This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features 25-year-old Elena Bonvicini, who runs her fashion brand EB Denim out of Los Angeles. EB Denim has generated multimillion-dollar revenue, and its pieces have been worn by Taylor Swift, Gigi Hadid and other high-profile celebrities, per the company. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of EB Denim. Elena Bonvicini.
What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
When I started EB Denim, I was still in high school. I started selling reworked vintage Levi's to my friends and classmates because I loved having pieces that no one else was wearing. I was always repurposing clothes; even as a kid, I would destroy my brother's clothes in the name of individuality. When I started bringing them to school, peers would keep asking for more, and soon enough, I was selling denim shorts out of my locker room. It was exciting to see something I did for fun turn into a real business so quickly.
Related: She Started a T-Shirt Side Hustle as a Recent Grad Working at 'People' Magazine. It Led to a DM From Levi's and $400 Million.
When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I started in 2016 during a summer visit to my grandparents in Wisconsin. My grandmother and I would take day-long road trips to all the local thrift stores, and I was so inspired by the uniqueness and history of all the clothes. No two pieces were the same, and I could redesign how to style them. I would buy denim, and my grandma Jeanette would buy pastry dishes. It was our thing; we still do it, and I cherish those memories.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
In the beginning, it was all about reworking vintage denim and getting my designs into the hands of the right people. I remember the first time I cut up a pair of Levi's, turned them into shorts and wore them to school. Almost immediately, people were asking where I got them, and before I knew it, I was........