For many, the term, “fashion” draws up images of Paris, Vogue or models parading down runways, but like most industries today, fashion is evolving fast. With e-commerce booming and companies utilizing social media and influencers to widen their reach, it’s easier than ever to shop for and purchase apparel. San Francisco, though not a traditional hot bed for fashion in comparison to cities like New York, it’s home to a number of leading brands, specifically direct-to-consumer brands that are quickly changing the fashion landscape.
Top Fashion Startups in San Francisco
- Unspun
- ThirdLove
- Allbirds
- Poshmark
- Everlane
- Rothy's
- Stitch Fix
- ThredUP
To provide a sense of the fashion landscape in San Francisco, we’ve compiled a list of San Francisco fashion companies you should know.
Founded: 2013
Cash App, a popular fintech app headquartered in San Francisco, launched its house-designed apparel line in 2020. Cash by Cash App features all limited edition items, custom-designed in New York City. With unisex sizing and quality materials, Cash by Cash App aims to be a noteworthy player at the intersection of fashion and tech.
Founded: 2011
TheRealReal is an authenticated luxury consignment and retailer that helps promote the benefits of a circular economy, empowering buyers and consignors to extend the life of luxury goods to cut down on excess waste and save money. Featuring both brick-and-mortar storefronts and a strong online presence, the retailer features designer clothing for men and women as well as jewelry, watches and more, all assessed by a team of expert gemologists, horologists and brand savants.
Founded: 2015
Unspun’s mobile visual recognition technology can scan customers’ bodies and create custom-tailored jeans that perfectly match their body type. Once Unspun tailors the fit, customers can customize features like hemming, fabric type and rise to perfectly match their style preferences.
Founded: 2013
Thirdlove is an underwear and loungewear brand with a mission to offer the perfect and most comfortable fit. Going beyond traditional sizing, the direct to consumer brand offers a variety of products and an online fit guide ensuring users find their exact size.
Founded: 2015
Allbirds makes comfortable footwear from sustainable and renewable materials. The versatile footwear features a simple design with various colors to choose from and are created from natural materials like wool, tree fibers and sugar.
Founded: 2011
Poshmark is a platform dedicated to cultivating a social shopping experience by connecting a community of shoppers with over 75 million listings. A seller can list their clothing or home goods for a price they feel comfortable with, then can comment, share other listings and negotiate with interested buyers. To date, Poshmark boasts more than 40 million active users.
Founded: 2009
Betabrand is an online clothing community offering apparel for men and women. The clothing destination is also a crowdfunding platform where users fund new products and styles they want to wear.
Founded: 2011
Cuyana is a modern apparel and fashion brand offering lasting clothing collections with simple designs for women. Founded on the idea of “Fewer, Better Things” Cuyana crafts high quality, timeless items that will thrive in closets for years to come.
Founded: 2010
Everlane is a clothing company creating high quality items with fine materials and ethical factories. From staple items like sweaters and denim to bags and accessories, Everlane utilizes high-grade materials to ensure their products last for years.
Founded: 2012
Le Tote is an apparel rental service where users can browse and rent a range of styles online. Users select their favorites, receive them at their door, wear and return. From athleisure to professional attire, Le Tote enables women to broaden their wardrobes and be trendy without having to purchase new items.
Founded: 2014
Modern Citizen is a shopping destination for modern and minimalist apparel, beauty products and home goods. The brand has a unique feature where items are named through a nomination process of women they admire. Modern Citizen operates largely online but has a San Francisco flagship store and pop-up stores in NYC and Dallas.
Founded: 2017
Olivela is a fashion and beauty company with a conscious. The company partners with children’s charities and offers luxury fashion brands to consumers, donating 20 percent of proceeds to causes like the Malala Fund, Too Young To Wed, Global Wildlife Conservation and many others.
Founded: 2012
Rocksbox is a personalized jewelry rental service that sends users hand-picked items based off preferences and wish lists. The service sends three jewelry sets a month and if a user loves a piece too much to part with it, they can use a monthly credit to purchase it.
Founded: 2015
Rothy’s is a direct-to-consumer footwear company using recycled plastic bottles to create washable, durable flats. The company operates their own factory in China where they use 3D knitting technology and handcrafted assembly to demonstrate sustainable manufacturing.
Founded: 2011
Stitch Fix is an online personal styling service for men, women and kids. Users fill out style profiles that provide personal preferences and budget requirements and then stylists hand-pick items based off each user’s tastes and needs. Stitch Fix offers unique clothing choices to enhance wardrobes without a subscription.
Founded: 2009
ThreadUP is an online secondhand apparel and consignment marketplace. Currently offering discounted women’s and kid’s clothing, the online destination gives gently used clothes new life while enabling shoppers to clean out closets and add their apparel to ThreadUP’s online store.
