Essense Company: Authorial Minimalism and Innovation Redefining Contemporary Fashion

Photos Disclosure Essense Company

Founded in 2020, Essense Company quickly earned its place in the contemporary fashion scene with an authorial approach that blends minimalism, urban design, and exclusivity. With oversized silhouettes, asymmetrical cuts, and high-quality fabrics, the brand creates pieces that move seamlessly between functional elegance and aesthetic innovation.

The Puffer Jacket: An Icon of Identity and Craftsmanship

The Puffer Jacket is Essense’s signature piece — a symbol of the brand’s commitment to bold, distinctive design. Created without direct references or external guidance, it embodies the brand’s perseverance and technical skill in overcoming complex challenges. More than just outerwear, the Puffer is a statement: proof that innovation can thrive independently, resulting in sophisticated, enduring pieces that stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s leading fashion icons.

In-House Production and the Value of Artisanal Craftsmanship

In-House Production and the Value of Artisanal Craftsmanship

Essense maintains strict quality control through a dedicated in-house team, embracing artisanal processes in an industry increasingly dominated by outsourcing. While this model comes with higher operational costs and slower scalability, it ensures exclusivity and ongoing innovation. Direct contact with production allows the team to test materials and techniques that expand creative boundaries, solidifying the brand’s place as a benchmark in independent fashion design.

Fashion, Art and Culture: A Creative Fusion

Every Essense collection is born from a layered narrative, where fashion, art, and culture converge. The brand’s visual campaigns are crafted to reflect this synergy, often shot in striking, unconventional locations that mirror the brand’s aesthetic and conceptual depth. Since its Winter 2022 collection in Iceland, Essense has shown a commitment to storytelling that goes beyond garments—creating immersive and sensory-driven fashion experiences.

Athletic Studios: Expanding Minimalism Into the Performance Realm

The launch of Athletic Studios marks Essense’s thoughtful expansion into the performance space. Designed for those who see training as both a personal ritual and a social moment, the line combines functionality with minimalist aesthetics. From silhouettes to premium fabrics, Athletic Studios retains the core identity of Essense while offering a refined and authentic alternative for those seeking style with intention in the fitness world.

Community and Exclusivity: Building Genuine Connections

Essense nurtures an engaged community that follows the brand’s evolution closely, with exclusive access to launches and behind-the-scenes content. This proximity fosters a genuine bond between brand and consumer, grounded in transparency and the value of craftsmanship. At Essense, each client is seen as part of the family — reinforcing a culture rooted in authenticity, connection, and mutual exchange.

Exclusive Interview:

1. Essense was born with a minimalist and authorial vision, and quickly gained recognition for its strong design identity. How would you define the brand’s creative DNA today, five years after its launch?

From the very beginning, one of our core principles was to preserve our identity from start to finish — staying true to our ideas, concepts, and, above all, our authorial approach. In today’s fashion industry, you either adapt to trends or accept the challenge of staying authentic. At Essense, we chose the harder path — to remain faithful to our vision. Now, five years later, we’re seeing the rewards of that decision, being recognized for the values we committed to from the start.

2. The Puffer Jacket has become a true icon of Essense. What does this piece represent for you, and how does it embody the brand's aesthetic and conceptual values?

Developing this piece was a much bigger challenge than we anticipated — and looking back, it’s incredibly rewarding to see that it has become the hallmark of our brand. Creating something so complex, similar to what we see from major names like Moncler or The North Face, without any external guidance, relying solely on determination and dedication, and arriving at this result — that’s something we’re very proud of. This jacket was the turning point that led us to establish our own production unit and creative space, especially considering how difficult it is to create high-level products in PL (private label) in Brazil. It represents our dedication, persistence, and desire to stand out. It made us realize we are truly a winterwear brand — capable of creating anything, of doing things differently.

3. Choosing to keep production in-house and valuing manual craftsmanship is increasingly rare in today’s fashion industry. What are the challenges and advantages of this model?

There are pros and cons to everything, and we chose this model because it’s the only way to produce pieces as intricate as ours. Being in daily contact with our creative process and material testing allows us to envision a future without limitations — and that’s only possible by keeping everything internal. Of course, the downside is a higher operational cost and a slower growth capacity, because this model demands genuine investment in your team. The work of seamstresses is becoming increasingly artisanal and rare, and skilled labor for this kind of craftsmanship is getting more expensive. So the challenge is to constantly keep our collaborators engaged and aligned with the company’s mission.

4. The brand is known for its impactful visual campaigns. How does the narrative of an Essense collection come to life, and how do fashion, art, and behavior intertwine in this process?

Since our first international campaign, the 2022 winter collection shot in Iceland, we understood that this was the format we wanted to follow. Creating campaigns like this is only possible because we internalize as much as we can, relying minimally on external resources. The narrative begins from the moment we develop the first piece, when we create the entire scope of the campaign — from the choice of location, the story to be told, the theme, to the main element that will define the campaign. We always choose places that have some connection to the brand — unconventional locations where the story resonates in a meaningful way. From our perspective, fashion, art, and behavior are one and the same, moving together. When we manage to develop a collection that uniquely showcases all three elements, it means the work has been successfully done.

5. The recent creation of the Athletic Studios line marks an expansion of the brand’s universe into the training realm. How was the development process of this line, and which Essense elements did you make sure to preserve?

The passion for sports is very strong in the lives of Mauro Farinetti and Guilherme Padroni. Over the last two years, we included some training drops within Essense, which proved that soon we would need to plan something bigger. ATHE`TIC. STUDIOS emerged at just the right time — a training brand for those who love to train, where the main goal isn’t necessarily performance but simply enjoying the moment, embracing your practice, your inner self, the connection between you and your body, or the time shared with friends.

Creating A`S. is a dream come true, a way to break the routine, reach new horizons, and connect with new people. We preserved the brand’s minimalist identity, the playful nod to Essense in the logo, the creative process, the use of high-quality materials, and a fully internal production process, staying true to the roots of the parent brand, Essense Company.

6. In times of fast fashion and mass consumption, Essense chooses limited runs and a deeper connection with its audience. How do you build such a loyal and engaged community around the brand?

The close relationship we maintain with our customers has become one of the brand’s strongest pillars. Today, thousands of members choose to stay close to us through WhatsApp groups, where they receive updates on campaigns, discounts, and special actions. This creates a mutually beneficial exchange. Some pieces are released exclusively for this select group of fans and never reach the general public.

The engagement and community developed organically, born from people who loved the brand and wanted to get closer to the production process, understand more about the day-to-day, and witness the creation of something that is, in many ways, handcrafted.

We tell stories, share our truth, and highlight our handmade approach—the power of doing a lot with little. I believe that authenticity in our work creates a strong connection between brand and customer. We treat our clients like family, like part of our team.