The future of luxury American fashion is about feeling real
In May 2026, model Kaia Gerber stepped into a new role at Los Angeles denim label Re/Done — not as a face for hire, but as investor, creative partner, and co-architect of the brand's future. Under incoming CEO Phillip Prado, a Gucci veteran, Re/Done is quietly attempting what many heritage brands struggle to do: grow without losing the authenticity that made them matter. Gerber's involvement signals a broader cultural shift in how young cultural figures are choosing to engage with fashion — not from the outside, but from within.
- Re/Done, once a cult favorite among Hollywood insiders, had grown quiet as newer denim brands captured younger audiences and the cultural conversation moved on without it.
- New CEO Phillip Prado arrived with a mandate to transform the brand from a beloved niche label into a modern American luxury lifestyle house — a high-stakes repositioning that required both creative and commercial reinvention.
- Gerber's entry as investor and creative partner — not a traditional endorsement — injected genuine cultural credibility, with she and head of design Meredith Kahn spending months building a collection rooted in flea market research and shared aesthetic instincts.
- The first capsule, fast-tracked through LA factories for a May launch, grounds the brand's ambitions in wearable reality: denim, white basics, and leather pieces that reflect how Gerber actually dresses, not how she performs on runways.
- With a New York flagship planned and a fuller collection arriving in September, Re/Done is betting that intentional growth — elevated but never sterile, expansive but still Californian — is the only kind worth pursuing.
Kaia Gerber's first curated collection for Re/Done arrived in May 2026, alongside a campaign featuring Gerber herself — a deliberate signal that her role with the Los Angeles denim brand is something different from a typical celebrity partnership. She joined in January as an investor, creative partner, and advisory board member, part of a broader restructuring led by CEO Phillip Prado, who took over in mid-2025 after twelve years at Gucci.
Re/Done was founded in 2014 by Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur as a home for upcycled denim and California cool. For years it thrived among fashion insiders, but newer competitors eventually drew attention away. Prado arrived seeing a brand with real cultural credibility that had simply gone quiet. His goal: reposition Re/Done as an American luxury lifestyle label — expanding beyond denim into ready-to-wear and global markets, without surrendering the lived-in authenticity that defined it.
Gerber and head of design Meredith Kahn spent months developing the initial collection together — visiting flea markets, trading mood boards, building what Gerber calls a creative soulmate dynamic. The resulting edit is grounded in the brand's foundation: denim ranging from $295 to $495, shorts, jackets, white basics, and an oversized leather piece. These are clothes Gerber actually wears. That alignment between her private taste and her public role was central to her decision to invest creatively rather than simply lend her name.
Prado's vision of luxury is precise: elevated without becoming polished, growing without chasing scale. A New York flagship is planned within the next year, and Gerber will be involved across product development, casting, and brand direction. For Gerber — who has already invested in activewear brand Vuori and designed collaborative collections for them — Re/Done represents a deeper evolution: less face, more foundation.
Kaia Gerber is moving beyond the runway. In May 2026, the model and investor launched her first curated collection for Re/Done, the Los Angeles denim brand that has dressed Hollywood insiders since 2014. The capsule—a mix of archive pieces and new vintage-inspired basics—arrived alongside a campaign featuring Gerber herself, marking the beginning of what the brand's leadership hopes will be a significant shift in its trajectory.
Gerber's involvement with Re/Done began in January, when she came on as an investor, creative partner, and advisory board member. The timing was deliberate. Phillip Prado, who took over as CEO in June 2025 after twelve years at Gucci, had spent the previous six months assembling a creative team he believed could push the brand forward. He brought in Meredith Kahn, founder of her own jewelry line, as head of design. Together, Kahn and Gerber spent months developing the initial collection, visiting flea markets for inspiration, exchanging mood boards, and building what Gerber describes as a "creative soulmate" relationship.
