We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mia Zee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2019, I was on vacation in Mexico with my family. Despite religiously reapplying SPF 50 every 90 minutes, by the third day, both my sister and I had broken out in painful rashes all over our bodies in the areas that were most exposed to the sun. We when came home, I went straight to the dermatologist to find out what was going on.

I was diagnosed with polymorphic light eruption, also known as an allergy to the sun. According to the National Institutes of Health, polymorphic light eruption aka an allergy to the sun impacts roughly 10-20% of the population, most prevalently women in their 20s and 30s.

My doctor told me that my allergy would likely get worse with further exposure and that I should look into sun protective (UPF) apparel to wear when spending extended periods of time outside.

When I researched UPF clothing, I found that what existed in the market seemed to be focused either on children’s swimwear or clothing targeting an older demographic who was maybe more focused on the piece’s function vs. aesthetic – think men’s golf or fishing shirts. Nothing really appealed to me as a consumer. My professional background is in marketing for fashion and beauty brands and so I got to thinking that maybe there was an opportunity to create something in the space that would target a younger, more fashion conscious consumer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My brand, Claudent, is a women’s sun-protective apparel brand. We produce our garments using the most luxurious UPF-rated fabrics that provide the most reliable sun protection, no reapplication necessary.

A couple years ago, I was diagnosed with an allergy to the sun. While my allergy is only really a problem when I’m in intense sunlight for long periods, it spurred me to explore the UPF space. The clothing that existed in the market didn’t appeal to me. I wore it because I needed to, not because I wanted to. With Claudent, I wanted to create clothing that was protective, but that I would also be excited to wear.

Even for those who aren’t allergic to the sun, taking steps to protect themselves outside makes a lot of sense. Anyone who invests in their skincare, uses products like retinol or vitamin C, gets laser treatments, or is just generally worried about the damaging effects of UV rays (aging, skin cancer, etc.), should be protecting themselves.

According to the CDC, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States with the American Academy of Dermatology Association estimating that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. That means that roughly 9,500 Americans of all skin colors and ethnicities are diagnosed with skin cancer every day.

The biggest challenge that we’ve faced as a brand and our biggest differentiator is the quality of our fabrics. All the fabrics we use are rated UPF 50+ and guaranteed to block out more than 98% of the sun’s UVA and UVB by independent third party labs testing to the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists’ standards, but most importantly, the fabrics feel like something you’d want to wear even if they weren’t protective. Our Claudent Rib Fabric is one I am particularly proud of. We wanted a rib with a rich hand feel and definition to it, but couldn’t find anything like it that existed with sun protective properties. So, we created it. It is now our first of hopefully many proprietary fabrics that will expand people’s understanding of what functional and protective fabric can be like. And while our fabrics use on average 60% recycled fibers, our Rib is made of 100% recycled fibers.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My co-founder, Emma Gerber, and I have a long history. We both grew up in Los Angeles and attended the same elementary school, high school, and college, though I was a few years ahead of her. I hired her out of college for her first job at RE/DONE, and we subsequently worked together again later in our careers at Boy Smells. Though both of us have backgrounds in marketing, she excels at the creative and visual side, while I am more focused on the verbal and business aspects. Having our own areas of strength is really beneficial to our partnership, and because of our long history working together, we have a lot of mutual trust, which is very helpful when launching a business.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We are actually in the process of a bit of a pivot with our brand now. When we launched, we were exclusively DTC. That said, it is very difficult and expensive to grow a brand just online these days. Our new focus is expanding into wholesale with a focus on high-end resort boutiques. Our product range is also pivoting a bit from more activewear pieces to more resort wear to appeal to this new distribution channel.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.claudent.com
• Instagram: @shop.claudent
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/claudent/
• Other: @shop.claudent on TikTok