Meet Aja Cohen | Founder and Creative Visionary at Transcendent Active

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aja Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aja, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have always had a love for creating things. As a kid, I took so many classes. Acting, painting, photography, and played tons of sports. It wasn’t until 7th grade that I found fashion. I was in a Home Economics class and the assignment was to sew a pair of boxer shorts. Being the creative original that I am, I was NOT doing that. Instead, I had my Gram drive me to a local fabric store where I bought the wildest neon geo print I could find. I created a mod 60’s shift dress instead of those tired trunks. It turned out FAB and from then on I was always sewing up my own clothes, making Halloween costumes, and even creating costumes for the school plays. During the summers, in high school, I went to FIT and then The School of Visual Arts for their pre-college programs. After that, I knew I wanted to be at an art school in the New York. I got into my top choice, Pratt Institute and the rest is history. I interned for designers during college; Cynthia Rowley and Donna Karen. I worked at Elle Magazine during my summers off and worked my way up to an editorial internship. On weekends, I worked in the Meatpacking District in luxury retail for Yigal Azrouel. After college, I went to Europe and North Africa on a 6 week backpacking trip that ended sooner than I thought because I got my first job offer. I was an assistant designer for the mall retailer, Aeropostale. It definitely wasn’t the dream job, but it was my first one so I was thrilled! I went from brand to brand and have worked with some of the best activewear companies out there; Converse, Fila, and Champion, to name a few. I have designed everything from basketball shorts, to compression running tights to socks to loungewear. I live to create awesome products and am so fortunate that I have had a career doing what I love.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I never imagined I would have my own brand. I always liked having a full-time job with a steady salary. I liked leaving on time, going to yoga after work, and then spending time with my family without worrying about what happened that day in the office. But the fashion industry has a rotating door policy. They hire you, you produce a product that makes them lots of revenue, and then after a few years or even seasons, they get rid of you and hire someone else typically for less pay. It can be a very toxic industry and this has happened to me many times over my career. It wasn’t until I had my third child where I had had enough. However, I didn’t even know I was at my end. In June of 2019, I got let go from the job I left maternity leave for. This wasn’t the first time this happened to me so I wasn’t so worried about my next step. Maybe it was because in the far back of my mind, I knew I needed to live out my dream.

Shortly thereafter, I met with an old colleague to get her advice. She switched from being a designer to being a career coach. And boy did she have advice for me! She got right up in my face and said, “Aja! You need to do something on your own. You need to design for your community.” I had no idea who my community was, but she sparked something in me that changed my entire life. I was on a hiking trip in Acadia National Park with my husband where it dawned on me. I actually had 2 communities; my yoga community (I am a certified Yoga Teacher) and my Jewish community. I was going to blend the two and create something entirely new.

After designing activewear and teaching yoga, I started to notice that activewear was often highly sexualized with no regard for actually working out in them. Women’s activewear had become just another product category for selling women’s bodies in a sexualized way. The yoga market was a huge influencer for women wearing skin tight clothes with little to no fabric. To fit into the yoga community, you had to wear these revealing outfits while posing in a pretzel-like position on a cliff in some beautiful remote place. It was the furthest thing from the yoga that I learned and fell in love with.

The Jewish community is also a huge part of the reason I started Transcendent. I live an observant life and keep Shabbat (a 25 hour day of rest every Saturday) and eat kosher. Jewish law also encourages women to dress modestly and I try my best to do so. However, I thought the modest activewear clothing that I saw in the market was awful and I would never wear it. The fabrics were too heavy and didn’t have any performance features like wicking or anti-microbial. The colors and prints were dated and everything was overproduced overseas with no regard towards sustainability. I like dressing more covered while working out, but I still want to look cool. There was nothing in the market that matched my style or sustainable ethos and I was set to change it.

