Vancouver’s Brunette the Label Celebrates a Significant Milestone

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Once a brand establishes its niche, it can be challenging to deviate from it.

This is a struggle Vancouver entrepreneur Miriam Alden is all too familiar with.

Over the past ten years, the founder of Brunette the Label has cultivated a small empire centered around sweatshirts, most adorned with playful logos and slogans like Babes Supporting Babes, Brunette, and Blonde.

Launching the brand back in 2014 with a sweatshirt that boldly stated Brunette is the New Black, Alden capitalized on her connections as a clothing wholesaler, courting early enthusiasts for her designs among her distribution company’s existing retail partners.

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“We just kept moving along with that trend, and it was well-received by our retailers,” Alden remarks regarding the casual pieces.

However, after a decade of operation—including several prosperous years fueled by the pandemic-driven demand for lounge wear—Alden is keen to guide her brand into a more fashion-forward landscape.

“Now is our moment to explore new categories,” Alden states, mentioning that Brunette also expanded into children’s apparel this year.

This brings up a pivotal question: how does one forge a new path when the audience anticipates a focus on a specific style? Alden believes the pivotal factor is the methodology.

“How can I maintain the value system, keeping our community intact and the essence of the brand consistent?” Alden recalls contemplating. “We started branching into categories that still felt like lounge wear, like knitwear and coordinated sets. Outerwear has become a significant part of our offering. Then we introduced essential basics.”

While the evolution is personally motivated, it also coincides with a collective shift away from lounge wear toward more structured styles in a post-pandemic world.

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“The brand’s momentum started to wane for retailers due to its lounge focus. People had moved past buying lounge wear,” Alden explains.

With numerous milestones achieved in the past ten years—including retail pop-ups at Holt Renfrew and collaborations with brands like Goop and Juicy Couture—Alden took a serious inventory of what Brunette’s future might entail amidst the business slowdown.

“That period could have been a pivot point for us to stagnate,” Alden acknowledges.

The path has not always been smooth. The direct-to-consumer and wholesale company closed its only standalone location in Vancouver after just a few years and reduced its staff from about 35 to eight.

“The last couple of years have been challenging, but I’m eager to move forward,” shares Alden, the sole owner of the brand. “I feel like it’s the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another.”

Some difficulties—such as delivery delays at the border and spearheading a collection campaign single-handedly—are shared with customers and followers on social media, providing a genuine glimpse into the realities of growing a brand.

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“I want them to see every aspect of it,” Alden states regarding her online transparency. “It’s not always a perfectly polished journey.”

Alden has become a key representative for the brand, offering glimpses behind the curtain, her personal styling insights, her family life, and more.

“It’s amusing to say because you’d expect that by the 10-year mark, you’d be able to take it easy,” Alden chuckles about her roller-coaster experience as a small-business owner. “I can genuinely state that this year, I’ve never worked harder.”

“Perhaps since my early days driving around selling items out of my trunk. It’s been a transformative period.”

But now, she’s eager to press ahead.

The brand has evolved to include more fashionable pieces, such as one-shoulder satin tops, oversized blazers, slinky slip dresses, and more within its holiday collection. To elevate the brand’s fashion identity, Alden also showcased her latest creations during a stylish runway show at a downtown Vancouver bar in December.

“You can consider it an everywhere brand,” Alden notes regarding the refreshed Brunette the Label collection.

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Although Alden asserts that the brand has always mirrored her personal style to some degree, she emphasizes that the new and upcoming collections accurately reflect who she is today.

“While it has always represented me, I’ve also evolved,” she shares.

Looking ahead, Alden is enthusiastic about the future of her Brunette brand—with a couple of minor exclusions.

When asked if there are any apparel categories she would never explore, she replied without hesitation: “Menswear,” she chuckles. “I’ll leave that to others.”

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