Denim Dossier! Good Jeans

by The Daily Front Row

Washes and fades and selvedge, oh my! A crop of denim designers share tricks of the trade when it comes to keeping us all chic and forever in blue jeans.

Steve Romero, men’s denim designer, 7 For All Mankind
How do you tackle keeping a darker denim—or even black—looking so fresh?

One of the drawbacks to black is that with time, the fabric fades and loses its clean and sophisticated look. But our Triple Black fabric stays vivid even after 40 home washes! We achieve this through our Triple Black process, which starts with the construction of the fabric and is finished with a special dye process. 

Kortney Hastin, creator and designer, Norman Russell
What trends and styles should we look forward to?

One of our new washes is named the Desert Wash after a friend of mine that does a lot of motorcycle riding in the California desert. All bottoms will still be made up of American selvedge denim from Cone Mills, but I will also be introducing a canvas selvedge to the line as well.

Tell us about your design process!
I use a very small team to produce my denim. The fact that I can see the denim through every step of the way is very satisfying. I am a very meticulous person when it comes to my denim—I want it to be perfect. Working with a small group of people makes that possible.

 Jake Sargent, co-designer, Simon Miller
Is there a certain wash or fit that’s making a comeback?

Our M001 Copen style is heavily stonewashed to a faded blue, with minimal sanding and distressing. It’s a classic Eighties reference, but we’ve designed it in our narrow fit so it feels contemporary.

Kristen Harlan, designer, Red Engine Jeans
What does “premium” mean to the brand?

We import only the best fabrics from Europe and Japan, and produce the line entirely in Los Angeles. By producing locally, we are involved in all aspects of design, development and production, ensuring the highest quality possible.

Ali Fatourechi, founder and creative director, Genetic
Describe your denim, to the touch!

This season, we have taken texture to a whole new level by incorporating different treatments on fabrics that give it the ultimate soft hand feel that’s distinctly us. We play with a full spectrum of soft rigid fabrics to soft stretch fabrics that provide a range and depth that we’re notorious for.

Scott Morrison, founder, 3X1
What does “premium denim” mean to the brand?

Premium denim has become a bit of a catch phrase over the past 15 years.  What we’re doing in men’s qualifies as something decidedly better—more luxury than most of the denim brands in the “premium” space.  Our bespoke and custom offerings, as well as the fact that we are 100 percent selvedge (denim, twill, corduroy, etc.), are massive differentiators, and there’s simply nothing like our product in the market.

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