CLEVELAND — A clothing store in Ohio is giving shoppers a behind-the-scenes peek at production.
The sewing machines in the back room at Sozo aren’t just for show. They’re used to make about 80% of the items sold inside the store, and Danielle Pusateri designs each piece.
“I’ve always loved clothing,” she said. “I remember when I was a kid I’d go into Joann Fabrics, and just be like, get so excited about fabric.”
As the brand’s lead designer, the 32-year-old is working hard to make sure each garment in Solo’s new spring line is a cut above the rest.
“You have to understand what people are going to like, what people are going to buy, what’s going to sell,” she said. “Which can be very hard.”
And she does it all with an audience.
“It’s kind of like with a restaurant farm-to-table — it’s the same thing with clothing,” Pusateri said.
A glass wall between the sales floor and back room gives some transparency showing the five-person production team in action.
“We want to see that actual people are making it, they have like great working conditions,” she said.
And because most of the inventory is handmade on site, it cuts down on waste.
“We don’t have to produce hundreds of product; we just produce as we need it or as it sells,” Pusateri said.
This “slow fashion” revolution is an evolution from how the business was born. It spawned from making masks for Majestic Steel employees in April 2020.
“Sozo came from Soteria, which is like the goddess of guardianship and salvation, which made sense during the pandemic cause of everything that was going on,” Pusateri said.
The business is set up in the Pinecrest shopping center and is continuing to balance fashion and function.
“Especially being in Cleveland, like we have cold weather, we are working people, like just trying to make things comfortable, but also fashionable at the same time,” she said.
The brand casts a wide net with unisex styles with each piece inspected twice before it’s sold and sealed with a patch.
“That’s our shield for salvation and guardianship,” Pusateri said.
She said she hopes shoppers seeing someone actually making the item shares some insight into the industry and the work it takes, and encourages them to try some sustainable styles on for size.
“Because the fashion industry is a huge cause of waste in this world,” Pusateri said, “But also trying to get people to value their clothing more. You know, take care of their clothing better.”
Every item sold at Sozo is made in the United States, even the fabric used to make the clothing. Their spring collection is set to debut in March.
