New Frontier in Modular Design: Edit+ Mixes Ath-leisure, Sustainability

Edit+ is a new brand that hopes to help commercialize the idea of editing one’s clothing with modular-based design.

“The ‘+’ in Edit+ speaks to the modular clothing system that we are known for,” said founder Jean Sung, adding: “[We] can edit our clothing by removing or adding different parts to the piece to convert it as needed or to transform the design into a different style altogether.”

With the purchase of one style, such as the Winter+ padding coat, a customer can transform the piece into eight different styles to function as needed, according to Sung.

Having spent the last 14 years as an executive at The North Face, Korea, Sung took the opportunity to create her brand sensing the growing demand for “stylish yet functional clothing” offering both convertibility and appeal for the “socially conscious shopper.”

Design, production and manufacturing are all housed within the brand’s digital-first “smart design factory” based in Seoul, which helps trim overhead and environmental costs. Goods are shipped directly from the facility to consumers.

While modular design has been the focus throughout the design careers of Hussein Chalayan and Issey Miyake in “A Piece of Cloth,” and the discipline has been cropping up in recent digital graduate collections from Central Saint Martins students, for example, its sustainability bent is becoming the story itself this time around.

“Edit+’s modular products are constructed using unique sewing techniques and patterns specifically designed to amplify the characteristics of the material and style, allowing for a seamless and natural look when adding or removing parts. Our designs are created with the ability to mix and match with different colors and parts from other pieces in the collection to allow for a wider variety of looks,” said Sung.

At launch for fall 2020, the core unisex styles range from its Yoga++, “Saturday Sunday Hoodie” and versions of both fleece and winter jackets in a retail price range of $79 to $499, with designs available at its web site Editplusmall.com. Convertible features include hoods, striping details, sleeves and lengths.

A majority of its material footprint contains what the brand defines as “sustainable materials,” with fully Global Recycle Standard-certified yarns, deeming the product has at least 20-percent recycled material, and rPET as a key material. The goal is to reach fully sustainable fabrics.

Edit+ also partners with various nongovernmental organizations in a 10-percent proceed share, including Compassion International, a humanitarian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colo., that focuses on alleviating child poverty.

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