What Nobody Tells You About Starting a Deadstock Brand

An Interview with EB Denim (October 2024)

Esteban: Perfect. First of all, thank you for taking the time to do this. I always appreciate when people carve out a moment in their day to have a conversation with me. To get us started, could you give a quick background—maybe 30 to 60 seconds—on yourself, the brand, and how everything began, just so people have some context?

Elena: Sure, I’ll try to keep it brief. My name is Elena, and I’m originally from Orange County, California. My mom grew up in the Midwest, and my dad was born and raised in Italy. The way EB Denim came to life really started when I would go vintage shopping in the Midwest with my grandma—I completely fell in love with vintage jeans.Back in high school, I started making cut-off shorts for my friends. I would buy as many jeans as I could, cut them into shorts, and bring them back to Orange County in a suitcase. At the time, thrift stores had incredible deals—you could literally fill a trash bag for eight dollars—so I was able to make a nice profit. I ended up selling a couple hundred pairs during high school. 

Eventually, I started taking sewing classes. Around 2016, inspired by brands like Off-White, I began reworking vintage Levi’s and used social media to build an online business. From there, I got into a few boutiques, invested in PR and celebrity placements, and was fortunate to have people like Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber wear the jeans. That exposure opened doors to retailers like Revolve and Selfridges. We built out our wholesale business, introduced our own cut-and-sew line in 2021, and since then the brand has expanded significantly. Today, we’re based in Los Angeles—and here we are.

Esteban: Wow, very interesting. So essentially, you went from reworking deadstock denim in high school—literally in your room—to building a brand. How were those early days in terms of market potential? Were you just selling to friends at first, or posting on social media and getting traction? What did distribution and operations look like back then?

Elena: In the very beginning—when I was still in high school—I was actually really shy. I wasn’t the type of person who could easily promote or sell what I was making. But my friends loved the product. It was always driven by a very natural love for what I was creating, and soon my friends started asking for more. That created a domino effect of demand.

At the same time, it was a little strange. Some girls at school understood it and loved it, but others thought it was weird that I was selling vintage pieces. This was before Depop and Poshmark really took off, so reselling vintage was almost seen as kind of a “dirty” thing. I was even scared to start an Instagram page, but my friends pushed me to do it—and I’m very grateful they did.

Once I had the page, I thought, “Okay, I don’t really know anyone I can ask to wear this, but I do know there are people whose style I admire.” This was even before the word “influencer” existed. I just wanted people I respected to wear what I was designing. So I reached out, and a lot of them organically wore the pieces. That drove some real traction to my website.

Esteban: Interesting. So the two biggest drivers of your early success were, first, that you started reworking deadstock from the very beginning, which gave you organic momentum—and second, that you understood the value of influencer distribution before almost anyone else.

Elena: Totally, yes.

Esteban: And in hindsight, would you say those were the most important variables for your early success?

Elena: One hundred percent. I can’t think of another way to build a brand from nothing today besides having a product people genuinely love and leveraging social media. You have to create something different that catches people’s attention. Our designs always focused on that.

For example, we had a chain pant that was super eye-catching. People wanted to wear it, style it, and it practically sold itself.

Esteban: Yes, I remember those. That was back in 2019, right?

Elena: Yeah, 2019.

Esteban: Once you started building momentum in those early days, what was the biggest challenge? Was it marketing, production, or sales? I’m trying to get a picture of how the brand looked at the beginning versus now.

Elena: Sales weren’t really the issue—it was meeting demand. I found a seamstress on Craigslist who reworked all my vintage Levi’s. But the problem with vintage is always supply: limited sizes, colors, and seam lengths. I hadn’t studied fashion, so I had to figure everything out from scratch. Eventually, I started buying out entire inventories from vintage suppliers. I worked with a few seamstresses, but the first woman I met through Craigslist actually still does most of my reworked pieces today, five years later.

Production has always been a challenge. Even producing in LA, margins are slim if you want to sell at a reasonable price. Scaling internationally was another big hurdle. And back then, influencer marketing had a much bigger return on investment than it does now. Someone could wear something and we’d sell 20 pairs instantly. Today, someone might wear something and it won’t directly convert into sales—but it still adds value in terms of brand awareness. I look at it differently now than I did when I first started.

Esteban: Right, so early on, influencer marketing directly converted into sales. But now, because the market is so much more competitive, it works more as awareness, with conversion requiring a more complex process.

Elena: Exactly.Esteban: And is the business still primarily direct-to-consumer?

Elena: Right now, I’d say about 30% of our business is DTC. Our biggest retail partners are Saks and Revolve, and internationally we’re in Selfridges along with a few other accounts. Wholesale has grown a lot over the past few years, though ideally I’d like the split between DTC and wholesale to be more even.

Esteban: Interesting. Wholesale works very differently from DTC. It usually requires more established production lines—you need to meet specific orders, maintain consistent quality, and deliver on strict timelines. How did you handle the production challenges, especially with the unpredictability of deadstock denim?

Elena: Honestly, it doesn’t really work—which is something I realized when we first started doing wholesale in 2020. There were too many supply chain issues. We just couldn’t source enough vintage Levi’s in consistent sizes and qualities.