Re/Done was founded in 2014 by Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur as a purveyor of upcycled denim and California cool. For years, it thrived as a favorite among fashion insiders and celebrities who valued its authenticity and effortless aesthetic. But the landscape shifted. Newer brands like EB Denim captured Gen Z attention, while established competitors like Agolde refreshed their offerings. When Prado arrived, he saw a brand with genuine cultural credibility that had simply gone quiet. His mandate was to reposition Re/Done as an American luxury lifestyle label—not by abandoning what made it work, but by expanding beyond denim into a broader ecosystem of ready-to-wear, retail experiences, and eventually global markets.
Gerber's first collection was fast-tracked through Re/Done's Los Angeles factories to hit the market in May, ahead of a fuller capsule launching in September. The initial edit showcased the brand's foundation: denim jeans ranging from $295 to $495, shorts, jackets, white basics, and an oversized leather piece. These are the clothes Gerber actually wears—not the elaborate pieces she models on runways, but the uniform of someone living in Los Angeles. That alignment between her public role and her private taste was essential to her decision to invest creatively rather than simply lend her name.
Prado's vision for Re/Done hinges on a particular understanding of contemporary luxury. He wants the brand to feel elevated without becoming polished, to grow intentionally rather than chase scale at any cost, to maintain its lived-in California sensibility even as it expands into New York and beyond. The challenge, as he frames it, is bringing his luxury background into a space that has always resisted the sterility of high fashion. Re/Done's future, he argues, depends on feeling real rather than looking perfect.
Over the next six to twelve months, the brand plans to open a New York flagship—a natural move given the concentration of online sales in the city. Gerber will be involved in all of it: product development, casting, visual storytelling, brand direction. This is not a celebrity endorsement deal. Prado was explicit about that. He wanted someone who understood the cultural conversation happening around her generation, who embodied the brand's values, and who could genuinely shape its future. Gerber, for her part, is at a point in her career where she wants to be part of the creative process rather than simply the face attached to it. She has already invested in Vuori, the activewear brand, and designed collaborative collections for them. Re/Done represents the next evolution of that involvement—deeper, more foundational, more aligned with how she actually thinks about fashion and growth.
Notable Quotes
I wouldn't be able to have this level of involvement with a brand that I didn't feel aligned with me on multiple levels. As I get older, I am more interested in collaborations rather than just lending my face, my name or my image to something.— Kaia Gerber
When I joined Re/Done, what immediately excited me was that the brand already had incredible cultural equity and authenticity; it had just been a little bit dormant.— Phillip Prado, CEO
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Gerber's involvement matter more than just having a famous face attached to the brand?
Because Prado didn't want a traditional celebrity endorsement. He wanted someone who actually lives the brand's values and can shape its creative direction. Gerber wears Re/Done jeans and T-shirts in real life—that authenticity is the whole point.
But couldn't any investor do that? What makes her specifically valuable?
She understands the cultural moment her generation is living in. She knows what resonates with people her age. And she's willing to do the unglamorous work—going to flea markets, making mood boards, sitting with the design team. That's not typical for celebrity partnerships.
Prado came from Gucci, a house obsessed with polish and perfection. How does he reconcile that with Re/Done's deliberately effortless aesthetic?
That's actually the tension he's trying to navigate. He wants to bring luxury infrastructure and strategy without losing the lived-in feeling. He's learned that overpolishing would kill what makes Re/Done work. The future of American luxury, he's arguing, is about feeling real, not looking perfect.
What does "American luxury" even mean in this context?
It's denim and basics elevated through quality and intention, not through ornamentation. It's California cool with a business strategy behind it. It's the opposite of fast fashion—thoughtful growth, emotional connection, pieces that last.
Is this expansion risky? Could opening in New York dilute the Los Angeles identity?
That's the bet. But Prado sees it as inevitable—the data shows strong online sales in New York already. The risk is whether they can maintain their authenticity while scaling. That's where Gerber comes in. She's the cultural anchor keeping them honest.