What is your background?

I am currently the director of Owsla Goods. I grew up in Montreal. My family founded American Apparel in Montreal. My cousin is Dov Charney. He trained me and really taught me everything I know. As a millennial or someone who is born in the digital age, I have a desire to revolutionize the garment industry and manufacturing industry, to bring it to life again.

So what is Gross?

It’s different than American Apparel, but founded with very similar principles. It is a sweatshop-free environment and vertically integrated, but it will be doing things no retailer or manufacturer would do in the way that it is going to sell to its consumer, the way it is going to wholesale, and the way it is going to hold stock inventory. Certain things the consumer does not even know about will be happening. That is the most exciting part for me. I was trained by him, and I’m taking what he’s taught me to go in my own direction.

Can you talk about the brand’s name?

I knew I would use my last name at one point in my life. It kind of tortured me as a kid in kindergarten. Kids used to yell at me, “Melissa Disgusting!” But now that I’ve grown up, I can see it’s founded who I am as a person –just in terms of how I deal with adversity and things that give people shame. Building a whole marketing campaign especially for fashion around something that is gross is so compelling to me in the way that is speaks for being shameless and real.

We’ve seen the Instagram, so we know a bit of what to expect, but we’re dying to see the actual product. When will you officially launch?

In about six weeks. As of right now, my next billboard campaign will come out shortly. I will being doing some interesting teasing videos, videos with some collaborative artists, and I think I will be doing an experience at FORM Arcosanti and that will be the first time my physical clothes and vision will be brought to life.

So your goal is to provide elevated basics? 

Yeah, I mean it is something that is real and will carry you through life. Stuff you can keep in your closet as staples. Generally, you go through seasons and you want to feel the seasonal change. Even living in Los Angeles that is big deal for a Northeastern Canadian kid. Seasons carry me through life. They have kind of helped me evolve. Color stories and the feelings you have throughout the season change. The hoodie, the crew neck, it might need to be adjusted in terms of a fit but that staple will live on and customers will also have the chance to choose your color of 144 Gross Colors. So the shopping experience is actually catered to your feelings, not what fashion is telling you what you should be wearing or the color you should be feeling. This is an anti-fashion approach to fashion, but you’re still going to look dope as fuck.

I’ve been describing as a fusion of Acne and Sandro that’s affordable, sustainable, and closer to the margin you see at American Apparel.  Because I am bringing the factory to the consumer, I have a pricing strategy to be able to have my consumer negotiate with my retail store. So there is an algorithm, so as you add more to your cart you will spend less per garment. So you can be in support of manufacturing on a sustainable level.

I am also going to be the first kid dying denim for wholesale. Imagine you can have that Levi’s jacket in red, orange, or green. Those things any hipster would gawk over, but that option hasn’t been at our fingertips. When I say vertically integrated, I mean I built my own factory. Dov is a massive source of support for me.  He’s my everything. His energy and ability to never give up and pursue and persevere is unreal. So kudos to him and everything he has taught me, but I am building a way on the back end and this is not outsourced work. This is work that you can come see and once the factory is fully ready, the consumer can walk through like in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I see it as offering the kind of experience that kindergarten classes and high school classes will take field trips to see. 

Are you planning to have a brick-and-mortar store or is it all going to be e-commerce?

Dyeing on-the-spot is going to be on e-commerce only. It’ll all be inspired by my lifestyle. I travel a lot and when I do retail I want to do pop-ups in different cities and really explore the power of the people and bring that art to life. Because I know this industry, I know that retail is changing. The face of it and experience of it will never be the same as it was before.

Hanging out as a teenager in a mall might not be the same in ten years and what does that mean? What are we going to with our youth and what they do during those moments where we used to have a ton of those nostalgic moments. “Hey mom I am going to the mall with my friends,” is going extinct. Bloomingdale’s can barely afford to be on Fifth Avenue anymore and brick and mortar is changing. So what is Gross and Gross World? I am also an artist and I’m having my first show in three month. I want that same sort of artistic experience in my stores too so that there is a real purpose and so they can become destinations and remain more relevant. 

That is why pop-ups are increasing. There are many incentives to do this structure in your business now. It is not negative that we do not stay stagnant, it should not be seen that way. They should be seen as cutting edge and innovative to move to the people, come to the people, bring more to the people. Fashion is supposed to unify and bring everybody together in a way that when you see everybody wearing that item that you identify with that. That is why my brick and mortar experiences will be moving. When I do do brick-and-mortar, it will be semi-standard retail, but it will be interactive. It’ll be a sort of “Build-A-Bear” experience, where you can embroider and embellish on the spot as well. It is just going to combine the art world with the ability to customize for yourself and leave feeling like you and with something you can have for forever.