Scaling Europe, reshaping production: Unspun co-founder and new board member talk growth plans

Apparel technology innovator Unspun is stepping up its global ambitions, bringing Chris Blakeslee, former CEO of Gap-owned brand Athleta, onto its board of directors. The move comes as the firm looks to scale its low-waste, 3D weaving technology across Europe as part of its next phase of growth. With this, Unspun is looking to disrupt the traditional supply chain model, meeting increased demand for localised and sustainable manufacturing.

Blakeslee, who previously led Athleta and held senior roles at Alo Yoga and Bella+Canvas, joins Unspun as its first independent board member. He brings nearly 15 years of apparel industry experience spanning operations, sourcing and supply chain optimisation. His appointment signals a decisive step in Unspun’s push to commercialise its proprietary Vega system – a 3D weaving process that directly transforms yarn into garments.

Speaking to FashionUnited, Blakeslee said he was drawn to Unspun not only because of the “unique and differentiated thinking” of the leadership team – consisting co-founders Beth Esponette and Walden Lam, and CEO Kevin Martin – but also their vision for the future of manufacturing. “Unspun’s technology has the potential to transform the seed at which brands bring products to market, while lowering the costs and mitigating global supply chain risks,” he told FashionUnited. “It’s among the most compelling innovations I’ve encountered.”

Careful, clustered expansion in EU to cater to sped up supply chain

Unspun, a B Corp certified company, has already partnered with retail giants like Walmart and Decathlon on pilots for localised production and waste reduction. The company’s next major focus will be expansion in the EU, where circular economy initiatives and consumer awareness of sustainability have created a promising environment for new manufacturing models.

For Blakeslee, who has spent much of his career building global activewear and lifestyle brands, Unspun’s approach represents a long-overdue modernisation of the apparel supply chain. While automation has transformed many aspects of textile production, from spinning to knitting, the sewing process has remained largely manual, keeping manufacturing dependent on regions with low-cost labour and long shipping routes.

“Almost every part of the process now has been touched by automation,” Blakeslee noted. “And yet sewing has remained elusive. That’s kept supply chains geographically stuck, because brands rely on where sewing capacity exists. Unspun’s technology could be the first to truly change that.”

Blakeslee sees this as not just an operational innovation, but a strategic one. By localising manufacturing, brands can respond faster to changing consumer trends, reduce inventory risk, and gain visibility across their production networks. “Consumers today expect products faster, with greater transparency,” Blakeslee noted. “Unspun offers a model that’s both responsive and responsible – delivering trend-relevant products closer to the consumer, with a smaller footprint.”

Beth Esponnette emphasised that Blakeslee’s appointment comes at a pivotal time as the company prepares to enter new markets and scale manufacturing capacity. “Chris knows what it takes to operationalise technology at scale,” she told FashionUnited. “His understanding of what brands need, and what customers expect, will be critical as we expand across the EU,”

Unspun already operates a microfactory in the EU and plans to deploy nearly ten machines over the next year, with further rollouts to follow. According to Esponette, these expansions are carefully targeted to ensure that machines are introduced in clusters rather than as isolated units, allowing for efficient scaling and consistent operational performance. “We’re actively trying to deploy our machines into the world, but being very smart about making sure it’s not one-off machines, it’s collections of machines so we can focus our efforts in just a couple of places," Esponette said.

Unspun eyes markets where labour costs are high and reshoring is gaining traction

Unspun’s focus on the EU reflects a commitment to regions where higher labour costs and reshoring trends make localised, on-demand production valuable. “We’ve seen that brands are increasingly looking to produce closer to the consumer, not just to shorten lead times but to improve sustainability,” Esponette said, adding that an EU expansion also positions the company to meet emerging regulatory standards, including digital product passports, which provide traceability from yarn to finished garment.

Esponette notes that the company’s streamlined production process already makes it well-suited to integrate these requirements. “From the yarn to the final product, we can condense it into one spot, which helps consolidate information and compliance for brands,” she added.

The Vega 3D weaving technology, which transforms yarn into finished garments with minimal waste, is at the forefront of Unspun’s strategy. By eliminating the traditional fabric stage, the system claims to cut inventory needs dramatically while enabling brands to respond faster to consumer demand. “The ability to bring production closer to the consumer affects competitive differentiation, supply chain efficiency, and profitability all at once,” Blakeslee said.

For brands like Walmart and Decathlon, existing partners of Unspun, the technology offers a dual advantage: responsiveness and sustainability. Decathlon has been particularly focused on achieving near-zero waste, while Walmart is exploring smaller production runs to reduce excess inventory. Esponette emphasised that these partnerships reflect a broader industry shift toward localised, circular manufacturing. “Both are extremely interested in localisation,” she said. “It pairs well with the current generation of our machine, which is focused on efficiency while maintaining familiar product quality.”

Looking ahead, Unspun aims to combine Blakeslee’s operational and brand expertise with its 3D weaving technology to build scalable manufacturing networks across the EU, rather than one-off sites. Beyond Europe, Blakeslee envisions a decentralised future for apparel production. “As automation and AI continue to reshape the industry, and with Unspun’s technology affecting garment assembly, we could see a world where manufacturing is no longer concentrated in a few low-cost regions but distributed closer to end markets,” he said.

This vision aligns with Unspun’s long-term goal of circularity, ultimately enabling garments to be returned to yarn and re-manufactured. Yet, while full-scale circularity remains a future milestone, the current focus is on feasible, achievable steps that the industry can adopt today. “One of the biggest learnings has been how to take a bigger vision and make it into bite-sized pieces that are feasible for both us and the industry,” Esponette said.