Manufacturing for US brands
NO FUGAZI makes custom cut-and-sew clothing for American streetwear labels and independent brands. We are a British company managed from London, we produce at our own dedicated facility, and we ship to the United States.
Being direct about that up front, because it is the first thing a US buyer should ask and the question most sites dodge: we are not a US manufacturer and we do not claim to be. No domestic-origin claim, no US factory, no US address. If you need domestic production — for an origin label, for a buyer who requires it, or because you want to stand on the floor while your sample is cut — you want a US-based maker, and that is a different search.
What we offer instead is cut and sew from 50 pieces per style, every design sampled and approved before bulk, and a team that will tell you where your garments are made.
Why a US brand ends up looking overseas
Most independent American labels hit the same wall. Domestic cut-and-sew tends to start at higher minimums or higher unit costs than a first run can carry, and the shops that will take 50 pieces are often booked or brokered. So brands look abroad, and then find that half the pages they land on will not say where the sewing actually happens.
That opacity is the real problem, not the geography. A factory you can name, that samples before bulk and answers the same day, is a different proposition from an agent who quotes you and disappears. We would rather tell you exactly what we are than compete on a claim we cannot make.
What we make
Hoodies, tracksuits, t-shirts, sweatpants, shorts, caps and outerwear including puffer, bomber and varsity jackets. Cut and sewn to your block, in your fabric, with your finishing — not printed onto stock blanks.
You do not need a tech pack
A sketch, a moodboard, reference images, or an existing garment whose fit you want matched is enough to start. We develop the pattern and the fit from there and send you a sample to approve. Plenty of American brands arrive with a hoodie they love and a note saying "this, but heavier and boxier" — that is a workable brief.
Working across time zones
London runs five hours ahead of New York and eight ahead of Los Angeles. In practice that means a message sent from the East Coast in the morning is answered the same working day, while a message sent from California in the afternoon is usually answered overnight.
It is rarely a barrier — most of our correspondence happens on WhatsApp and neither side waits long — but it does shape the rhythm. Plan for roughly one round of replies a day rather than a live back-and-forth. A sampling decision that a local shop would settle in an afternoon takes about a day with us. Worth building into the timeline rather than discovering halfway through.
Lead times to the United States
Samples take two to three weeks. Bulk production runs three to eight weeks after you approve the sample. Then freight.
Air freight to US hubs is the fast option and is priced by weight, which matters more than brands expect on heavyweight fleece — you pay for GSM twice, once at the mill and again in the air. Sea freight is substantially cheaper and substantially slower, and adds port time at both ends.
Treat a first order as a three to four month exercise from first message to stock on your shelf, and anything quicker as a bonus. Repeat orders are faster because the pattern and the fit are already settled.
Import and duty
Being straightforward about this, because it catches people out. You are the importer of record. Goods arriving into the United States clear in your name, and duty and any customs brokerage are your responsibility rather than ours.
One thing that genuinely works in an American brand's favour: the United States does not charge an import consumption tax the way the UK, the EU and Australia charge VAT or GST at the border. You still pay duty, and apparel duty rates are not trivial, but there is no import VAT stacked on top.
Duty depends on the commodity code, which depends on the garment type, the knit or woven construction and the fibre content. Your customs broker will confirm the rate before you commit — and knowing your duty position in advance is the difference between a landed cost and a guess.
Our quotes are for the goods. They do not include US duty or clearance fees, and any manufacturer telling you otherwise has either buried it in the unit price or has not thought about it. We provide the commercial documentation your broker needs. If you have not imported before, speak to a broker before you place the order rather than after it lands.
Quality control
Four stages: fabric inspection before cutting, in-process checks while the line runs, post-production inspection of finished garments, and a pre-shipment review of the packed order before anything ships.
This matters more at distance than it does locally. You cannot walk the floor, so the inspection has to be someone's job rather than something you do yourself on a Tuesday. That is the trade you are making, and it is why we sample first and why we own the facility rather than brokering the work out.
Start with a brief
Send what you have — a sketch, a reference garment, a rough quantity and the sizes you expect to sell. You will get a straight answer on whether we are the right fit and what it would cost.
