As a young boy growing up in suburban Chicago, Christian Lynch devoured the fashions sported by Joan Collins’ iconic diva character Alexis Carrington on Dynasty and Madonna’s sexy and sensational videos on MTV. He couldn’t have known it at the time, but this early exposure to strong women sporting unforgettable outfits influenced and informed his career in fashion, starting as a multi-line rep covering 11 Midwestern states in his Jeep Grand Cherokee to ultimately leading sales and marketing divisions for several successful brands, all helmed by women. Along the way, Lynch, who studied fine art, graphic design, and photography, became skilled at forecasting trends and collaborating with design teams to create stylish collections with proven sell-throughs. 212 Goods, in stores for Fall 2020 with a capsule collection of women’s jackets, marks the culmination of Lynch’s journey in an industry he loves, and his official debut as a designer.
More than just creating stylish pieces and collections, 212 Goods also makes it its mission to keep and improve its sustainability and ethical practices. The brand is primarily focused on upcycled fabrics or fabrics that have a recycled/sustainable consciousness. This is the start of every conversation they have with their fabric vendors. This can either be like the upcycled Prada tech bought in the Orchard St popover or the fact that the coating on the linen in the "leather" jacket is made of recycled rubber components. They have a partner in Italy who is connected to some major designers and has access to their fabric overages. Most of what they use comes from Italy, they are incredibly innovative on this front.
Their factory in New York is family owned. Christian Lynch, the founder and creative director, along with his production manager interviewed a number of factories that could not only deliver the required fit and quality but also had a happy and respectful environment. At the end of the day, Christian knew they would have to pay for it, but for him, the end user deserves this level of attention to the supply side of their business. Their factory also produces goods for Nili Lotan, Yigal Azrouel, and Veronica Beard. Even their shoulder pads are produced at a factory on the Lower East Side of NYC, a factory that has been around for generations.
In an effort to reduce the amount of garbage the fashion industry produces, 212 Goods works with a company that recycles shipping hangers. This company collects them from businesses and makes sure they are in good shape and puts like items together. 212 Goods is proud to say they reuse over 2000 hangers a year.
