Issue 002: A/W 2025

Our essay segment invites a unique voice to share personal insights and reflections on their relationship with clothing and style. These essays offer readers an intimate, often nostalgic exploration of how the pieces we choose to keep – or rediscover – become often woven into the stories of our lives. Through thoughtful storytelling, each contributor delves into themes of sustainability, identity, and the enduring value of cherished garments, aiming to inspire a shift in perspective: from seeing clothing as mere utility or trend to appreciating it as an integral part of our personal histories and values.

Edy Guy takes on a journey of the symbiotic nature of the garments in our lives. From multiple owners, to stories and memories created in them, to how the lifecycle of production to destruction can be one with more circular intent and outcome. 

Edy is a writer, editor, publicist, and teach from the Midwest, now living in Portland, Oregon. She's worked with publishers, fashion brands, and creative agencies including Buckman Publishing, Unspun, and Fonograf Editions. She also runs the Substack Intertext where she writes and talks with authors about their influences. In 2024, she graduated with a master's degree in critical studies. Her work is motivated by social reform and deep feeling.

Some call it the “s-word.” The “big S.” In context, these phrases recall corporate designers, technicians and marketeers talking about how – Sustainability practices, with a capital S – are all phony. For the sake of this generation, much of what’s been previously said and promised – as many “net zero” corporate missions have yielded – amounts to worse than nothing. What is corporate sustainability? We just don’t know.

What we do know: there are still brands and companies working to sustainably serve, sell, and scale their trades, projects and practices. Their existence – their will, process and art – is what WTP covers through "Sustainable Practice Spotlight" (SPS). So who else could better show us the answers to shared questions about our relationship to sustainability – either individual or corporate? With each SPS feature, the symbiotic impact of product, people and planet are at the forefront. No “carbon capture” promises – all straight SPS here.

For our second installment of SPS, we visited the warehouse archive of Maurizio Donadi, who is the founder of Transnomadica. After decades of working in the fashion industry across some of the biggest names, such as Diesel, Giorgio Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, Levi's and Champion, he set out to build something different. Simply put, Transnomadica is the culmination of building a brand that exists without creating anything new. With nearly 40 years of collecting garments, Maurizio's LA space houses 16,000 pieces.

“Lost Art” is a series of stories celebrating the services, businesses and trades that restore, renew and repair our things. With their expertise, they critically keep our clothing items and objects in use over time, promoting sustainability and intentionality with style and spending practices.

This time around we look to our feet, and the declining profession of cobblers. With that we stopped to see the good people at Goods & Services, based in the Arts District of LA, to learn more about their impressive operation, what inspired them to make the jump from the traditional fashion industry, and how they are bridging the gap between simple repairs and outsole swaps, to completely custom renditions of your favorite shoes, and most recently their very own original designs. 

In a pinch? Need a quick fix for a sudden problem that won’t go away? You may need to see a doctor for that, but otherwise, bookmark this section. We’re at your service and can see you now! WTP’s "How To" guides will highlight simple, yet effective handiwork methods you can do today to update and prolong your clothing items. Combining utility and self-discovery – sometimes an easy hem or stitch repair can lead to custom garment alterations and new styles to discover – let’s remind ourselves that we’re never too old to learn new things, or see old things in a new light.

And hey, if you really need help with that clothing or sneaker project? Hit up a tailor or cobbler in your local area. We promise, they gotchu. For now, "How To" is here.

Suede is one of the most durable and long lasting materials that footwear uppers can use. It can also deteriorate quickly when exposed to harsh conditions such as rain, snow, and mud, if not treated the right way. In this tutorial we clean up a pair of Clarks Wallabees that are over seven years old, and prep them for more wear for years to come.

The wardrobe section is where we narrow each person’s closet down to their 50 most used and favorite/sentimental pieces – diving into when and where each piece was obtained, technical details, style insights, and why it means so much to them. Subsequently, we then go beyond documentation, curating the items to better understand and unpack each person’s system of dress. By providing analytics that show data and visuals that prove possibility.

Bryce Wong is our featured wardrobe for 002. A prolific artist and designer, who has gone viral for his creations online, also serves as a designer at Nike. He has worked on some of your most coveted Nike SB collaborations, and now sits with the Dot Swoosh digital footwear team. As a super active person, spanning skateboarding, Jiu-Jitsu, painting and other activities, Bryce's wardrobe selects are one of function, fun and serve his life more than any current trend.