Denimology

Kate Moss' Roberto Cavalli Campaign

It's usually a pretty safe bet that anything Kate Moss is photographed wearing immediately sells out. I am not so sure about the jeans she is modelling in the new Roberto Cavalli campaign. They look pretty cheesy to me, the only people I can imagine wearing these are Eurotrash Footballer's Wives, but then again there are quite a few of those about these days.

J & Company Breast Cancer Jeans

You know how sometimes you wish you were doing your bit for Breast Cancer Awareness whilst wearing your favourite jeans. Well guess what? Now you can thanks to J And Company who have designed a special line of jeans featuring Swarovski crystals pink ribbon and rose design on the pocket. For every pair of jeans sold 25% will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

James Dean's Jeans Sell For $35,850

James Dean is one of the few bonafide denim icons that I think everyone would agree on. Well last week if you had had the best part of $40,000 to spare you could have got your hands on a pair of Lee Jeans once worn by the actor in the movie Giant (see above). The jeans which once belonged to the now-defunct James Dean Gallery were auctioned for $35,850 last Saturday in Dallas. If you ask me that's a pretty reasonable to price to pay for a unique piece of denim history.

Japanese Denim Artisans

If there is one country in the world that really appreciates denim it is Japan and the International Herald Tribune has an interesting article on the length that some designers go to to create the perfect pair of jeans. For Yoshiyuki Iwagishi of Mizra Jeans "torturing and killing" himself over a silhouette or a particular fit is second nature. The jeans (shown above) are made with traditional Japanese soy bean and wood charcoal dyes and use antique kimono fragments for the pockets and hems. All this attention to detail and hand finishing means that each pair of jeans is unique. These jeans are too fussy for my liking but I can't help but admire the obsessiveness of the designer.

Anlo Jeans

Is there room for yet another denim brand right now? Well designers Jenna Andreola and David Longstein of Anlo Jeans certainly think so. They figured that although there are plenty of basic jeans and overly trendy jeans there is still room in the middle ground for some classic tailored jeans. Well they must be doing something right because their skinny jeans are already popular with A List fashionistas such as Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton.

Earnest Sewn - Designer Q & A

This week's Designer Q & A is with Scott Morrison, President & Designer of Earnest Sewn.

1) Last time I counted there were over 50 brands of premium denim jeans, what makes Earnest Sewn jeans stand out from the rest.

What I see as setting us apart is our consistency in concept and strong lifestyle identity. Our concept lies in the idea of mixing the Japanese beauty aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi, with denim's Americana past. In staying true to this we incorporate pride in workmanship and commitment to authenticity.

Each garment in actually only worked on by three people.

The Sewer who sews the entire garment from start to finish (instead of a factory assembly line) without any guides on the sewing machine (further adding to the hand made feel of the garment), the hand sander who sands down the jean with sand paper (after completing months of charcoal drawing training before he is ready to work on our garment), and the wet process technician, who washes the jean, resin coats it, and oven bakes it. These three people, along with myself, hand stamp the jean after each step of the process is complete. By signing our names we are committing our reputation to the product and claiming our belief in it.

Everything we do stays consistent with this lifestyle concept, from the design of our new An Earnest Cut & Sew clothing collection, to the brands like Santa Maria Novella (the oldest fragrance and beauty line out of Florence), Carpe Diem hand cobbled shoes and boots, and Rogues Gallery clothing and accessories that we carry in our flagship store in NYC. The focus is on superior product quality, and strong brand integrity.

2) If you had to choose one of the following which would you say is more important - the way a pair of jeans look or how comfortable they feel.

I honestly think both are important. In this day and age with the influx of new denim brands saturating the market the consumer has the luxury of demanding exactly the fit, wash and hand feel that suits them. We take pride in each of these steps, to ensure that each jean fits, and is finished to perfection.

3) Which style and wash of Earnest Sewn Jeans are flying out of the shops the quickest at the moment?

For the past two seasons our Harlan 18 women's tapered leg Japanese stretch denim jean has been our top selling style. Earnest Sewn was one of the first brands to come out with this silhouette, and since it has launched it has been a top seller at all our key accounts, not to mention a favorite among the Hollywood set, such as Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, Lindsay Lohan, Seinna Miller, and Drew Barrymore to name a few (we can e-mail you pictures of these celebs and more wearing this style if needed). For Spring we have incorporated many new washes and variations of this popular style.

Continued (with more photos)...