About Us
Efrain Whitt began as a sketch in a pocket notebook on a late-night subway ride through Brooklyn. Our founder, a self-taught designer who left a career in architecture, believed that clothing should move like buildings designed for wind: structured yet fluid, bold yet welcoming.
Today efrainwhitt is an independent studio creating footwear and apparel that fuse European minimalism with downtown New York energy. Each collection starts with a single word such as drift, echo or pulse which guides proportions, colour stories and fabrication. We source Italian suedes, Portuguese knits and dead-stock denims from Japan, prioritising suppliers who run on renewable energy and pay living wages.
Our design room doubles as a sampling workshop. Patterns are cut on vintage oak tables, seams are stitched, tested, then unpicked and refined until the garment sings. This iterative approach means we release fewer than 400 units per style, ensuring scarcity without hype.
Sustainability is not a label for us; it is method. Shoes are built with Blake-flex construction so soles can be replaced, extending life by years. Garments are shipped in recycled mailers printed with water-based inks and include a prepaid label for eventual return-to-recycle.
We photograph every product on real people across ages, sizes and backgrounds rather than industry models, because style belongs to everyone. Our campaigns are shot on film under natural light to celebrate texture and truth.
Community drives us. Each season we donate 5% of net sales to local creative education programmes, funding art supplies and after-school workshops. Customers receive an invitation to vote for the next recipient, turning purchase into participation.
From sketch to sidewalk, efrainwhitt stands for respectful design, honest pricing and cultural dialogue. We invite you to wear the pieces, scuff them, repair them and write your own chapter into their story.