Juniors Margaret Hohenshelt and Cecilia Chen live double lives: students by day, sustainable Sloane the Brand superheroes by night.

Cofounders Hohenshelt and Chen launched their ‘Gone West’ line with two hoodies and a tank Sept. 26, and they added a tee on Jan. 8. The two have been sharing their social impact mission on Instagram under the username ‘sloanethegram’.

Originally, the two’s shared passion for art history inspired them to start their brand.

“Art history is losing its place as a really important part of history,” Chen said. “It is a reflection of the time periods’ thoughts, perspectives and beliefs, politically or not.”

To spread their brand and stance, they’ve turned to Hockaday’s Social Impact Bazaar.

“We get a lot of traction from that—not only buying but also getting our name out there and getting people to know what we do,” Chen said. “I feel like that’s the main thing for small businesses: getting people that you already know to buy.”

Of course, sticking to their mission of slow fashion begins with manufacturing.

“I think we went through 25 manufacturers, but we finally found a fair trade certified one,” Hohenshelt recalled. “We wanted them to be in America, we wanted a certain certificate, and we wanted proof of insurance.”

Chen agrees and emphasizes the sustainability aspect of Sloane.

“We make sure that the materials they use are sustainable,” Chen said. “We also make sure that workers at the manufacturing company get paid well and have fair labor.”

Ever true to Sloane’s core values, they prioritize slow fashion although it makes their launches take longer.

“You’ll see really nice brands take a lot longer to do things,” Hohenshelt said. “It’s kind of annoying, but it’s a really important cycle.”

With so much to cover, they divide and conquer: Hohenshelt works with the finances, and Chen envisions their clothing designs. However, according to Hohenshelt, both partners deal with strategies and business plans.

“I do a lot of the logistics, figuring out manufacturers, needing supplies, most of the finances, kind of just all the boring stuff,” Hohenshelt said. “Cecilia is definitely more on the creative side, and she comes up with ideas of who to reach out to, or if we want to sell in boutiques.”

Chen largely draws the creative side from art history as she aims to spread the importance of art education through her designs.

“We love things like Vogue, and we just go to museums all the time and know of all these different artists that inspire us,” Chen said. “It works well with the sustainable side of our brand because it’s something that lasts forever. It’s kind of set in history and has been loved by so many people throughout time.”

From these museum trips, Hohenshelt learned to enjoy how multi-faceted art history is.

“Suzanne Valadon is one of my favorite artists ever. She’s a French impressionist painter and a major inspiration for me and Cecilia,” Hohenshelt said. “She was kind of a punk painter, and some of her paintings are pink.”

Chen also looks at art through a complex lens.

“My favorite is surrealism, but I really like modern art,” Chen said. “People discredit it for being too simple or not very impressive, but I think there’s a part of it that’s very expression based.”

But overall, their mission is to promote all types of art for all types of people.

“We really want to promote a love of art history in our community. With the rise of AI and budget cuts to the DISD schools, that’s especially important right now,” Hohenshelt said. “Every new creative trend and innovation is based off of some sort of art movement from the past.”

Chen finds art to be an outlet, and she wants others to experience the same through Sloane.

“Art is a huge part of my life and something that I definitely won’t lose in the future. I think fashion and art are ways for me to express myself that will last as a part of who I am for a really long time,” she said.

On the other hand, Hohenshelt sees art as a way to keep history alive, and she believes Sloane the Brand can help with that.

“Art is never new. It’s always taken from inspiration, from history. I’m really, really heavy on showing everyone that inspiration from art history is what creates our culture,” she said. “Loving art isn’t pretentious, it’s not cringy, it’s important. It’s what shapes our society.”