about conscious consumerism with your audience and shoppers?

It has been a fine balance being a business that needs to sell things to survive and at the same time, making sure we are upholding our values on thoughtful consumption. I think our education comes from the interactions we have with our customers in the studio and on social media. During our fitting experience, the educational conversation around how clothing should fit and how we should understand our bodies is an important learning moment as we believe clothing that fits well on our bodies are pieces we wear more and will therefore value more. This shift in purchasing clothing that actually fits comfortably is super important to minimizing our impact. We also love to have conversations about our design and production process. Transparency on how we work and why we sell what we sell is extremely important as it showcases the potential within reworked and secondhand clothing. We believe these types of conversations spark inspiration for other brands and even individuals regarding how they can potentially integrate rework and secondhand more in their lives. We’re constantly learning and iterating so we hope as a collective community we can all push this lifestyle of “reuse” forward.

Tell me about the first reworked item the brand made and how your pieces have evolved since then.

It was the end of 2019 when I opened up a vintage retail shop in Brooklyn, NY. I had just had my first baby in Oct 2019, opened up my retail shop in Dec 2019, and then the pandemic hit. Needless to say, those six months were some of the hardest moments I experienced. We ended up closing the retail shop that summer of 2020 when we were pretty much in lockdown in NYC. Since the early days of my vintage shop, I had always specialized in pants. Vintage denim and workwear particularly. One of the things I liked to do was provide personalized pant-fittings which included ensuring each customer could leave with a pair of pants that had the right inseam. This led to a lot of hemming and cropping of pants. By the time we closed our retail shop, we had collected a range of pant cuff scraps which we of course saved in hopes to figure out how we could recycle them or create something new out of them.

Our first rework design was born in winter of 2020 — the patchwork pant. This design purely came out of us looking at what we already had and getting creative with it. It was the moment rework really became a staple to the brand and it just happened to be at the same time the craze for upcycling, rework, and patchwork became a widespread trend. The timing for it all was crazy, but regardless of trends and the momentum that these pants created for us, I am really proud that this design was born out of necessity and represented one of the hardest moments in the business journey, yet brought hope. We went from creating pairs of patchwork pants to purchase to having them transition to more customs. Starting this year we decided to pause all of our custom orders and patchwork designs in order to reassess how rework could scale. We also wanted to challenge ourselves to explore different versions of patchwork outside of what we were doing which was primarily iterations of checkered patterns.

What is unique about your pant-fitting service? Why do you recommend individuals who have not been sized before, do so with you?

Understanding your body, how something should fit, and what your options are to make the clothing work for you are extremely important to thoughtful consumption. I mentioned this before, but when things look good and feel comfortable, we in turn are confident and wear those pieces of clothing more often. Our pant-fitting service really provides a unique perspective to shopping, and more importantly, addresses pain points in shopping secondhand. Our pant-fitting experience isn’t just a chance to fit someone in a great pair of pants, but it is an opportunity for us to connect and educate our customers so they can leave feeling empowered to shop for their bodies going forward.

We also just really care about the experience we offer and what is best for the customer. We know that appointments can feel overwhelming and scary. We just ask that anyone who comes to shop with us comes with an open mind and a good attitude. We promise we will take care of you and make you feel comfortable and welcome no matter your style, size, preferences, or how much you choose to buy. We are just grateful for the opportunity to do what we do — make people feel good (and comfortable) in what they wear.

What fast fashion created was a culture of wearing our clothing less. With poor quality or poor fit, it is no surprise you may not feel inspired to wear certain pieces in your closet. To have things sit in your closet unworn or to purchase clothing that really doesn’t embrace your body the right way, is when we create waste. Sometimes we do buy things that are well-made but maybe just didn't end up working for our style or bodies and that’s when resell platforms are so valuable in this culture of reuse. Our bodies are constantly changing so when you purchase pants with us, you automatically can take advantage of our buy back program to exchange a pair of pants you purchased from us for a new pair. Our fitting experience helps us understand our customers and their needs to then support them through our ever-evolving relationship with clothing and our bodies.

What is your favorite secondhand item you have ever purchased?

Wow, this is a tough question as I constantly get inspired by secondhand purchases. I think because I am in the business of clothing, I never try to get too attached to anything clothing related. Now outside of clothing, I am an avid secondhand shopper for my home so I will have to say that my favorite secondhand item or piece of furniture that I’ve ever purchased is this rare George Nelson side table that has special cubbies for plants. It’s classic and so beautiful. I bought it on an online auction and drove out of state to pick it up. Honestly, I have many special secondhand pieces of furniture that all have unique sourcing stories. I think if I ever did a house tour people would be shocked at what I’ve bought secondhand and at the price point I did!

The Consistency Project lays out a set of sustainability commitments that you abide by. With sustainability becoming an increasingly blasé term in the realm of fashion, how do you set forth genuine eco-conscious goals and make sure to uphold them in an authentic and transparent manner?

