Victoria E Gets Behind The Seams With Peligrosa

Illustrious eco diva Victoria Everman recently interviewed our longtime friends, Adam and Nico at Peligrosa. These two designers launched Peligrosa back in 2004; they sought to collaborate on a sustainable clothing line that would outlive trends through producing absolutely classic designs. Victoria Everman picks the couple’s brains about their past lives in Japan, sustainable fabric, and the dangerous feminine.

Behind the Seams with Adam Sidell and Nico Morrison of Peligrosa
By Victoria E.

Made to stand the test of time, the sustainable stylish offerings of Peligrosa are a force to be reckoned with. Started by husband-and-wife team Adam Sidell and Nico Morrison, Peligrosa makes tops, bottoms, t-shirts, dresses and more for both men and women in sustainable fabrics. Based in Los Angeles, Peligrosa also donates a portion of their profits to non-profit youth programs and have recently moved 80% of their production back to the United States to reduce their carbon footprint as a brand.

Both you and your wife Nico worked in the entertainment industry and Japanese fashion world before teaming up to do an eco-line together. How did you go from you first casual meeting in 2004 to starting a sustainable brand?

Nico Morrison: I’d been working in Japan over ten years and made great contacts along the way. One of my favorite memories is traveling outside of Nagoya to a farmland owned by Mr. Fujita, a tiny middle-aged man and his wife who operated a handloom in a barn. He would crank out a new textile every day, and I was fortunate to spend many days with him, drinking tea and brainstorming over unusual plants and how to weave them into fabric.

When I started Mille Nico in 2001, I was determined to make all the textiles in Japan under the same artisan method, no matter the cost. Our incorporation of Peligrosa was an extension of my experience in Japan and our mutual love of the handicraft approach. Using organic & sustainable materials made sense, since we’ve always favored natural materials over synthetic manmade fibers and wanted to diminish the toxicity levels of our own apparel production.

Adam Sidell: After meeting, Nico and I designed the last Mille Nico collection (everything was linen and silk). We fell in love and decided to start a new label that would represent our combined aesthetics and mutual concerns for the environment. We were doing a lot of private label manufacturing for other companies, and by their insistence for cost sensitivity, visited hundreds of factories and fabric mills in Asia and were fed up with substandard factory conditions, pollution, and waste in the manufacturing process. We made a conscious decision to reject the status quo, and focus on sustainable, and organic manufacturing.

Where does the company’s name, Peligrosa, originate from? Does it have a special meaning?

Adam: The Spanish translation of peligrosa is “dangerous” (feminine). There’s a very sexy connotation to the word, as well as some underlying sub text. Our Peligrosa woman is provocative – she’s intelligent, strong willed, tempts with her femininity and mind. This is someone who consciously chooses clothing that appeals to her convictions as well as her curves.

It’s dangerous to go against the grain, and follow your dreams. It’s dangerous to take risks, and follow your heart. As a clothing company, it was dangerous making the decision to be an eco friendly, sustainable clothing collection. We had many friends in the apparel business who thought we were crazy, and destined to fail.

Making goods from organic cotton, organic wool, cashmere and recycled cotton, do you have a particular sustainable fiber that is your favorite to design with? Are there any fibers that you hope to work with in the future?

Nico: I love texture, intricate quilting, and deep, rich colors. Organic cotton absorbs our colors brilliantly, and our recycled cottons have great speckled, slub finishes. We love the versatility and sustainability of organic cotton, but it’s tough to pick a favorite material. I love everything we work with. Currently, we’re developing some very innovative textiles in sustainable materials – just wait! Every season, we come out with a completely new textile – part of what I absolutely love in design.

On Peligrosa’s website, a certain emphasis is put on children and their importance for our planet and our culture. To support these statements, Peligrosa donates a percentage of its profits to the Boys & Girls Club of America – why this particular organization? Have you seen any interesting developments within the organization thanks to your donations?

Adam: It’s thrilling to see so many of our peers contributing net proceeds to environmental causes. It’s really important, and it’s great to see business people getting involved. We felt environmental causes were getting the majority of donations from apparel companies which caused us to rethink our position.

Education is our focus, it’s important to nurture young people so they’ll know from an early age the importance of taking care of our environment. By supporting youth programs, we hope future generations will have the thoughtfulness, education, and training to reverse the damage done to the planet they inevitably will inherit.

Read more of Victoria E.’s interview with Peligrosa at Victoria-E.com…