In 2017, Sonia and Maurice Mosseri launched Still Here, a vintage-inspired denim brand rooted in the feel of a well-worn pair of Levi’s and a distinctly New York sensibility. The couple started the brand using $20,000 they received from their wedding and turned it into an eight-figure business, without outside funding. Through it all, the pair navigated retail bankruptcies, a pandemic, and the steep learning curve of apparel production.
Their journey offers a window into how two founders identified a clear market gap, built their business with more creativity than capital, navigated high-stakes setbacks, and grew with financial precision.
Recognizing a market gap others overlooked
Sonia’s idea came from her father’s decades-old Levi’s, worn through school, patched by her grandmother, and still full of character. She now considers that pair of Levi’s an heirloom. Inspired by those jeans and her frustration with the lack of vintage-feel denim in the market sparked a brand concept. “I felt that there was something missing in the denim industry, which was this incredible classic blue jean,” she says.
In the years prior to launching the brand, department stores carried mostly stretch denim, while vintage shops sold authentic pairs for $300 or more. Sonia began painting her own vintage collection and posting them on Instagram, which quickly drew attention from editors, retailers, and customers. The concept of 100% cotton, vintage-feel quality denim with a modern fit struck a chord and pointed to an underserved customer segment.
Building with resourcefulness instead of capital
Still Here’s first production run was paid for using their wedding gift money, while the couple both were working full-time jobs. Maurice understood wholesale operations experience, since he worked in the consumer electronics industry, and Sonia immersed herself in production—flying to LA, testing fabrics, and working with pattern makers.
The pair weren’t afraid to push boundaries. At their first trade show, they “skipped the line” by bringing in a rack of samples without a booth and painting jeans on-site. “By the end of the show, we actually had about 250 interested retailers requesting line sheets,” Sonia recalls. The bold move led directly to their first big break—Barneys New York was among the many requesting line sheets.
Turning setbacks into strategic pivots
After an impressive showing at their first trade show, and amidst news their debut collection had sold out within a week and a half, setting denim sell-through records, Sonia and Maurice were still in a celebratory mood when they got word Barneys declared bankruptcy. The timing couldn’t have been worse for the founders, as the department store had just received a major order. Instead of bemoaning their fate, Sonia and Maurice treated it as a springboard. “It never really marked a bad moment. … It actually catapulted us to the exposure we needed,” Sonia says. The visibility opened doors to Net-a-Porter, Browns, and Selfridges.
In 2020, the pandemic brought another disruption: Wholesale orders stalled and inventory was stuck in California. Sonia and Maurice shipped everything to their Brooklyn apartment and shifted focus to direct-to-consumer, building a new Shopify site with digital agency Human NYC. Orders were packed by hand, each with a handwritten note, reinforcing a personal connection at a time when customers were craving it most.
Keeping growth tied to financial discipline
From day one, the founders made decisions with return on investment in mind. “Everything we did initially had to have a return on investment or else we wouldn’t be around in six months,” Maurice says. Growth was funded through deposits from wholesale orders, free rent negotiated for their first retail store, and careful selection of store locations and sizes to minimize risk.
Expanding into brick-and-mortar retail solved a sizing challenge for 100% cotton jeans and generated what Maurice calls “sticky sales” with minimal returns. Wholesale relationships were narrowed to only the most strategic partners, ensuring every channel could stand on its own profitability. This discipline created the stability to expand. Today, Still Here has two New York City locations, is opening a Brooklyn store, and is eyeing international markets.
Still Here’s story shows how two founders built a resilient business by trusting their instincts, staying nimble under pressure, and making every move count. From spotting a gap in a crowded market to keeping growth sustainable, Sonia and Maurice Mosseri turned a rack of painted jeans into a global brand—proof that grit, focus, and discipline can be just as valuable as a big investment round.
To hear more about how Still Here is fashioning success, check out the full interview on Shopify Masters.