I think that authenticity really stems from the foundation of a business which the founder sets by their own personal values, which are then carried out by the team. I think all the commitments we abide by are what we, on a personal level, abide by within other parts of our lives. That is what creates authenticity in everything we do. And when we feel confident in our authenticity, transparency comes naturally. It is nowadays very easy to label your brand as sustainable, so I think the best way to really know if a brand actually “cares” is by looking at who is behind the business. Again the team or the founder. How do they live their lives? What do they care about? These values inherently will be ingrained in the business whether it is beneficial or not. Behind closed doors, I’m really proud of who we are as people with or without TCP, contributors to our community, and genuine caring humans on this wonderful planet. Really I’m just saying, I feel so lucky to have a team that lives TCP’s values even beyond the workday.

Not only is The Consistency Project a vintage shopping destination with customizable options, but you also host events and workshops here. What are your hopes for TCP five years down the line — do you hope it grows into more of an interactive collective?

There are so many different directions TCP could evolve and grow in. We’re keeping an open mind. If there’s one thing I learned from the pandemic, it’s that sometimes what you have planned for the business may not be what ends up being the next step to growth. High-level, we hope to grow an even more engaged community. So workshops and events will be a great way to connect with our community outside of the shopping environment. We are always amazed and inspired by our customers so we want to foster more inspiration among one another. We also want to evolve our shopping experience to be more accessible for people to learn about it before committing to an appointment. Lastly, we want to build a community around other brands doing similar and inspiring work. I think we’ll be able to do this when we can expand or evolve from our current studio space. We think there’s so much opportunity to learn from one another and problem-solve creative solutions to working more efficiently in the world of reuse.

Fashion

Happy 424 Day!

Simon Rasmussen — What's going on?

Guillermo Andrade — Right now we're just setting everything up.

So, what are you doing, is it a party?

Well, I kind of felt universally forced, right? Because 4/24/24, I was just like, I don’t really have a choice here. The stars also just kind of aligned, so to be honest, I got this settlement that came with a bunch of clothes so I had this idea to give back to the kids who fuck with us by allowing them to buy our shit first. Not handing stuff out for free, but to do it in a way where we could skip the middleman of the industry, so to speak, and not allow clothes to disappear into the abyss of Farfetch or whatever else. So what we’re going to do is a sort of warehouse sale, which we’ve never done before so that was really exciting for me. I didn’t want to do just another warehouse sale, so it’s like a sample sale turns rager. We teamed up with Adidas and a couple of other sponsors, then drinks, DJs, and a performance.

Sick, I love it.

Yeah. My dream sample sale. Also, it’s not just hoodies and t-shirts here in there, it’s proper collections from the past three seasons. I’m also not picking and choosing, trying to make it accessible, like this was the only way I could afford to buy shit when I was a kid, bro. Sample sales were the thing I looked forward to the most.

I feel you. In New York, there's the annual CDG sale, which is when I used to cop all my CDG.

The only time I could afford Rick. I flew to New York once for a Rick sample sale and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I got invited. And it was mental. I still have those pieces. I will never sell them. Not even because I got 'em cheap. It was also just really fun. Even on the flight to New York, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to New York for a sample sale, what a fucking loser I am. But it was like the adult version of when I was a kid and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I'm 20-something and I'm still doing the thing I was doing in high school. So I hope we can create moments like that for kids here in LA.

Yeah. I love that. It’s important to connect with them; they’re essentially creating the brand. If you don't have them, good luck.

I mean, yeah. Fuck, bro. It's cool that we've been around for this long. I mean, it got a little rocky there for a second I think, for all of us. So coming out of it, tomorrow is a celebration. And it’s like an odd day of the week. It's a Wednesday, super random. And now that we've set it up, the homies are all like, Yo, I'm coming. I'm coming. Let me jump on stage, let me do this, and that's really what it's always been about. It's not some other strategy to get likes on the internet.

That’s how the best things happen, you just couldn’t help yourself. It was intuitive.

Yeah, it all came together in a really nice way.

Would you say that’s how 424 started as well? I remember we met in like 2010 on Fairfax and I was visiting with Rasmus…

Oh bro, it’s probably the time when I started the branch… do you remember Cecilia from Black Dakini? She’s the one that introduced me to CIFF and honestly, I didn’t even care what she was doing, I was just like, I’m coming, I’ll go with you. She said she’d give me half of her booth and I said, Awesome count me in. At the time, I had just gotten my green card and I wasn't allowed to ever leave America, so Copenhagen was one of the first cities I went to when I could finally travel. I mean, you see what we did at CIFF bro? It became our fucking hub for half a decade.

That was a moment for sure.

I remember the first account I got was Antonioli, and he came super gangster, being like, You're going to sell me these clothes. And I was like, bro, I didn't come to sell clothes. I'm just kind of catching a vibe with my homie and I made these things. And he's like, No, you're going to sell it to me. And then I was like, Oh my god that’s Claudio Antonioli. So then I went home, I googled wholesale, and figured that shit out. [laughs]

[Laughs]

Like you said, I couldn't help myself, but I didn't just make t-shirts and hoodies either. I was really on my Rick wave, so I made my version of the Rick things. It was that meets like The Boondock Saints, because I'm still a little bit of a Cali bro, sort of rock kid, but not really. I like hip-hop, but I like the way the rock stars look. I like the contrast. I thought it was cool. After that, I just never stopped.