I immediately started sketching, scouring the market for recycled fabrics, talking to people I knew in the industry, and finding a US factory. This took me into the winter and just as I was about to place my first order in February 2020, Covid hit. I was back to square one. The factory I had found was only producing PPE and all garment production was halted for the foreseeable future. I did what everyone did at the time and became a full-time mom helping my kids with their zoom school, finding fun ways to entertain ourselves at home, and going on awesome hikes to get some fresh air. Then in May, I got a call from a woman I had worked with before with great news. She had a connection with a factory in LA that was up and running and she wanted to help me launch my brand. We started production in June, and on August 13, 2020, we launched with our first product, the All Day Active Skirt. Since then, the line has grown tremendously. We carry tops, dresses, leggings, bike shorts, layering pieces and accessories. Never before have I been so proud of a product that I designed!

Transcendent Active is not your typical activewear brand. It is a modest activewear brand that caters to women who dress a certain way for many different reasons. To be honest, I don’t even like using the term ‘modest’ activewear because it can be limiting. One could think this brand is ONLY for a certain type of person. However, it’s not. Whether it is for religious, body conscious, skin and sun protection or even style versatility, we have something for you. That’s why I call it EMPOWERED activewear. Because when you consciously choose to wear something that reflects your values, you feel EMPOWERED. We are truly an inclusive activewear brand for all women who seek to bring their inner essence out.

It’s easy to not notice the effects fast fashion has on the planet when I was designing from a cubicle in Midtown Manhattan. Coming up with dozens and dozens of new styles at a rapid pace, I never had the time to think about it. I never saw who made them or how they made them. I never saw where the unsold products went. I was just doing my job. I knew that when I started my own line, it was going to match my environmental ethics and values.

Transcendent Active is proud to use recycled fabrics. Our main fabric is from melted down plastic water bottles. It is silky, uber-lightweight and doesn’t need to be washed as often because of the anti-microbial features. We also use deadstock fabric. Deadstock is excess leftover fabric from large companies who no longer have a need for it. The deadstock fabric I use comes from brands like Lululemon, Athleta, Soulcycle and Fabletics and the quality is top notch. Instead of sending it to landfills, the deadstock is sold to small brands like mine and is repurposed for new use. When it comes to fabric, I use everything that we have. Recently, we took some scrap fabric and upcycled it into hair scrunchies.

I only work with ethical factories in LA that pay their workers above minimum wage and are treated with the utmost respect and safety. In April, I had the pleasure of visiting my factories and meeting the families who own them as well as the craftsmen who sew the line. My Head of Production lives in LA and visits the factories weekly and can walk in at a moment’s notice. They are always operating at a high ethical level. I also am on the phone with them daily and love that I know the people who are bringing Transcendent to life. You could never do this with an overseas factory.

Sustainable packaging is just as important as sustainable products. All of my packaging is made in Boulder, Colorado and is fully recyclable and reusable. The products are placed in tissue paper and sealed with a zero waste sticker. There is no interior poly mailer bag that would just end up in the trash anyway. The future of fashion needs to have a high regard for the planet and Transcendent Active is committed towards doing our part.

I am so fortunate to have an awesome community of women who wear Transcendent Active. We have customers all over the world who include mothers, teachers, fellow business owners and more. Our team of brand ambassadors is also growing. We sponsor American Ninja Warrior season 13 & 14 contestant, Liba Yoffe,

Israeli National Champion and Marathon Runner, Beatie Deutsch, and Ukrainian Marathon Runner, Valentyna Naveretska.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, my parents and my kids! I could not do ANY of this without them! My husband inspires me everyday to live out my dream. And ask any small business owner, not everyday is easy! He inspires me and pushes me to always believe in myself and to know that I am doing this for the right reasons. It is so amazing to have such a supportive partner on this journey of life. My parents help in every way possible. From picking up my kids, to folding my laundry, to giving moral support and advice, they are always there for me. Both my parents are small business owners and I find myself asking tons of questions and getting awesome advice. My 3 kids shower me with such joy and fun times which fuels my creativity more than they know. I couldn’t do any of this without such a strong, supportive team. I am truly blessed.

Website: https://transcendentactive.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/transcendent_active/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TranscendentActive

Other: Tiktok – @transcendentactive

Image Credits
All photos from Truth and Love Photography