Inside the family-run Dye House, which services film studios and fashion brands

Welcome to Factory tour, where we take you inside the production facilities of our favorite brands to reveal how the clothes we buy are actually made. Next up: Universal Wash and Dye in North Hollywood, California, which has serviced designer brands, streetwear brands and film studios for 30 years and is also home to Vintage Souls, a high-end streetwear label founded by the owners’ daughter.

Self-described valley girl Danielle Brown grew up in the garment industry, but never envisioned starting her own clothing label, especially in the middle of a pandemic. From the outside looking in, however, it seemed almost inevitable.

Nearly 30 years ago, her parents opened what is now Universal Wash & Dye, which quickly became a go-to resource for Los Angeles’ many denim brands, including early staples like True Religion and Rockstar. (Washing and dyeing is what give denim its feel and color.) Not unlike Brown’s, the color house’s expansion involved a little bit of luck—or confusion, depending on how you look at it.

Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

“My mum started getting business from TV shows, film sets and wardrobe and thought we were part of Universal Studios,” explains Brown. “She didn’t even know we had an opportunity in that business.” A thriving new division of the company was born. Today, her mother, Margo Brown, oversees all custom work for film and television, including projects regarding Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises such as “Captain America”, “The Avengers” and “Black Panther,” as well as tour costumes for stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.

It was also Mom who helped the company navigate the globalization of the apparel industry, where brands moved their production — including dyework — overseas to developing countries in an effort to cut costs. “What [my mom] realized was that in China they don’t really have the same ability to do novelty colors,” Brown says. “My mom started getting more into that niche, and that really expanded us.”

On the fashion side of the business – overseen by father, David Brown – current clients include Nahmias, Gallery Dept. and since October 2019 Brown’s own label, Vintage souls.

Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

A few years before that, Brown was set to take a different path in the fashion world – completely separate from his family business. In 2012, she launched her own online store. It took off at first, but after a few years the increasing competition in the industry led to a decision to close shop. Until recently, she helped run the family business full-time and oversaw sales.

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“I think my whole life I’ve been in the service and I’ve always seen firsthand how difficult and challenging this industry is,” she says. That led to some hesitation when it came to starting her own brand, but eventually she “got tired of constantly designing for other people.”

“I thought, ‘You know what? Knit, I’ve never really done it, but I think I could figure it out with all the connections we have through the color house,’ so I just gave it a shot. “

Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

If only because of timing, it’s hard not to connect Brown’s story with what’s going on “nepo baby” discourse: There’s no doubt that growing up with a family-owned dye house helped her make clothes, but it wasn’t enough to fund an entire brand. Vintage Souls began as a small side hustle, using special washing and dyeing techniques to manipulate the look and feel of vintage T-shirts and sell them as one-off products on Instagram. One day, Brown decided to design his own shirt from start to finish, including a custom graphic with the phrase “Souls on fire” in rhinestones. This is where luck came in.

“I didn’t have any sales, it was just a little thing I did on my Instagram — and Free People emailed me. They said, ‘We’re interested in wholesaling your stuff,’ and I was like, ‘There is no way.'” The buyer apparently saw the “Souls on Fire” shirt on Instagram, saved it, and a week later a colleague came into the office wearing it. “She was like, ‘It was just too random, so I had to contact you.'” The retailer launched a small test order of shirts that sold out in one day.

From then on, Free people was a crucial part of Vintage Souls’ growth into a full-fledged brand – especially after Covid-19 hit just a few months later. The retailer wanted to support small, women-owned businesses and asked if Brown was still able to produce. By manufacturing protective masks, Universal Wash & Dye managed to stay open as a substantial business.

Photo: Courtesy of Vintage Souls

From there, Brown grew the brand only as much as its Free People profits would allow. “I just started creating basic pieces. I started with a jogger, then a crew neck and a hoodie…” – all loungewear pieces perfect for the sedentary 2020 lifestyle. In October of that year, the brand launched its first collection, which caught the attention of Fred Segal, who bought into the brand, allowing Brown to make his first hire, a production manager.

Three years later, Vintage Souls is a three-person team working out of an office attached to Universal Wash & Dye, and Brown is transitioning to focus on Vintage Souls full-time. The campus-like operation is mostly as scrappy and unglamorous as any 30-year-old factory you might come across, save for a few aesthetic touches that Brown probably does, like a pink front gate and a sign with the slogan, “We will die for you.”

While the facilities themselves may not all reflect the laid-back glamor of a cool clothing brand like Vintage Souls, they literally allow such a brand to stand out – through innovative washing techniques, unique color development and more. Keep scrolling to see what’s happening at Universal Wash & Dye and some of the new designs it’s producing.

universal wash dye house vintage souls 32 — Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

Here in the spray booth, the clothes are placed on inflatable forms to be sprayed with dyes and other treatments. Brown starts our tour by showing us how a special new “crackle” design is achieved.

universal wash dye house vintage souls 5 — Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

This pair of joggers has already undergone the first part of the treatment. “We basically dye the garment, and it’s done in one big load. Then, piece by piece, we basically drip it with clay. Then we hang it, let it sit in the sun and dry overnight. When it’s dry , crush it so the pieces flake off. Then you have these natural veins through the cracks.”

universal wash dye house vintage souls 8 — Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

“Then you spray another color of paint on top while the clay is still there, it seeps through the cracks, and then you wash it again.” Here, a green dye has been sprayed over the head.

universal wash dye house vintage souls 30 — Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

After washing, the joggers are hung to dry.

universal wash dye house vintage souls 2 — Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

This is the final result!

universal wash dye house vintage souls 28 — Photo: Dhani Mau/Fashionista

The reception area with undyed garments.

universal wash dye house vintage souls 46 — Photo: Courtesy of Vintage Souls

This is the marble dye tank in use. “Basically, you fill this up and it’s this thick, frothy liquid. Then you put the colors you want in there and it swirls. Then you just take the clothes, dip them in and paint them. Before we got these, we had to do it by hand.”