EB Denim Makes Must

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Elena Bonvicini's designs embrace the sexy and chaotic energy of L.A.

People tend to be passionate about their denim, and designer Elena Bonvicini is no exception. The 23-year-old budding designer is the creative mind behind EB Denim, a buzzy, carefully curated collection of denim goods (including jeans, skirts, dresses, and corsets) that has captured the attention of Hollywood's ultimate trendsetters. Hailey Bieber, Lori Harvey, and both Hadid sisters have all been photographed sporting their own pairs. EB is edgy without being overtly trendy, taking inspiration from vintage denim silhouettes and upcycling techniques including grommet detailing, chain-link embellishments, patchwork prints, and ultra-mini hemlines.

"We've definitely been trying to figure out what our roots are [as a brand] as we've been growing, but it all really stems from that perfect pair of 501s and that vintage, worn-in, masculine denim with a novelty and contemporary twist," Bonvicini tells BAZAAR.com from her airy showroom in downtown Los Angeles. "I really love elements that are novelty that set us apart; for example, our chain detailing is what really put us on the map and our signature seams of reconstruction that help elevate an outfit. It's really cool when you can look at someone's outfit and think, Where are those jeans from? Because so many pairs of jeans just, like, blend together. We're leaning a little bit more toward fashion [rather] than just everyday denim."

For Bonvicini, who spent the early part of her life scouring the Midwest for vintage denim, the thrill of thrifting inspired her own trajectory into design. "When I would go to the Midwest to visit my grandparents, I would go and thrift with my grandma—we would do, like, these road trips together. I would buy out all of the jeans I could, because I would make cutoff shorts for myself," Bonvicini says. "Then I brought them back to Orange County, where I'm from, and my friends went crazy for them. So I would buy suitcases at the thrift stores, pack them with these cutoff shorts, bring them back and sell them to my friends on the high school locker room floor. That's how I got into denim and upcycling."

She continues, "When shorts went out of season, I decided to take sewing classes with my mom—it was our little Thursday ritual—and I found that there was a huge supply of these oversized men's jeans and a really finite supply of the women's jeans. And at the time, Off-White and other lines were doing really cool reconstruction, and I was inspired by that. I started reconstructing these men's jeans into women's jeans, and I decided to start an Instagram for it and just took that leap of faith."

Instagram, it turned out, was the perfect platform to launch EB Denim. It provided a springboard for her designs to be seen by tastemakers, stylists, and fashion darlings alike. "I just reached out to whoever I could, that I thought was cool and had great style and tried to see if they would be interested in just owning a pair," she explains. "I didn't even care if they wore it. I just wanted them to have it. And within the first week, we had Danielle Bernstein and Chiara Ferragni wear, post, and tag, and the conversion with that was insane. That gave me the confidence to continue with that and build up my product offering. After two years of really going after influencers and growing our upcycle business, we had Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner wear EB during the summer of 2020."

Using the power of the Internet was also imperative to EB's business model. "If you were to talk to me two years ago, I was such a shy person. Having the Internet and being able to communicate and reach out to people through that was such an incredible tool as a young person to use and navigate. It's really cool how the industry's changing and how accessible it is for young designers."

Embracing social media also helped Bonvicini find her own personal support system of industry peers, including fellow designer Danielle Guizio. "I'm really lucky through the Internet to have met idols of mine who are in fashion like Danielle Guizio, who's like a big sister to me," she says. "If I ever have questions, she's always there for me."

Bonvicini describes the EB Denim woman as one who embraces the "weirdness" of L.A. juxtaposed with the appeal of high fashion. "We're always trying to figure out the psychology of the L.A. cool girl. She wears cool pieces. She thrifts. She mixes in cool brands, like The Attico or Orseund Iris. She has her own identity."

It's a style ethos Bonvicini hopes to lean into for the future of EB Denim. "We're making pieces that are not just for right now, but the future. That's something that really excites me, is making pieces that I don't necessarily think exist in the market, but I'm really excited to be wearing it in six months," she says. "Brands start to fall off when they're just trying to do the same thing over and over and over. We're always leveling up. We're always, like, thinking about what's next."

She adds, "It's important for me to be embedded in culture and have in-person events and really connect with people and create experiences for people to tie back to the collection. [But at the end of the day], it will always be about simply having a great product."

Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.

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