So in 2021, we launched our first pair of original jeans as a test. At the time, it felt risky, because we’d built a cult following around vintage Levi’s. I essentially had to build an entirely new brand identity around originals. Today, about 95% of our product is original designs.

That meant I had to learn everything about production from scratch. I hadn’t studied fashion, so I hired people, let people go, made mistakes, and paid the cost of those mistakes. Wholesale especially was a huge learning curve—things like EDI compliance, special ticketing, invoicing, and shipping. I had to hire people with years of experience just to navigate all of that. It’s a completely different beast. It took me four years to really iron out those processes.

Esteban: So just to clarify—the brand started with reworked vintage and deadstock. But now, with wholesale growth and production demands, it’s almost entirely original pieces made through traditional production lines.

Elena: Exactly. We still love incorporating reworked vintage and deadstock when possible—it’s part of our DNA—but at scale, it’s just not feasible. Our business is built heavily on reorders, and with wholesale timelines, we need consistent fabric supply months in advance. You can’t do that with deadstock, where a fabric might be available one month and gone the next.

Deadstock works really well for small DTC brands starting out—you can buy 20 yards at a time and create something unique. But when you’re projecting seasons ahead on the fashion calendar, it’s not sustainable. That’s why we pivoted. If I wanted to scale and build the brand into what I envision, we had to change the strategy.

Esteban: That makes sense. I don’t know of many brands that could truly scale using only deadstock. Was there a specific revenue point where you realized you had to pivot, or was it more intuitive?

Elena: It was more intuitive. At the time, we were already doing over a million dollars in business, but I knew we couldn’t scale further with the old model. And creatively, I also didn’t feel satisfied just reworking someone else’s product. I wanted to design pieces completely from my imagination, and eventually expand beyond denim into other categories.

Esteban: I wanted to ask about categories. You’ve been very consistent with denim, which is notoriously difficult to work with. That takes creative discipline—especially for someone with strong creative tendencies. Of course, there are business benefits to staying in one category too. Why have you focused so heavily on denim for so long?

Elena: I’ve always designed by looking at what’s working and building on it. From the beginning, the name EB Denim carried the word denim—I knew I could be the next-generation denim brand, and I wanted to be the best at it.

Over time, I reached a point where I’d made almost every silhouette and color of jean that I personally wanted to wear. So now, in the upcoming seasons, we’re introducing sweaters, elevated basics like tees, and a broader range of ready-to-wear. But until now, denim has been our foundation.

When I design, I take merchandising into serious consideration. It’s not just about making anything I want—it has to be priced correctly, fit within a line plan, and align with what retailers are asking for. Staying focused on denim kept me disciplined and gave us a strong identity. And honestly, expanding categories is expensive.

Esteban: That makes sense. But why not just increase distribution instead of expanding categories?

Elena: We’re pursuing both at the same time. We’re definitely working on increasing distribution, but I’m also selective about who carries the brand. And you’re right—expanding categories and growing distribution are both extremely challenging. But I feel like I have the right team in place now to support both directions.

Esteban: I ask because many entrepreneurs I talk to want to expand categories too quickly, and it creates a lot of operational complexity. But a brand that does one thing exceptionally well can grow very big without diversifying right away.

Elena: True—and I actually think of our brand as being about three seasons behind where I want it to be. Right now, I’m designing the next collection, and I have to think about where I want the brand to be a year from now. That means planning further ahead than what you’re currently seeing in the market.

Esteban: Understood. So what’s your vision for EB Denim three to five years from now?

Elena: I see us expanding into ready-to-wear and outfitting—building a full world of elevated, unique basics for the next generation of women. We’ve also been working on decreasing our price points by about 20% to increase accessibility.

One recent example is a lace capsule we did. It started with a single piece that sold through Revolve, and the demand led to a massive reorder. Revolve’s entire model is built on reorders—they’ll test 10 units of something, and if it sells, they’ll immediately order 100. So I quickly designed five more lace pieces in the same fabric, and they reordered those, too. It was pretty successful. For me, that’s proof that experimenting with new categories is worth it. I don’t know what the demand is until I try.

Esteban: What would you say is your biggest current challenge—the main bottleneck right now?

Elena: Operations. We’re in the middle of restructuring things to solve that problem. I actually have a new person starting on Monday who I hope will help us move past it. The biggest issue isn’t production itself—it’s the logistics: shipping, EDI, warehousing, invoicing. That whole world is very different from the creative side of the business, and it’s been a challenge to learn.

Esteban: So it’s not so much about developing new categories—it’s more about needing operational support for things like wholesale logistics and backend systems?

Elena: Exactly. And while LA does have good talent for that kind of work, it’s expensive. Those roles require significant salaries, and as a small business it’s tough to build a team with the level of experience we need while staying within budget. Of course, I believe in paying people fairly and as much as possible, but it always comes down to balancing talent with budget.

Esteban: Right—that’s such a common problem. Everyone is looking for highly talented people at the most affordable cost possible. Have you considered raising investment specifically to build out team infrastructure?

