This article has been edited since it originally appeared in print.
Speaking with Ap0cene founders Ariel Alacaz, Elissa Rumford and Sam Walker is a crash course on fashion e-commerce and the digital authentication process, a challenge that was on their minds when they launched in January 2022. “The designers we serve… are getting scammed all the time,” Rumford explains. “What we’re doing is [intellectual property] It provides protection to fight counterfeiting.”
Apothene (ap0cene.com And @ap0cene: Instagram and TikTokAlthough the ultra-luxury fashion brand is based in New York City, Alacas and Rumford are graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University, so they’re also bringing fashion jobs to Richmond. After founding the company in New York, the trio decided to expand their production facilities here, opening a warehouse facility in the city in August.
Rumford tends to get high social media engagement with his flashy, fashion-forward posts on TikTok, which has made Ap0cene sought after by A-list celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Miguel, as well as stylists looking to pull items from their inventory.
On the surface, customers see a curated online designer platform selling items similar to Jean Paul Gaultier’s creations in the sci-fi film “The Fifth Element.” On the backend, Ap0cene aims to help emerging sustainability-focused designers reach customers in the global digital luxury marketplace. The company uses data to help designers with their marketing strategies, logistical decisions, international shipping and customer service.
Ap0cene places microchips in high fashion clothes to ensure their authenticity: “We are building a crypto protocol specifically in the NFT space. [nonfungible tokens, i.e., unique digital identifiers] “We originally saw this opportunity in the way people were collecting NFTs and collecting luxury fashion. We have an authentication protocol that runs on the blockchain using chips that are attached to the garment. [technology] To prove the authenticity of these garments.”
Ap0cene executives travel the world to raise funds for the clothing ID chip. Alacas says traveling the world helps them build trust with customers. Having worked together at another fashion brand, the trio recognizes that the way people make fashion choices is changing. They want their spending to reflect their values around all aspects of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. “Today, being able to prove the authenticity and provenance of these items is really valuable,” Alacas says.
The brand’s name comes from “Anthropocene,” a term that describes the current geological era in which human activity is having the greatest impact on the environment. The zero in the name stands for “0%,” paying homage to the fashion industry’s zero-waste movement, which aims to minimize textile waste. While Ap0cene is far from that goal at the moment, the company hopes to be known for its commitment to a sustainable future as it expands its offering of in-house designs.
Source: Shopping & Style – richmondmagazine.com
