Welcome to Ap0cene Undressed - the official blog of Ap0cene, a fashion tech platform that empowers independent designers to reach the new wave of conscious, luxury consumers. This space will feature discourse on an array of current fashion topics, from exclusive designer interviews, trend forecasts, industry insights, and updates on our journey building our fledgling fashion startup, Ap0cene. We’ll also keep it light and fun, with everything from curated playlists to unique cocktail recipes.

We thought it would be best to lay the foundation for this blog with Ap0cene’s origin story. Our genesis began when Ap0cene co-founders Elissa Rumford, Ariel Arakas, and Sam Walker bonded as friends and collaborators while working at a New York-based blockchain company. It was during this time that they discovered a shared passion for sustainable emerging fashion, and realized the potential in their combined strengths. Late-night conversations about boundary-pushing fashion and unique ways of integrating cutting-edge tech while on work trips laid the foundation for their entrepreneurial journey. Ap0cene first began as a designer feature Instagram account but quickly cultivated an engaged community centered around a push for sustainable fashion; inspiring, innovative designs; and the authentic designer personalities behind them.

What is Ap0cene? We are a global community, technology platform, and online marketplace that empowers independent designers to tap into the ever-growing conscious consumer market. Since our official incorporation in January 2022, Ap0cene has proudly built a global portfolio comprising over 215 international designers. The name "Ap0cene" was derived from the word "Anthropocene" representing the geological epoch marked by significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including climate change. We believe if humans are capable of such a significant negative impact, then we are also capable of massive positive change, and thus our name underscores Ap0cene's commitment to transforming our planet positively through ethical and sustainable industry practices. The inclusion of the "0" symbolizes our philosophy to strive towards zero-waste.

As our Instagram account gained traction, we increasingly saw more audience demand to purchase the designs we were featuring. It seemed like the logical next step to open an international online marketplace, but we knew this would mature Ap0cene from our fun side hustle to a full-time job. Taking a leap of faith, we decided to leave our secure tech jobs and embark on the challenging path of entrepreneurship. To showcase a proof of concept before approaching investors, we bootstrapped our marketplace while continuing to work other time-intensive jobs. This meant sacrificing salaries while working over 60 hours a week to build our brand, on top of freelancing to sustain ourselves financially.