How does a new brand break into the industry and make a splash while balancing the ideals of sustainability? For young designers Catharine Dahm and Jacqueline Rabot, it means growing slow by developing made-to-order, smaller batch garments for their new contemporary brand, Rabôt. Pronounced “Rah-Beau,” the line aims to combat the industry’s issue of disposable fabrics and fast fashion through using solely deadstock fabrics.
“It’s such a wasteful industry, we just wanted to make some sort of impact on the environment and think the best avenue to do that is fashion,” Dahm explained during a preview of Rabôt’s first collection. “We’re starting small and putting in everything that we can. We’re funding everything ourselves, all of our savings go into it.”
The duo — who met at an orchestra concert a few years back in Philadelphia (coincidentally when they were both working at the Urban Outfitters Campus — Dahm a former interactive designer at Bhldn, Rabot a former associate designer at Free People) — currently balance developing their new line while working full-time jobs in Los Angeles. Dahm is a senior graphic designer at Buck Mason and Rabot is a designer at Current/Elliott; for Rabôt, they wear many more hats as cofounders.
Dahm
“It’s such a wasteful industry, we just wanted to make some sort of impact on the environment and think the best avenue to do that is fashion,” Dahm explained during a preview of Rabôt’s first collection. “We’re starting small and putting in everything that we can. We’re funding everything ourselves, all of our savings go into it.”
The duo — who met at an orchestra concert a few years back in Philadelphia (coincidentally when they were both working at the Urban Outfitters Campus — Dahm a former interactive designer at Bhldn, Rabot a former associate designer at Free People) — currently balance developing their new line while working full-time jobs in Los Angeles. Dahm is a senior graphic designer at Buck Mason and Rabot is a designer at Current/Elliott; for Rabôt, they wear many more hats as cofounders.
Dahm