Photo by Justin Chesney

Recently I wrote a feature story for Racked on the evolution of Need Supply Co. from a small vintage denim story here in Richmond, Va., to a brand with global fashion influence. A little excerpt from the story …

Richmond, Virginia’s fashion and retail scene is on the up and up. Shops and contemporary art galleries have revitalized the downtown area; the city’s popular Carytown district now has hundreds of locally owned businesses to shop; and indie boutiques are popping up from Church Hill to the historic Fan District.

Two decades ago, it was a different story. Richmond was home to a just a handful of locally-owned fashion boutiques. One of the best of them then, as it is now, was Need Supply Co., a brand that’s grown from small local gem into an international player in the fashion industry, paving the way for many of the cool indie stores and brands that make the Richmond shopping scene so vibrant today — while staying true to its RVA roots.

Looking at the brand’s global influence (two retail stores in Japan, a thriving e-commerce business, a quarterly magazine, and a newly-launched line of men’s and women’s basics) it’s hard to imagine that Need Supply Co. had humble beginnings. Founder and CEO Chris Bossola opened the shop in 1996 under the name Blues, as a pocket-sized boutique selling vintage Levi’s. At the time, vintage Levi’s were a rarity, and Bossola had a trove to sell in a small market that didn’t have access to such cool finds.

And to read the full story, head on over to Racked. xo, marissa