COMFY, CLASSIC
PHOEBE TONKIN’S LOUNGEWEAR LINE, LESJOUR!, IS MADE FROM AN EARTH-FRIENDLY FABRIC DERIVED FROM WOOD PULP.
WE’VEALLhadtoadjust our routines since the pandemic, with many people pivoting professionally. Phoebe Tonkin is no different. When Hollywood productions halted in March because of the novel coronavirus, the Australian actress and environmental activist used the downtime to revisit an idea she’d previously put on the back burner. In late October, Tonkin teased the new project on her Instagram account alongside a photo with the word “LESJOUR!” in red. The mysterious post left Tonkin’s 6.1 million followers Googling what the word might mean.
The answer is officially out of the biodegradable bag. On Oct. 29 Tonkin launched Lesjour!, a sustainable loungewear collection. It consists of six pieces (four tops and two pants) in two colorways (black and red), with each piece sold separately for $198. The sets, made of earth-friendly material, are exclusively available for preorder on lesjour.com in sizes XS to XXL.
Although Tonkin had long contemplated creating a sustainable fashion line, Lesjour!’s aesthetic ultimately was inspired by her off-duty wardrobe and pandemic lifestyle.
“I felt like I was changing four times a day but in the same variation of pajamas,” Tonkin told The Times over Zoom last month while clad in a red Lesjour! top, which she paired with gold hoop earrings by Oma the Label. “Then the pajamas would elevate to sweatpants to go to the grocery store and then I’d come back and put something else on.”
To minimize wardrobe changes, the 31-year-old decided to design a modern take on the traditional 1970s leisure suit. “I wanted to create something that was tailored, that was f lattering, that was most importantly comfortable but was also really chic and classic,” she said of the various styles, which include cardigans, long-sleeve tops and wide-leg pants.
“The set is a great foundation or platform for your personal style,” she said. “You can project your personality onto these clothes as opposed to these clothes being the personality.”
She also wanted the pieces to be fuss-free. “You can scrunch them up at the end of the day and then put them on again in the morning.”
Based in Los Angeles, Lesjour! is a quintessential West Coast brand. “I definitely feel it’s been influenced by the ease of living in California,” Tonkin said, adding that each garment is made in L.A. with all orders being dispatched from the brand’s local studio.
“I moved back from New York to L.A. to do Lesjour! full-time,” she said, explaining she has lived between the two cities but decided midquarantine to get out of her East Coast lease to focus on the new endeavor. Tonkin drives to downtown L.A. every few days to visit the manufacturer. Otherwise, she works from home.
“The less impact on the environment, the better,” she said; the factory is within five miles of her home.
Because Tonkin is as passionate about the environment as she is about fashion, sustainability is built into her brand’s ethos. The entire line is made of Ecovero by Lenzing, an L.A.knitted renewable viscose made from wood pulp.
“I’m excited to be one of the first companies to be using it,” Tonkin said, adding that the fabric has a “cashmere, supersoft feeling”; each tree used to create the fabric is replanted using regenerative farming practices. Tonkin found the material while researching earth-friendly alternatives. “Fabrics like Ecovero are nextlevel innovative — the future of fabrics.”
Ecological considerations are seen in every detail. Orders are shipped using Better Packaging Co.’s limited-edition, reusable, biodegradable gift packaging. And each garment is devoid of a tag. “Why would we need hang tags?” Tonkin said. “If someone is going to wear it and send it back, they’re going to wear it and reattach it anyway. It’s just extra trash.”
While most companies have yet to consider their carbon footprint in such a comprehensive way, Tonkin said she doesn’t necessarily want Lesjour! to be considered “this shouting-from-the-rooftop-sustainable brand.” Her feeling is that she does “all of that homework for the consumer so they can trust us. It should be a given now if you are creating anything more to put on this planet, it should be sustainably minded. … That should just be expected of new brands.”
Tonkin acknowledged that some consumers’ eyes might glaze over at the word “sustainability,” which can feel like a buzzword, but part of that may be due to its ever-shifting definition. In many ways, consumers don’t know what the word means because, according to Tonkin, fashion companies are still navigating the best route for minimizing their carbon footprint.
“Everyone’s trying to bet on what sustainability is,” she said, noting that deadstock was at one point trendy before people realized it wasn’t doing much. She hopes companies continue to consider sustain
THE LESJOUR!