 “At The Evans Group, we are trying to preserve fashion as an art. The people we work with are artists, we are not interested in mass production,” says Jennifer Evans, founder and chief executive officer of The Evans Group, a fashion and development and production house located in Los Angeles. Indeed, the company’s clients are some of the most sought after—and artistic—California designers, including Jeremy Scott and Project Runway alum Jeffrey Sebelia.
In a vertically-integrated facility, the company provides a range of services including making patterns and samples, as well as filling small and large quantity production orders. “We’re making it a simple process for our designers,” says Evans.
In a little over a year, the company has built a substantial client base with only word-of-mouth promotion because, as Evans notes, “We came across this market of small designers who needed help.”
A self-described “social entrepreneur,” Evans not only assists her clients, but her employees and the global community as well. Evans has a total of 50 employees, many of whom are immigrants, so by partnering with organizations like the Literacy Network of Los Angeles, she offers English and nutrition classes to make the assimilation process a smooth one.
Evans is also dedicated to providing opportunities for workers in other countries. She will soon host five tailors from Africa for several months, allowing them to hone their skills at her company with the hope that they will return to their native land and start their own businesses, ensuring a better quality of life for all. Evans is quick to credit the FBI with offering the services and consultants she needs to move her company into the next phase of growth. “Truly, the FBI is doing exactly what I need help with right now, in terms of setting up the modular system, help with financial planning, computer classes, those are all the things I need in order to grow, and to work at the level we are working at. It’s very exciting to see what they offer.”
Evans says that the FBI and her clients support her efforts because they are “informed and looking to make a difference.” When she became involved with a charity that provides school uniforms for children in Senegal, Africa, she immediately received an enthusiastic response. Her employees donated their time to sew the uniforms, while clients happily gave unused fabric. Evans says that giving back is not out of the ordinary, even in the glamorous world of fashion. “If you provide a way for people to do it easily, and they can have fun while they do it, people love to contribute.”
By Anna Zappia First Published 2/27/07 |
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