It was clear to me when I first met you that you were onto your own thing in LA. It made a lot of sense, and it was so cool. It was before 424 was its own brand; you just had the store and this really cool curation.

It was all my shit, bro. I was very, very invested in sharing all of these things that I was finding from all over the world, like Astrid Anderson. She was one of those designers at the time, so important to 424. The connection to Copenhagen specifically for me was huge. I had a big fan base there. It was incredible. And then here in LA, we were sharing the things that we were a part of and finding; it was still the early days of Fear of God, Rhude, Martine Rose. A lot of these brands, we were the first store to ever sell it — we were selling Hood By Air on the West Coast.

You had Rick as well, I remember.

Oh yeah. It took me a long time. But I got Rick, bro. By the time I had to close the store on Fairfax, I already had a Raf Simons account. I had reached my ultimate dream. It was really all the stuff I wanted to wear at the time. It was dope. The best of the best.

We had an office magazine newsstand in there as well.

Oh yeah, we did! I came to visit the one you had, and I was like, Yo, I got to bring this whole fucking thing over here. But yeah, in LA, after two days people forget you exist, but everyone’s been super supportive. We’re all 10 years older now. We've been around forever at this point.

It can be dangerous to take those breaks when you’re figuring shit out, but there’s something very genuine to this comeback you’re having.

Thank you, thank you. We’ve been in and out of those fucking showrooms in Paris for long enough. I've been in and out of these factories for the past 10 years of my life. We had to figure something out. And I think now really diving in, being in Italy full time and being there to develop these products over time, I think that the whole thing just really shows the suppliers respect you more. The people who are making your goods understand why you're making them. And I think now I finally got to the place where I'm not making Italian things, I’m making my clothes, I'm making Cali-centric shit, but with that European technicality and execution. With this Fall / Winter collection, it clicked.

So what’s the vision for the next year? What are you manifesting?

I'm just fucking relentless, bro. This is the way I want to live my life. Now that we are more aligned, more prepared, and have more experience, moving forward it is just more of becoming a fully functioning company that can provide and create opportunities for all of the people around me. We’ve been operating just on instinct for a long time.

Sustaining a business is scary, trust me I know.

Scary as fuck, dog. I just opened a store next to Bottega, bro, and it’s like what am I even doing? You have to just believe in the thing you're doing more than anybody else.

100%, and it seems like that’s what you’re doing.

And fashion’s kind of a competitive sport, as much as people don’t think it is. We can reach a certain level without losing ourselves. My biggest ambition at the moment is to create something that, when you leave one of our neighbors you come into our place you don’t feel that the level has been sacrificed at all. And it’s not easy.

Definitely. I wish I could be there tomorrow.

Thank you, bro. 10 years now. You’ve always shown me so much love. We have to do a booth or have the office part of the next 424 day. Shit let’s do a 424 day in New York.

That would be sick. Let's do it. I'm here. Let’s catch up soon.

Next season’s right around the corner so I’ll see you in Paris.

Yes, see you in Paris and Happy 424 day!

Fashion

Luis De Javier's Puta Takeover

April 25, 2024

Last night with Luis De Javier, guests were overheard confirming this generation's most vital conundrum: “If I’m cunt, I can still be pussy.” “And if you’re pussy, you can still be cunt.” This sentiment echoed throughout the night as we celebrated De Javier’s first-ever streetwear collection, "Puta". We spent seven hours at Ella Funt at a dinner turned party that only he could’ve thrown (co-hosted by emcee). It was too dark for even the most aspiring-to-look-mysterious of us to wear sunglasses inside. Under the semi-oppressive flash of party photographers, we danced as much as the space would allow, drank tequila out of teacups and kissed each other on the cheeks with a vaguely European intimacy. “I’m doing streetwear!” De Javier could be heard exclaiming — whether it be in disbelief or excitement, we couldn’t tell you.

Words and photos by Izzy Capulong

The Spanish-born London-based designer has been well-loved for his genderless tailoring, latex mastery, and overall message of empowerment. Dressing everyone from ravers to A-listers, De Javier’s latest drop pushes his design repertoire to a new level. “While designing for my celebrity clientele and showcasing my creations on the runway has always been my dream,” he notes, “It’s equally important to me that my brand resonates with a wider, more diverse audience.” While this collection’s medium has shifted from corsets to sweatshirts, the classic LDJ avant-garde sensibilities remain. Bikinis and booty shorts are shamelessly emblazoned with “PUTA,” blazers are constructed with ample shoulder padding, and I had my eye on the cheekily-named “Faguette Bag.”

The Puta collection will be available exclusively on emcee.

Fashion

Nadia Lee Cohen Celebrates Paris Texas Launch at the Chateau

To celebrate the launch, Cohen and founder and creative director of Paris Texas, Annamaria Brivio hosted an intimate dinner at the Chateau Marmont pictured below. Arman Naféei entertained guests throughout the evening with a special playlist he curated for the occasion.