New Apparel Brand Sans Gêne Makes Genderless And Sustainable Clothes

Caroline McCaul didn’t think the world needed another apparel collection, she thought the world needed a different type of apparel collection. “Sans Gêne is a brand that really puts human issues in the forefront,” McCaul said. “We really care about people. Philanthropy is a big part of the brand as well as losing the judgmental bias that’s prevalent in society today. That goes to not judging other people and also not judging yourself so much. I don’t think we realize how much harm we do by judging ourselves.

“It all comes down to a resounding ethos to break these labels and break these barriers and boxes that we’re put into and hopefully, try to help end the stigma by being a unisex brand that’s geared to tailored garments that look great great on men and women,” McCaul said.

“I don’t think the world needed another apparel brand, it needed a brand that cares about people,” she added.

McCaul is not a designer. Since she was a child, she valued philanthropy and entrepreneurship. “My love for fashion grew from my grandma and my mom. I really started paying attention to the detail of garments, and the quality. I never thought I could be a designer until I went to the Paris School of Business and studied luxury goods and realized there was a space for me.”

The French name, Sans Gêne, means without reservation, discomfort or embarrassment.

McCaul graduated just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit. She said simultaneously, people were opening up on social media in ways they never did before, talking about their mental health struggles, and their struggles in general. “These are struggles that everybody can relate to,” she said. “I’m bipolar and I have several anxiety disorders. I saw this as an opportunity to move forward as a society and have an open dialog that’s raw and genuine.”

“With each collection we donate to a mental health organization,” McCaul said. “I don’t think donating is enough. We have events like panels with panelists speaking about mental health. It’s authentic, raw and refreshing. People at the last one were crying, panelists were crying. Just connecting with the community as well as donating is something so inspiring and fulfilling to me and I can’t wait to keep doing it.”

The collection is available on Sans Gêne’s e-commerce site and Gregory’s in Dallas. McCaul is in talks with other retailers in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas, but declined to reveal their names because nothing is finalized.

Retail prices range from $360 to $2,000. “Because we manufacture in Italy and everything is handmade, and we use the highest quality of fabrics, our prices are a bit high,” McCaul said, noting that there’s been no price-resistance. Because these garments are so unique and beautiful, people are just buying.”

She plans to open her own store in the future, but not before the brand has a chance to mature. “We’re not even a year old,” she said. “Eventually, opening a store is one of my goals. I’d love to start in New York, I’d like to have a store in L.A. and one in Paris.

“I oversee every aspect of this company, so I’m very much involved in the design process,” McCaul said. “I have a small design team. It’s all tailored and unisex. It’s interesting because designing unisex garments, it’s tough to get the sizing right. Pushing my limits and boundaries is something that inspires me. We had to use several fit models to nail down the sizing.”

The retailers Sans Gêne is in talks with feature unisex collections that are sold either in men’s wear or women’s wear departments. Because unisex is becoming a more accepted type of apparel, stores are carrying brands and making room for them. “I think the retail world is adapting in many different ways,” she said.

“We’re going to be doing more collections,” McCaul said. “We’re going to get to a point where we do four per year, but we’re just starting. There is beauty in slow fashion because we’re really able to take time to explore these designs, the creative of the designs. I think that’s something that we don’t see in today’s world, especially with fast fashion. Creativity, innovation, it’s all getting lost and looking the same.

“Another part of producing and taking things slow, is we only manufacture in Italy in factories that abide by ethical labor laws and produce the highest quality,” McCaul said. “They are true artisans. Yes, they do work slow and they take a lot of vacations. That’s a good thing.”

The collection is produced in limited quantities. “I think less is more,” McCaul said. “I found the factories with my production management team that I was connected to through a friend. I work very closely with the factories in Italy. They inspire me so much. Everything is made by hand. We work with a knit factory that produces for Brunello Cuccinelli and another factory works with Moncler.”

McCaul plans to do net sales of $1.9 million in the first year. The consumer base for the designs spans a variety of ages. “There are so many different people in our target demographic,” she said. “This just shows that these clothes can look good on anyone at any age. They’re fashion-forward people and also people that care about quality. It’s been really interesting to see different age ranges.”

“We’re going to be using more sustainable fabrics,” McCaul said. “Sustainability is really important to me and should be important to customers as well. In the next collection we’re using sustainable fabrics.”

Within the next year, one of McCaul’s goals is to expand distribution to London, Paris, and Japan. “We’re going to move into a more immersive marketing stance, I love guerrilla marketing. The brand is really just about creating timely staple pieces and that you can have in a wardrobe forever. The fashion industry does get toxic. The world really can’t handle how fast fashion is moving. San Gêne is a place for everyone and every gender.”