By María José Durán

Startup helps women change clothes in public without getting naked

Ed’s Waterfront Run, a jogging group that has been running from the San Diego Harbor to the Embarcadero since 2006, was the scene where a groundbreaking design for active women was forged.

Dennis Caco, co-founder of the Mission Valley startup manufacturing The Undress, attended the event regularly. He observed that after the sweaty run, the women joggers had to change inside their cars or by hiding behind bushes or finding a public restroom.

“One of the features of the run is to go to a bar after. I noticed that women would have to change their clothes twice in the middle of a parking lot with buildings all around. And I figured, there must be a better way,” Caco recalled.

The Undress design allows women to completely change their clothing without exposing themselves. The dress features two side openings allowing a woman to take off sweaty bottoms and put on clean ones. But for Caco, the biggest breakthrough involved how to take off the top.

“I was trying to find a way to cover, and the solution was to go under,” Caco said, adding that the chest piece is key to the design. “The Undress goes underneath the sports bra. Then you are already covered, so you can remove it.”

The first version of The Undress was launched in 2015 through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter. During this campaign, the founders obtained the backing of more than 7,000 customers and secured a total funding of $615,663 to manufacture the first 10,000 units. This success was completely unexpected to the team of seven.

Nikki Jimenez, who is in charge of media relations, said that “in the back of our minds we had this goal of $22,000, and when we hit $615,663 we were blown away by how much women really resonated with it.”

Jimenez is also a enthusiast of the product.

“I workout outside a lot at a body boot camp so I always used to change in the car. When Dennis first told me that there was this concept, I said: ‘Wait a minute,’ and I immediately fell in love with it,” she said.

Kickstarter allowed The Undress dream to come true. Startups and small businesses can benefit from crowdfunding sources by gaining money and attention before they manufacture their product.

Marat Zabelinskiy, customer service and fulfillment attendant, said, “Kickstarter is great for launching ideas. A small business can share an idea out there, get everyone excited and then you go into a situation where you know exactly what you are making.”

The first version of The Undress is currently available for purchase through the company’s website, theundress.com. But the company recently launched a second Kickstarter campaign to produce an improved version of the changing apparel. The company has raised more than $140,000 since early December 2015, and the campaign will continue until Jan. 31.

To create the second version of The Undress, the startup gathered feedback from their supporters. The improvements were implemented for a better fit of the product. The fabric changed from cotton to three moisture-friendly options. The dress was redesigned for a younger and more sporty look.

The Undress 1 was fully manufactured in the U.S., specifically in downtown Los Angeles. For the next lot, Caco has other plans.

“We are looking at options, anywhere from Mexico, to a combination between Mexico and U.S. or China,” he said. The logic behind it, Caco said, is that domestic manufacturers are not ready for high volumes.

“Even our first order was a challenge for the factory. They thought it was a normal dress and it wasn’t,” Caco said.

A male version, which will be launched around March, has two prototypes in the making. Zabelinsky said he would very much welcome the product: “Being a runner I have changed using whatever I could, including sitting in the car, but the question is: How convenient is it? How fluid? How safe?”

Jimenez added that “there is this stigma, ‘oh guys don’t need it,’ but I think there are guys who would very much like it. Not even want it but have the necessity of it.”

“It’s our mission to empower women to do more what they love more conveniently and more often, and that goes with men too,” she said.

Jimenez demonstrated how The Undress works for Mission Valley News. She changed from her outfit into her workout clothes in less than two minutes using The Undress at their headquarters in Mission Valley. She, like the target client, is an active woman. “That’s our initial target, but we have seen dancers, yogis, photographers and models, actors and people who perform in parks use it,” she said.

The Undress 2 is available in Kickstarter from $69. Check it out online at kck.st/1kG7HJK.

—María José Durán is a freelance writer from San Diego. She can be reached at [email protected].