Elena: Yes. I’m currently in the process of due diligence with a supply-chain partner who I’ve been producing with for three years. They’re based in Asia but have a sister branch in LA. When I developed my first original jeans, they helped me bring them to life, and we’ve been working together ever since. Producing in LA at small volumes has always been extremely expensive. Through this partner, I’ve been able to move production to their main factory, where they produce millions of pairs of Levi’s each month. They’re vertically integrated—they even own their own mills—and I’ve been using their fabric for years.

They’ve essentially been giving me access to their sample room and cutting runs for me at costs comparable to producing in Pakistan. It’s cut our production costs almost in half while maintaining, if not improving, quality. Once we finalize the deal, we’ll be able to turn around production even faster, with better margins and more structure.

Esteban: That’s huge. Normally, increasing margins means compromising on product quality—but in your case, you’ve found a partner who can deliver the same (or better) quality more efficiently. That gives you the margin structure to make the hires and pursue more aggressive expansion.

Elena: Exactly.

Esteban: And up until now, have you been completely self-funded, or did you have smaller cash injections along the way?

Elena: It’s been entirely self-funded.

Esteban: Wow—that’s very impressive. Building this with no outside investment—especially producing in LA—that’s really difficult. Congratulations.

Elena: Thank you.

Esteban: If you had to pinpoint the biggest problems at each important stage of the brand, what would they be? For example: stage one, stage two, stage three—what were the defining challenges?

Elena: Starting out with reworked vintage, the biggest challenges were twofold: first, building a platform and audience through marketing; and second, producing and reworking the vintage itself.

When we moved into wholesale, the challenge again was production—scaling vintage rework just wasn’t sustainable. Then, when we tested and developed originals, production was once again the steepest learning curve.

Later, when wholesale really took off, the challenge shifted to operations: building out all the backend processes needed to support wholesale properly. Another big one was building a team. I was a 25-year-old girl with no previous work experience and no idea how to be a leader. I didn’t know who to hire, how to hire, or even really how to run a business. But I knew I needed a team to make things happen.

And then there’s cash flow. As we grew, that became a constant challenge. Many factories require prepayments, while wholesale accounts often pay on net-30 terms. Managing slim margins with delayed payments kept me up at night.

Esteban: That’s something almost everyone struggles with. Cash flow really is the biggest problem—especially in wholesale, where you essentially need to front 30% of your operations for months at a time. Looking back, if you could give yourself strategic advice at the very beginning—knowing what you know now—what would it be?

Elena: I should probably have a polished answer for this by now, but honestly, the one major thing I’d go back and tell myself is: not all money is good money. Just because an order is massive doesn’t mean it’s the right one.

It’s important to stay true to your roots and not let anyone derail your vision. Of course, I’ve made mistakes—plenty. But each one taught me something that made me pivot, improve, or move in a different direction.

So my advice to anyone starting a business is: learn it for yourself. The landscape changes so quickly. What worked when I started five or six years ago won’t work today. You can’t just send out five pairs of jeans and expect 50 orders because someone tags you on Instagram. It doesn’t work like that anymore. At the end of the day, you have to trust your intuition and lean into what feels like the right decision.

Esteban: Can you share a story that really taught you the lesson that not all money is good money? You don’t have to name specific clients, but I think it would be interesting to hear how a big order turned into a difficult situation.

Elena: Absolutely. At one point, we received a massive order from a particular customer—it accounted for about 30% of our entire year’s revenue. The order was way too big. But they had this huge distribution plan across their stores, and I took it on.

I brought it to my factory, and suddenly I had to come up with a huge deposit. I didn’t fully realize at the time what that entailed, especially given we were working with a 45% wholesale margin. To make matters worse, a few of the styles weren’t fully ready. I rushed to finish them, but without a strong enough foundation or experienced team around me, mistakes slipped through.

One example: a vest design that had buttons falling off. When the client discovered the issue, they pulled all of our products from all their stores within a week. Imagine: we had been stocked in around a dozen stores, and they pulled every piece, sent it back to their warehouse, and marked it down immediately.

It was devastating. For me personally, for our reputation, and for anyone who worked at the store and saw the markdowns. Looking back, I wish I had pushed back on the order—maybe cut it in half, or even not taken it at all. The damage from that one mistake outweighed the benefits of the initial purchase order.

Esteban: That’s tough, because usually those massive orders come from very important clients. If you don’t have the experience or infrastructure to handle them, it can hurt not just your margins, but your reputation with both customers and retailers. Were you able to recover that client relationship afterward?

Elena: We did continue working with them in a smaller way for a few seasons. They were actually very understanding about what happened, and we moved forward more conservatively. But in hindsight, they weren’t the right fit for us anyway. Our price point was too high for their customer, and it never converted the way it needed to. So while we did work with them again, I eventually decided it wasn’t a relationship I wanted to keep long-term.

Esteban: Amazing. That really puts things in perspective. Honestly, everything you’ve achieved is so impressive. Having an amazing product is one thing, but building this essentially on your own takes it to another level.

Elena: Thank you, I really appreciate that.