Meet the 2018 CAFA Fashion Impact Award Nominees: Triarchy Denim

by Jacquelyn Francis April 18, 2018

The three Canadian siblings behind Triarchy/Atelier Denim were horrified to learn that it takes more than 6,814 litres to grow the cotton needed to make a single pair of jeans – and that doesn’t include the water used during manufacturing. In 2016, Adam, Ania and Mark Taubenfligel hit the pause button on their five-year business and started to research new approaches.

“Unless we could find a way to make a difference through the brand, we were going to scrap the whole thing,” says Adam, the creative director. As of 2018, Triarchy not only still exists, they’re thriving and have been nominated for a 2018 CAFA Fashion Impact Award. After finding a factory in Mexico City that recycles 85 per cent of the water used in the manufacturing process last year, they relaunched their line. They also started making jeans that are 47 per cent Tencel. Tencel comes from the eucalyptus tree, which takes 85 per cent less water to grow than mass-produced cotton does. “Nobody actually knows how much water they’re wearing when they put on a pair of jeans,” says Adam.

The Fringe jacket is from the Triarchy/Atelier Denim collection and is made from vintage denim. “This allows us to remake pieces with amazing vintage washes without having to use water to wash down new materials,” he explains. “We use recycled water for Triarchy production and no water in the production of the Atelier pieces. So this jacket may rain in fringe, but not in water.”