Behind the Scenes with Rebus Life

Back in January, we let you in on one of Canada’s hottest emerging brands, Rebus Productions, which has quickly become one of our weekend staples for loungewear and denim for any occasion. As you may recall, we were excited to check out Rebus’ Spring/Summer 2012 collection, The Nest, as well as the coveted promotional REBUS x NEW ERA 5950 caps on January 31st at the New Era Cap flagship store on Queen West. We’re going to give you a little behind-the-scenes look at this rapidly growing company – which has recently caught the attention of GQ Magazine – straight from Rebus President and Creative Director Adam Bledin.

In case you missed it, here is a quick run down. Rebus gear is designed by young professionals for young professionals, reflecting Toronto’s diversity and style. Thanks to its fresh, youthful feel, characterized by the signature three bird logo, Rebus products are designed to celebrate Toronto’s distinct street style. Once you own a pair of Rebus’ infamous LAZY PANTS™ or handcrafted denim, you’ll know exactly why they provide a basic luxury that has YPs throughout the city buzzing.  

Speaking casually but passionately about the brand, Adam describes how Rebus began as a t-shirt company of his brother Justin’s that featured six different t-shirt designs. When Adam returned home from California about five years ago, where he had been living, Justin offered him the company. Adam began with a basic line that included polos, hoodies and jeans. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the company was forced to take a hiatus for a few years until Adam and his high school friend, Moshe Modeira, decided to re-launch the brand. Rebus as we know it officially launched on March 24th of 2011.

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Rebus premium denim is available in fine styles or washes and two cuts or fits. The high quality denim is designed in Toronto and handcrafted in Istanbul, Turkey, tailored for ultimate comfort and modern form yet with a timeless design. The two male/female denim fits include The Crow/Dove Skinny, which are truly the world’s best skinny. The Hawk/Swan Slimmy is a sexy, versatile straight-slim cut that can be worn for a big night out, lunch meeting or running errands around the city. We opted for a crisp, black skinny, which has the ability to mold model-type form for any YP female. With jeans costing upwards of $300 these days, Rebus denim’s price tag of $150 is a welcomed option to paying more than double that as you would with your typical designer jean.

The LAZY PANTS™ lounge pant is well constructed using high-quality fabrics and marks a welcomed return to the sweat pant basics with a sturdy elastic leg band, a thicker premium fleece and the perfect amount of leg room. When we are at home, we live in these things and there is nothing softer and less restricting. The debut colours for SS12 are navy, charcoal, grey and dark teal. Look out Free City – Rebus’ LAZY PANTS™ had our friends south of the border buzzing earlier this month at Project New York, catching the attention of GQ Magazine. The LAZY PANTS™ retail for $80.

Bledin says that the LAZY PANTS™ are so popular for a few reasons: people are intrigued by their name, comfort and quality. Bledin has found that the intrigue with the name contributes to their initial appeal. Thanks to the fact that the thread runs up and down, the pants won’t rip or pill and, much like wine, only get better with age. To prove his point, he compared a fresh new pair of the pants to the first ever pair.

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Like many entrepreneurial endeavours, Bledin says that no day is typical at Rebus and it usually involves running around the city to appointments, answering emails on the go and working with local youth in the after school hours in projects affiliated with Peacebuilders, a Canadian charity dedicated to helping troubled youth. Rebus remains committed to the charity and donates 10 per cent of proceeds to  Peacebuilders and its school projects.

Bledin prides Rebus in being socially responsible and he makes sure of this himself on his visits to production facilities in Turkey (products are all made with fine Turkish cotton), where he pays due diligence to make sure the factory was operating by the most ethical practices, with fair employee wages and the most up-to-date work standards. The factory is in Istanbul and all products are handmade without machines. Instead of wasting materials, Rebus will feature cozy throw blankets and pillows made out of left over materials for Fall 2012. We got a sneak peek at some and, we must say, they would make a welcomed addition to any movie night in.

One of Bledin’s biggest milestones to date, aside from the GQ recognition, has been the New Era partnership as he confesses that he owns every major league baseball hat. He also mentions the fact that The Denim Guy made a rare stray from discussing denim with a mention of The LAZY PANTS™ in a recent post.

What’s next for Rebus? Well, definitely not a store. Bledin says he simply doesn’t see the point and sees a store as a potential loss. Instead, five years from now, Bledin sees Rebus increasing its prevalence in other major North American cities. He sees himself living in New York, where he would like to have a warehouse. For now, he says that the best strategy is walking into stores and boutiques in fashion centres like Montreal and New York with product and pitching on the spot. As Bledin claims, this not only saves time in email exchanges, it also lessens the probability for rejection as once they arrive in the store with the product available to touch and feel, people instantly fall in love with it.

The Rebus team is comprised of Elizabeth Heggie, VP of Sales and Operations; Julien Abesdris, Art Director; Moshe, Brand Director; and Greg Langer, Director of Marketing.